People

Lab Director

Ben Parrell

Position title: Associate Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders

Email: bparrell@wisc.edu

Grad Students, Postdocs, and Staff

Hung-Shao Cheng

Position title: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Email: hcheng223@wisc.edu

I am a postdoctoral researcher at Speech Motor Neuroscience Group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I received my PhD in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at New York University. My research interests focus on understanding the (neural-)mechanisms that underlie speech motor learning. I use interdisciplinary approaches to examine this topic including linguistics, speech science, motor learning and non-invasive neuromodulation techniques (e.g., tDCS and TMS). When I am not working, I probably think about what my next meal is or my cats.

Tim Murphy

Position title: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Email: tmurphy37@wisc.edu

I am a postdoctoral researcher working in the Speech Motor Neuroscience Group. My research aims to characterize the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying cognitive control in speech. I am particularly interested in the roles perceptual processing and speech sound representation play in speech motor control. The research I conducted while pursuing a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University investigated statistical learning in speech perception and its effect on speech production. I am now investigating sensorimotor adaptation and the role speech sounds representations play in this process.

Chris Naber

Position title: Lab Manager

Email: cwnaber@wisc.edu

I studied Psychology, Linguistics, and Music Performance at Emory University. After a stint at Epic and UW-Madison’s CSD capstone program, I started working in SMAC Lab in 2019, then became lab manager in 2021. I program lab tools, train students, assist postdocs on projects, and generally enjoy the art, craft, and process of making the lab run smoothly.

Yuyu Zeng

Position title: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Email: yuyu.zeng@wisc.edu

I am a postdoctoral researcher of the Speech Motor Neuroscience Group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I grew up in Chongqing, China’s 4th direct-controlled municipality besides Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. Although I can perceive and produce the /in/ and /iŋ/ contrast in Mandarin Chinese, I pretend to have an accent by merging them when speaking Mandarin.

The central theme of my research is Words in Communication (WiC). My vision for research on WiC is that it will integrate knowledge from linguistics, acoustics, psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, computer science, and network science, using behavioral experiments, brain recordings, and computational models. You can find more about me on my personal website.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Ella Graham

Position title: Research Assistant

Email: eagraham5@wisc.edu

I am a junior at UW-Madison majoring in Neurobiology with a certificate in Health Policy. After undergraduate school, I plan to attend graduate or PA school to pursue a career in medicine.

Acacia Omdahl

Position title: Undergraduate Research Assistant

Email: aomdahl@wisc.edu

I am a sophomore studying Communication Sciences and Disorders with a certificate in Global Health. After undergrad, I plan to get my masters in speech-language pathology.

Rachael Schneck

Position title: Research Assistant

Email: rschneck2@wisc.edu

I am a third-year student pursuing a B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders. I am also planning on graduating from the College of Letters and Science honors program. When I graduate, I am either going to apply for graduate school to become a speech and language pathologist, or PA school.

Elle Stussy

Position title: Research Assistant

Email: estussy@wisc.edu

I am a junior majoring in Communication Sciences & Disorders with a certificate in Disability Rights and Services. After my undergrad, I plan to work towards my masters degree in speechlanguage pathology. I am particularly interested in working with children. 

Lab Alumni - Grad Students, Postdocs, and Staff

Alexa Bushinski

Position title: Lab Manager (2018-2020)

Address:
curr. PhD student, Cog. Psych, Purdue U.

Lana Hantzsch

Position title: Lab Manager (2020-2021)

Address:
curr. Lab Manager, Cognition and Neurodevelopmental Studies Lab, U. Minn.

Robin Karlin

Position title: Postdoctoral Research Associate (2019-2023)

Address:
curr. Asst. Prof., Univ. Missouri

Matthew Meuler

Position title: Research Assistant

Anneke Slis

Position title: Postdoctoral Research Associate (2022-2024)

Address:
curr. Senior Researcher, ISTC, Padua, Italy

Autumn Smith

Position title: Research Assistant

Ding-lan Tang

Position title: Postdoctoral Research Associate (2021-2023)

Address:
curr. Asst. Prof., Univ. Hong Kong