Bharath Chandrasekaran
Bharath Chandrasekaran is the director of the SoundBrain Lab. He completed his PhD in Integrative Neuroscience at Purdue University and is a Professor and Vice Chair for Research in Communication Science and Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh. He studies the neural representation of speech signals using multimodal neuroimaging methods.
Contact: b.chandra@pitt.edu Twitter: @bchandra_pittOlivia
Olivia Flemm
Olivia Flemm is a first-year AuD student and graduate student researcher in the SoundBrain Lab. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Science and Disorders with an economics minor at the University of Pittsburgh. She is interested in age-related hearing loss within the field of audiology.
Contact: orf10@pitt.edu
Jacie McHaney
Jacie McHaney is a PhD candidate in Communication Science and Disorders. She is interested in speech processing and the influence of aging, cognition, and sensory impairments. She has an F31-Diversity National Research Service Award to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying speech perception in noise in middle-aged adults. She investigates these processes through a combination of behavioral, neurophysiological, and computational techniques.
Contact: j.mchaney@pitt.edu Twitter: @JacieMcHaney
Casey Roark
Casey Roark (PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, Carnegie Mellon University) is a postdoctoral scholar in the SoundBrain Lab. She is interested in understanding the computational and neural mechanisms involved in perceptual category learning. She investigates these mechanisms through behavioral analysis, computational models and pupillometry. She is currently working on projects examining individual differences in category learning outcomes and the strategies people use during learning.
Contact: croark@pitt.edu Twitter: @CaseyRoark
Kevin Sitek
Kevin Sitek is a research scientist in the SoundBrain Lab. He received his PhD in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology from Harvard University, where he studied the anatomy and connectivity of the human subcortical auditory system at the MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research. In the SoundBrain Lab, Kevin is investigating subcortical representations of speech sounds and connectivity within the auditory system using MRI.
Contact: kevin.sitek@pitt.edu Twitter: @krsitek
Affiliate Members
Ashley Parker
Ashley Parker is a postdoctoral associate in the SoundBrain Lab. She earned her PhD from the University of Connecticut in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences in 2022 with a certificate in Neurobiology of Language. She is interested in the development of biomarkers for hearing loss and auditory system health, particularly via the use of blood-based measures and electrophysiological tests in traditional setting like the research lab and more natural environments such as the home and summer camp-based settings. She is currently working on projects that involve auditory-based tests in clinical populations including children who stutter and children with hearing loss.
Contact: ashley.parker@pitt.edu Twitter: @theNEW_ashley
Leslie Zhen
Leslie is a Ph.D. student working with Drs. Pratt, Parthasarathy and Chandrasekaran. He is interested in the time course of auditory learning and manipulations to optimize perceptual gains. An area of specific interest is how task-irrelevant auditory signals are acquired and processed.
Contact: lez35@pitt.edu
Maggie Zink
Maggie Zink is a second-year PhD student working with Drs. Chandrasekaran and Parthasarathy. On a larger scale, she hopes to do her part to help better understand the relationship between perceptual and cognitive decline. Maggie previously worked with Drs. Jonathan Peelle, Kristin Van Engen and Mitchell Sommers at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine on a project looking at the neurobiology of effortful listening. She graduated from Saint Louis University in 2014 with degrees in Neuroscience and Music: Operatic Vocal Performance.
Contact: zink.me@pitt.edu Twitter: @zink_maggie
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Katie Bergstrom is a sophomore intending to major in Communication Science and Disorders with an interest in audiology. When not in lab, Katie enjoys playing piano, reading, and walking around the city of Pittsburgh.
Shaina Wasileski is a sophomore intending to major in Communication Science and Disorders. She is interested in neurological communication injuries and disorders in children. Outside of the lab, she enjoys making pottery and playing with dogs.
Sarah Anthony is a senior majoring in Communication Science and Disorders with a concentration in psychology. Her interest in audiology is aural re
habilitation of the geriatric population. Outside of the lab, she enjoys cooking and hiking.
Jasmine Cardino is a Junior majoring in Communication Science and disorders, with minors in both Education and Linguistics, and a Certificate in Conceptual Foundations in Medicine.In the future, she intends on specializing with the younger population and in her free time she enjoys thrifting.
Megan Hallihan is a junior majoring in Communication Science and Disorders with a certificate in American Sign Language and a minor in linguistics. She is interested in the field of Audiology, particularly working with the geriatric population. Outside of the lab, she is raising a future service dog, named Tatum, for an organization called Canine Companions.
Miaofang Hu is a sophomore considering a major in Communication Science and Disorders with an interest in speech-language pathology. In her free time, she enjoys making art, listening to music, and learning about foreign languages.
Alumni
Angelina Dinardo: Angelina Dinardo was an undergraduate research assistant in the SoundBrain Lab. She is now pursuing her MS in Speech Language Pathology at Northeastern.
Madison Andreano: Madison Andreano was an undergraduate research assistant in the SoundBrain Lab. She is now pursuing her MS in Speech Language Pathology at University of Minnesota.
Karen Linares Mendoza: Karen Linares Mendoza was an undergraduate research assistant at the SoundBrain Lab. She is now pursuing her undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University.
Heather Dial: Heather Dial was a post-doctoral fellow working with the SoundBrain Lab and is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Houston.
Gangyi Feng: Gangyi Feng was a post-doctoral fellow in the SoundBrain Lab and is currently a research assistant professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
G. Nike Gnanatega: Nike Gnanateja was a post-doctoral fellow in the SoundBrain Lab and is currently an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison.
Boji Lam: Boji Lam was a PhD student in the SoundBrain Lab and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology at the University of North Texas.
Fernando Llanos: Fernando Llanos was a post-doctoral fellow in the SoundBrain Lab and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Rachel Reetzke: Rachel Reetzke was a PhD student in the SoundBrain Lab and is currently an Assistant Professor at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, Center for Autism and Related Disorders.
Kirsten Smayda: Kirsten Smayda was a PhD student in the SoundBrain Lab in the Cognitive Neuroscience area of Psychology. She is currently a data scientist in industry.
Rachel Tessmer: Rachel Tessmer was a graduate student in the SoundBrain Lab and is a PhD student at UT Austin.
Kristin Van Engen: Kristin Van Engen was a post-doctoral fellow in the SoundBrain Lab and is now faculty at Washington University in St. Louis.
Zilong Xie: Zilong Xie was a PhD student in the SoundBrain Lab and is currently an Assistant Professor at Florida State University.
Han-Gyol Yi: Han-Gyol Yi was a PhD student in the SoundBrain Lab and is now a researcher in industry.
Benjamin Zinszer: Benjamin Zinszer was a research associate in the SoundBrain Lab and is currently a visiting Assistant Professor at Swathmore College.