What is your role in the lab? 

I am a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP). I am involved in recruiting participants, completing speech-language evaluations, obtaining case history information, gathering and analyzing speech-language data, mentoring pre-speech undergraduate students, and working directly with clients and families participating in the study.

What excites you most about your work?

Speech pathology is still a relatively "new" field and there are so many important unanswered questions. As a clinician who worked in the field for many years before entering into research, I was often frustrated with the lack of evidence-based information related to diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of various speech-language disorders. This is especially true in the area of stuttering. I am so thrilled to be a small part of this extraordinary team that is working hard to find answers for people who stutter and for SLPs providing treatment!

I am also genuinely excited about meeting new research participants and their families and seeing familiar faces return year after year. It's so fun to see research participants having fun, trying new things, and learning more about science and speech in general! 

What do you like to do in your free time? Do you have any hobbies?

Most of my free time is spent with my husband and our 3 daughters (ages 6, 4, and 9 months)! We love going for walks, riding bikes, visiting new parks, reading, and creating art projects together. I also enjoy portrait photography and often take photos for family and friends.

If you could learn one new skill overnight, what would you want it to be?

All things Redcap! Redcap is our research database. It is an invaluable tool for the storage and retrieval of our data. It has endless capabilities which I would love to learn more about!

I would also love to become a better cook and to learn how to properly care for plants, but that might be a bit of a stretch for me! 🙂

Besides the unknowns around stuttering, what’s another scientific mystery that you find interesting?

I have always been fascinated by the ocean. I would love to know more about the ecosystem in the "twilight zone" of the ocean and what role it plays in our world.