Kaylah Lalonde, Ph.D.
Audiovisual Speech Processing Lab
This research lab studies factors that influence audiovisual speech perception in children with typical hearing and children with hearing loss.
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Investigators and Laboratories Available to T35 Trainees
Hope Lancaster, Ph.D.
Etiologies of Language and Literacy Lab
Our lab studies genetic factors, language development, and health outcomes of multiple communication disorders.
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Gabrielle Merchant, Ph.D.
Translational Auditory Physiology and Perception Lab
Our research focuses on auditory mechanics, understanding how pathologies that change auditory mechanics impact auditory perception, and advancing evidence-based practice through improved clinical diagnostic tools.
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Kristen Janky, Ph.D
Vestibular and Balance Lab
The goal of the Vestibular and Balance Laboratory is to understand the developmental impact of vestibular loss in children.
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Ellen Peng, Ph.D.
Functional Hearing Lab
This lab studies the development of functional hearing, including spatial hearing and speech perception, in complex everyday indoor environments in children with normal hearing and those with cochlear implants.
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Krystal Werfel, Ph.D.
Oral & Written Language Lab
This lab studies language and literacy acquisition in children with hearing loss, with a focus on sound-based skills that impact academic outcomes, fatigue and sleep disturbance, and intervention development.
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Adam Bosen, Ph.D.
Auditory Perceptual Encoding Lab
Our lab studies the factors that limit speech recognition in listeners with cochlear implants. We are interested in the whole auditory system, ranging from how electrical pulses are encoded by the auditory nerve to how the brain recognizes speech s
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Lori Leibold, Ph.D.
Human Auditory Development Lab
The Human Auditory Development Lab studies how the ability to hear and understand sounds in the presence of competing background sounds develop. We are particularly interested in understanding how infants and children learn to hear and process targ
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Kathryn Wiseman, Au.D., Ph.D.
Child Auditory Technology Lab
Our lab studies how children use auditory technology, like hearing aids and/or cochlear implants, hear sound and develop communication skills.
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Characterizing Auditory and Vestibular Function in Individuals with Down Syndrome
Multiple Mentors: Kristen Janky, Gabrielle Merchant, Heather Porter,
Individuals with Down syndrome, caused by trisomy 21, experience high rates of hearing loss, affecting approximately 80% of the population. Despite the critical role of hearing in development, learning, communication, and quality of life, the mechanisms underlying hearing loss in individuals with Down syndrome remain unclear.
To address this gap, we have assembled a multidisciplinary team to investigate auditory and vestibular dysfunction in individuals with DS. In this project, we are conducting comprehensive auditory and vestibular phenotyping in 300 participants with Down syndrome using behavioral and physiologic assessments, while also collecting detailed health histories, including co-occurring conditions and exposure to ototoxic medications.