Current Lab Members
Lauren Hammond, MS, CCC-SLP, Doctoral student, COMD
Lauren is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) and doctoral student. She graduated
from California State University-Fullerton with a B.S. in Communicative Sciences and
Disorders and from California Baptist University with an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology.
Most recently, Lauren worked as an SLP in a variety of medical settings including
skilled nursing, outpatient rehabilitation, and sub-acute rehabilitation, specializing
in adult cognitive and linguistic evaluation and treatment. Lauren’s research interests
include formal measurement of functional communication and how psycholinguistic and
neurolinguistic features of speech and language use impact quality of life and life
participation in persons with aphasia.
Sarah Hammons, Undergraduate student, Honor's College
Sarah Hammons is an undergraduate student at the University of South Carolina pursuing
a B.S. in psychology and neuroscience. She joined the CSTAR lab in February as a volunteer
in the Aging Brain Cohort. Currently, her work in the lab involves vowel articulation
data extraction, tying into her project designed to analyze cognitive function with
vowel stability in speech production. In the future, Sarah hopes to attend graduate
school to continue her education in psychology and pursue research as a career goal.
Neekan Nasiri, Undergraduate student, Honor’s College
Neekan Nasiri is an undergraduate student at the University of South Carolina majoring
in Neuroscience on a premed track. He is from Daytona Beach and is currently working
with the ABC vowel study in the Aphasia Lab; using programs such as Praat to separate
formants in vowel production. After graduation in May of 2027, he plans to continue
pursuing a career in neuroscience and attend medical school. Neekan enjoys swimming
and hanging out with his friends in his free time.
Jade Hannan, Undergraduate student, Honor’s College
Jade is undergraduate student in the Honors College majoring in Neuroscience and French,
with plans to graduate in May 2024. She has enjoyed working with the Aphasia Lab since
2020, and is excited to be working on her honors thesis with the Neurolinguistics
Lab. Her project looks at the impact of participation of USC’s very own aphasia drama
club (“Play on Words”) on communication confidence for people with aphasia. She is
interested in neuroplasticity, neurorehabilitation, and the role of the humanities
in promoting whole-person health. In her free time, Jade enjoys traveling, cycling,
and baking.
Former Lab Members
Doctoral Students
· Danielle Fahey, Linguistics
· Elena Galkina, Linguistics
· Emily Garnett, COMD
· Svetlana Malyutina, COMD
· Ece Bayram, Neurosciences
Master’s Students
· Katherine Vlach, COMD
· Lillian Jarrold, COMD
· Lesley Smith, Linguistics
· Lena Hoskins, Linguistics
· Katherine Pensa, COMD
· Casey Hamilton, COMD
· Jessica Williams, COMD
· Erla Hafsteinsdóttir, COMD
Undergraduate Students
· Emily Andriello, Honor’s College
· Jaden Brown, Public Health
· Krystine Item, Honor’s College
· Nathanael Petit, Honor’s College
· Emma Fast, Psychology
· Michael Zhu, Honor’s College
· Katherine Kalinowski, Biological Sciences
· Angelica Hutchinson, Honor’s College
· Gabriella Del Valle, Public Health
· Hanna Altpeter, Honor’s College
· Molly Lonneman, Exercise Science, Spanish
· Brett Bankson, French, Psychology, Neuroscience (University of Portland)
· Keiko Bridwell, Honor’s College
· Zach Craig, Psychology
· Megan Elledge, Psychology
· Aalia Soherwardy, Public Health
· Kelly Marlowe, Exercise Science
· Adina Raizen, Linguistics (University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana)
· Francis Scott, Public Health
· Tori Sharpe, Honor’s College
· Sophie Wohltjen, Music, Cognitive Science (University of Virginia)