Current Lab Members

Principal Investigator

Soo-Eun Chang, Ph.D., CCC-SLP  

Program Director/Principal Investigator

Soo-Eun Chang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Rosa Casco Solano-Lopez Research Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Dr. Chang is also an Adjunct Professor at the Michigan State University, in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, and the Department of Psychology. She received her MS degree and clinical training as a Speech-Language Pathologist at Vanderbilt University, received her PhD in Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and trained as a postdoctoral research fellow at the NINDS Intramural Research Program at the NIH. Dr. Chang’s research program focuses on advancing our understanding of the functional neuroanatomical mechanisms supporting speech motor control, and neural bases of developmental stuttering. Dr. Chang is also interested in developing novel treatment options for stuttering, which may include neuromodulatory techniques that augment behavioral therapy, and early intervention to prevent chronic life-time stuttering. Dr. Chang may be contacted at sooeunc@med.umich.edu. 

Research Faculty

Emily O. Garnett, Ph.D., CCC-SLP 

Research Assistant Professor

Emily Garnett is a Research Investigator in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, and a certified speech-language pathologist. She received her clinical training degree from West Virginia University in 2009, her PhD from the University of South Carolina in 2015, and completed her postdoctoral training here at UM in 2019. Her current research focuses on: 1) a clinical trial using neuromodulation (HD-tDCS) to augment traditional speech therapy, 2) the neural bases of rhythm and timing deficits in stuttering, and 3) analysis of the lab’s ongoing longitudinal structural and functional pediatric imaging data. Dr. Garnett may be contacted at emilyog@med.umich.edu. 

Yanni Liu, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

Yanni Liu is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. She received her PhD in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2008, and completed her postdoctoral training at the Carnegie Mellon University and at the University of Michigan. Her research interest focuses on (1) neural oscillations underlying stuttering and other neurodevelopmental disorders; (2) executive function, performance monitoring and brain maturation in typical and atypical development; (3) cognitive training and brain stimulation in enhancing brain functions and reducing symptoms in neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Liu may be contacted at yanniliu@med.umich.edu.

Postdoctoral Research Fellows

Fiona Höbler, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Fiona Höbler is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. She completed her clinical master’s degree in Speech and Language Therapy at the University of Reading, England, in 2011, and her Ph.D. in Speech-Language Pathology and Neuroscience at the University of Toronto, Canada, in 2022. Her research interests include the neurocognitive processes that support communication and motor learning, and how these can influence developmental as well as treatment outcomes. 

Shanley B. Treleaven, Ph.D., CCC-SLP 

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Shanley Treleaven is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan and a certified speech-language pathologist. She received her MS from the University of Alabama in 2017, and her Ph.D. from Louisiana State University in 2020. Her research interests include neurological aspects of speech motor programming in individuals who stutter and potential relationships between stuttering and executive functioning. Dr. Treleaven may be contacted at streleav@med.umich.edu.

Hasini Weerathunge, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Hasini Weerathunge is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include understanding neuropathophysiological of motor speech disorders and developing neuro-engineering applications that enhance the quality of life for those with sensorimotor deficits. Hasini received her B.S. in Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka where she majored in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering. Her undergraduate research was focused on objective hearing screening of newborns via automated auditory brain stem responses. She completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Boston University in 2023, where her research focused on utilizing auditory & somatosensory motor perturbations of voice and speech to develop neurocomputational models of speech motor control for motor speech disorders. Her postdoctoral research aims include the application of non-invasive neurostimulation techniques to improve the effectiveness of current behavioral approaches to stuttering treatment.

Speech-Language Pathologists

Saralyn Rubsam, M.A., CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist

Saralyn is a licensed speech-language pathologist with years of experience in the assessment and treatment of pediatric communication disorders. Her clinical interests include normal language acquisition, autism spectrum disorders, literacy development, and traumatic brain injury. Saralyn has a Master of Arts Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Miami University. She received her undergraduate training in Elementary Education and Speech-Language Pathology from Western Michigan University. Saralyn assists in recruiting participants, completing speech-language evaluations, obtaining case history information and works directly with clients and families participating in the study. 

Megan Sheppard, M.A., CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist

Megan is a licensed speech-language pathologist with many years experience working with children and adults in both medical and educational settings. At the Speech Neurophysiology Lab, Megan assists in recruiting participants, completing speech-language evaluations, obtaining case history information, gathering data, and working directly with clients and families participating in the study. Megan has a Master of Arts Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Western Michigan University. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from Michigan State University. 

Communications Specialist

Stephany Daniel, M.F.A.

Communications Specialist

Stephany Daniel is a Communications Specialist in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in 2015 and has over a decade of experience in marketing communications. Stephany joined the Speech Neurophysiology Lab in 2023 and leads marketing efforts with the goal of increasing awareness of research studies and educating the public about stuttering. She may be contacted at stephdan@med.umich.edu.

Research Staff

Lucas Campbell, B.S.

Research Technician Associate

Lucas is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan where he studied Psychology. Lucas joined the lab in the spring of 2023 and has previously worked in Dr. Takakuni Suzuki's lab collecting EEG data on patients with psychosis during his undergraduate studies. How now assists the lab in running and collecting data for EEG studies. Lucas plans to pursue medical school for psychiatry in the future.

Nick Mularoni, M.A.

Research Area Specialist Associate

Nick joined the lab in early 2022 and is working with Dr. Garnett to study timing deficits in stuttering. He's a recent graduate of the University of Chicago with a Master of Arts, focusing on phonetics and phonology. His thesis work, completed under Dr. Alan Yu, analyzed speech differences among Cantonese speakers with and without autism spectrum disorder. He also employed EEG methods to linguistic questions, investigating the perception of tones by speakers of non-tonal languages. Nick is a proud UMich alum, having earned his B.A. in Linguistics and History in 2018. He plans to continue his graduate studies with a focus on the connections between cognition and speech.


Undergraduate Students

Sophia Hogan

Research Assistant

Sophie is an undergraduate student planning to double major in Linguistics and Cognitive Science at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. She joined the lab in the summer of 2022 and is now assisting with CLAN transcriptions for the child study as well as EEG capping of research participants for the oscillations study. After graduating, she plans to attend graduate school to earn a Masters Degree in Speech Language Pathology.

Courtney Jones

Courtney is an undergraduate student planning to double major in Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She joined the lab at the beginning of 2022, and helps with CLAN transcriptions for both the child and adult studies. After graduating with her bachelors, Courtney plans on attending graduate school to receive her masters in Speech Language Pathology.