Kiera Berggren is a research speech-language pathologist (SLP) in the Department of Neurology at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is currently actively involved in neuromuscular research studying orofacial strength and function as it relates to speech and swallowing in natural history studies of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD). Additional outcomes of interest are language and cognitive functioning over time in individuals with congenital and childhood DM1. Dr. Berggren also works clinically with patients of all ages with neuromuscular diseases providing support for overall communication and swallowing changes with disease progression.