Interested in joining our lab? We are always looking for talented students and researchers at all levels with an interest in the speech motor system.
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Masters, capstone, and undergraduate students
Students are involved in a range of lab activities, including data collection, data analysis, participant recruitment, and experiment design. Students typically participate in the lab for course credit, though depending on lab needs, as well as the student’s status and prior research experience, some hourly positions may be available. We are accepting applications for student positions for Fall 2025. Students interested in working in the lab should fill out this survey. Be prepared to submit a letter of interest as well as a resume. You will need to be logged in to Google with your UW–Madison NetID to access the form.
Ph.D. students
New graduate students interested in joining the lab should apply through the Ph.D. program in the Communication Sciences and Disorders department or through the Neuroscience Training Program. Students in other labs or programs the University of Wisconsin–Madison are also able to have an affiliation with the lab if interested. Interested students should email the lab director, Ben Parrell (bparrell@wisc.edu), for more details.
Postdoctoral researchers
Our lab is not currently recruiting for any postdoctoral research positions. However, interested researchers are encouraged to explore our website and reach out to the PIs of the Speech Motor Neuroscience Group if they are interested in joining the lab. Additional information, mostly taken from the last time our lab was recruiting, is listed below.
The Speech Motor Neuroscience Group at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has previously invited applications for an NIH-funded postdoctoral research position in the field of speech motor control and speech motor neuroscience. The Speech Motor Neuroscience group consists of two research labs, the Brain Language and Acoustic Behavior lab (directed by Carrie Niziolek) and the Speech Motor Action + Control lab (directed by Ben Parrell). Both labs are funded through grants from the NIH. Postdoctoral scholars have opportunities to interact with vibrant research communities at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, including the Waisman Center (which houses both labs) and the Neuroscience Training Program.
This research involves behavioral and neuroimaging experiments with neurobiologically healthy individuals as well as individuals with cerebellar ataxia and Parkinson’s disease. The postdoc will be expected to take a leading role in the design and execution of these experiments, including the analysis of existing neuroimaging data. The position could additionally entail research in other areas of focus for the lab, including predictive coding of self-produced vocalizations, feedback-driven speech learning, and dynamics of native and non-native speech production, multisensory integration, motor learning, and comparisons of speech and nonspeech motor control systems.
Interested candidates should email email both bparrell@wisc.edu and cniziolek@wisc.edu.
Required qualifications (as listed for recent appointments):
- PhD or equivalent in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, communication sciences and disorders, or a closely related field
- A documented history of research productivity
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Leadership and organizational skills
Useful qualifications (as listed for recent appointments):
- Experience with M/EEG data
- Experience collecting and analyzing human behavioral data, particularly speech data
- Computational skills, including MATLAB