EDUCATION: I received my B.A. from Michigan State University in 2002, and completed my M.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) from the University of Pittsburgh in 2004. Recently I completed my Ph.D. in CSD from the University of Pittsburgh in 2014. The title of my dissertation was Rule- versus instance-based learning in speech-like behavior: An evaluation of transfer and motor class effects.
RESEARCH: I have worked in a laboratory setting continuously since my undergraduate days at Michigan State University. During my graduate studies, I divided my time between the Adult Neurogenic Lab and Motor Speech Lab at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to the start of my dissertation, I was directing lab activities in the Adult Neurogenic Lab on a Phase I clinical trial with individuals with language disorders resulting from right-hemisphere damage. At the same time, I finished my pre-dissertation project investigating intraoral air pressure and practice amounts in a nonspeech task. My dissertation work contrasted two different learning theories (rule- versus instance-based learning) in speech-like utterances. Further detail regarding my current research in the Speech Motor Control Lab in the Dept. of CSD at West Virginia University can be found under Research Interests.
TEACHING: I currently teach the following courses at West Virginia University: CSAD 320: Speech Sciences, CSAD 424: Language Disorders, CSAD 664: Diagnostics in Speech-Language Pathology, and CSAD 630: Adult Neurogenic Communication Disorders. I also mentor undergraduate and graduate CSD students in the Speech Motor Control Lab.
CLINICAL: I am an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist with a clinical focus on geriatric populations in skilled nursing facilities.