Engineer Lab

The Engineer lab is dedicated to understanding and improving the speech processing impairments observed in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism. Our team is developing potential adjunctive interventions that can increase the neural and behavioral benefits of speech rehabilitation therapies.

Synchrony

Dr. Engineer and lab graduate students Isabella Myers and Yuko Tamaoki presented at the 2023 BRAIN Foundation Synchrony symposium in Pacific Grove, California.

SPUR Symposium

Lab undergraduate students Lasya Pasapula and Maria Solano presented posters at the Summer 2023 Summer Platform for Undergrad Research (SPUR) symposium.

NIDCD diversity supplement

PhD student Brendan Williams received a diversity supplement from the NIH National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). This award provides support for research experiences for students from diverse or underrepresented groups. Brendan is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Tribe, and he belongs to one of the most underrepresented groups in higher education. Native Americans comprise less than 1% of the undergraduate and graduate student population. For this award, he will evaluate whether or not VNS driven plasticity can alter auditory processing in the AAF in rats who have been prenatally exposed to valproic acid (VPA).

URSA poster

Lab undergraduate Varun Pasapula received an Undergraduate Research Scholar Award to examine auditory learning in a model of Rett syndrome.

Collegium V honors capstone poster

Lab undergraduate Arjun Mehendale presented his Collegium V honors capstone project about ultrasonic vocalizations.

Eagles Autism Foundation Grant

We recently received a 2 year Pilot Grant from the Eagles Autism Foundation. This grant will fund research to determine whether auditory training paired with neuromodulator release can reverse the neural and behavioral auditory processing deficits observed in a rat model of Rett syndrome.

Matt Perry fellowship

PhD student Yuko Tamaoki was chosen as the recipient of the Matthew S. Perry Fellowship in Cognition and Neuroscience for the 2022-2023 academic year.