Alumni

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  Joelly Anderson

  Student Volunteer

  Biography

  Joelly Anderson

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  Joelly is a junior majoring in speech language pathology with minors in education and psychology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She will be working on the project of “Study of Brain Function in Children with Hearing Loss” under the guidance of Dr. Wang. Joelly has extensive experience working with children and has taken courses on audiology. She plans to attend grad school to become a speech pathologist after obtaining her bachelors degree.

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  Marusha Ather

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Marusha Ather

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  Marusha is a freshman majoring in chemical engineering and in the Honors Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Marusha intends to pursue a career in medicine. Her interest in brain research stems from personal experience as her brother was diagnosed with autism at a young age and lacks language and communication skills. She has always been curious as to how children like him engage in the real world and what makes them different on a bio-molecular level. She started as a volunteer in the lab in November 2019 and is working on her UCARE project during 2020 summer term.

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  Sarah Hughes Berheim

  Student Volunteer

  Biography

  Sarah Hughes Berheim

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  Sarah joined in the NL3 Lab as a senior psychology major, with a minor in biology. She is eager to learn about neuroscience. On campus, Sarah enjoys taking part in events for charities as well as volunteer work in the community. This is her second research position and she is excited to explore the influence neuroscience can have on education while being on the team. Currently, Sarah is pursuing her Ph.D. in educational neuroscience at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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  Ceceli Bonitto, B.S.

  Graduate Research Assistant

  Associate Lab Manager, NL3

  Audiology Student, Capstone Project

  Biography

  Ceceli Bonitto, B.S.

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  Ceceli is a graduate student pursuing her Doctorate in Audiology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She received her B.A. in Spanish and Secondary Education from the University of North Dakota, then completed the post-baccalaureate program in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Minnesota State University, Moorhead.
  
  Ceceli’s interests in Audiology include interoperative monitoring and vestibular assessment. Her doctoral capstone project, under the guidance of Dr. Wang, will investigate the mechanisms of the brain that adults with cochlear implants use during speech perception tasks to determine how those mechanisms compare to adults with normal hearing. Starting Fall 2019, Ceceli will be the associate lab manager and assistant Drs. Mathur and Wang to manage the lab daily activity and research projects.

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  Bergen Bruhn

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Bergen Bruhn

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  Originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Bergen is a junior at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She is pursuing a degree in psychology through UNL’s College of Arts and Sciences. Bergen was awarded 2019 Fall UCARE funding for “Understanding the Cochlear Implant” while working under her mentor Dr.Wang. She is more than excited to learn about the development of hearing loss over time. She has a strong passion for kids and wants to work with them in her future career.

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  Kymberly Caddell

  Student Worker

  Biography

  Kymberly Cadell

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  Kym is finishing her first year of Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. She is interested in studying biological and neurobiological mechanisms of trauma and well-being and how it has an effect on learning outcomes. Her masters is from UNO in social work. My BA is from UNL in psychology and Spanish. She has worked with children, adolescents, and families over the last 10 years and have enjoyed every bit of it! Her interests in pediatric population directed her to the NL3 Wang Lab and she wants to work with children. She learned behavioral assessments over the summer and is ready to “get on the field”.

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  Grace Carlson

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Grace Carlson

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  Grace will be a sophomore at the University of Lincoln–Nebraska, studying biological systems engineering. This is her second research position at UNL and she is very excited for the UCARE process. Her other activities include teaching dance lessons, volunteering for Lincoln Young Life, and being a member of Engineering Ambassadors. In the future, she hopes to focus on biomedical engineering path.

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  Caitlin Daly, B.S.

  M.S. Student

  Biography

  Caitlin Daly, B.S.

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  Caitlin is a first-year graduate student in speech-language pathology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She is working on a thesis project with Drs. Wang and Harvey using neuroimaging to identify the treatment effects for childhood apraxia.
  
  Caitlin hails from a small town at the base of Pike’s Peak called Woodland Park, Colorado. She holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Abilene Christian University, Texas, and has sung in operas around the U.S. and Europe. When not studying, she occupies her time hiking, baking and doing puzzles.

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  Cristal Franco-Granados

  Undergraduate Research Assistant

  Biography

  Cristal Franco-Granados

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  Cristal joined the NL3 Lab in the summer of 2018 as a summer undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Wang’s study “Understanding the Reading Brain,”, where she assisted the investigators, analyzed data, and aided in recruitment. She is a sophomore at the University of Nebraska¬–Lincoln, where she majors in biological sciences and French, and has minors in mathematics and Spanish. Cristal made the UNL Dean’s List in both the fall 2017 and spring 2018 semesters. She is the current treasurer for the Mexican American Student Association, which is dedicated to providing a community for Latino students that promotes campus involvement and cultural awareness. Cristal’s background in dance and exercise sparked her interest in anatomy and physiology. After finishing her undergraduate studies, she plans to attend medical school and specialize in orthopedics. Her passion for science and learning about other cultures have motivated her to eventually become a traveling doctor, where she will be able to apply her knowledge in medicine and world languages. Cristal’s goal is to work with non-profit organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders, to bring affordable medical care to those in need throughout the world.

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  Hannah Gaffney

  Assessor – SLP M.S. Student Worker

  Biography

  Hannah Gaffney

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  Hannah is a first-year graduate student studying Speech-Language Pathology. She is from Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she completed her undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Northern Iowa. She has an interest in all things neuro-related and is excited to begin working with Dr. Wang in the NL3 lab.

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  Makayla Gill

  UCare

  Biography

  Makayla Gill

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  Makayla is a sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska. She is pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry and is pre-med. In addition to being in the University Honors program, Makayla serves as the Volunteer Chair for both the Student Council for Exceptional Children and the Honors Ambassadors on campus. She is also an executive board member for the Alpha Lambda Delta/Phi Eta Sigma UNL chapters, two national honors societies. Much of her free time is spent at local Special Olympics events or playing board games with her friends.
  
  Makayla was awarded 2019 Fall UCARE funding for her project “Identifying Neural Correlates of Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Users.” She is excited to learn more about the research process and more about the neurological aspect of hearing loss and Cochlear Implants.

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  Emily Ann Grybas

  Student Worker

  Biography

  Emily Ann Grybas

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  Originally from Frankfort, Illinois, Emily is a senior at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She is pursuing a degree in pre-speech-language pathology at UNL’s College of Education and Human Sciences. She also is a member of the National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA). Emily was awarded UCARE funding for her project in Fall 2018, “Study Brain Function In Children With Hearing Loss,” under the guidance of Dr. Wang, her mentor. She is eager to learn more about the field of communication disorders and working with Dr. Wang this year. Her career goals include working with children with reading and language disabilities. She really enjoyed her work at the lab and after she completed her UCARE program, she continuted to be a student worker in the lab helping with behavorial assessments.

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  Bailey Heaton, B.S.

  Audiology Student, Capstone Project

  Biography

  Bailey Heaton, B.S.

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  Bailey is a first-year graduate student in the Clinical Doctorate of Audiology (Au.D.) program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She joined the NL3 Wang Lab to do her Capstone project under Dr. Wang’s guidance. Her goal is to specialize in pediatric audiology and early intervention in her future career.
  
  Before entering the Au.D. program, Bailey obtained her bachelor’s degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Bailey is an active member of the UNL Student Academy of Audiology (SAA), where she works towards the education and professional development of future audiologists. During her free time, Bailey enjoys hiking, biking, and running.

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  Randa Ismail

  Student Volunteer

  Biography

  Randa Ismail

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  Randa is a freshman in the Honors program with biochemistry major and chemistry, math and French minor. She likes to run, learning, drawing and she loves to try new foods. She enjoys spending time with her family. She works at a Legacy Terrace retirement community as an evening server and a prep-cook. She wants to learn about the brain and comes to the NL3 Wang Lab to volunteer during her spare time.

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  Meredith Konkol

  Student Worker

  Biography

  Meredith Konkol

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  Meredith hails from Madison, Wisconsin, where she received her BA in Communication Sciences and Disorders from UW-Madison. Meredith is currently a first-year graduate student in the UNL Speech-Language Pathology program. In the future, Meredith hopes to work with adults in the medical setting. She, as a student worker at the NL3 Wang Lab, administers standardized tests such IQ tests (Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition) and reading related tests (Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Third Edition).

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  Avantika Mathur, Ph.D.

  Postdoctoral Fellow

  Lab Manager, NL3

  Biography View CV

  Avantika Mathur, Ph.D.

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  The research interests of Dr. Avantika Mathur include understanding the brain mechanisms that underlie the process of human reading, language and music perception ability.
  
  While earning her doctorate, she investigated the emotions experienced during music listening using behavior and neuroimaging methods. Her dissertation, under the supervision of Dr. Nandini C. Singh at the National Brain Research Centre in India, focused on studying the brain networks recruited during music listening and the differential modulation of these networks with the valence of musical stimuli. Meanwhile, she learned to utilize advanced imaging techniques, such as structural and functional MRI, to unravel the neural mechanisms that underlie various cognitive functions.
  
  After earning her Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience, Avantika joined the NL3 Wang Lab in March 2018 as a postdoctoral fellow. She continues research in another domain of her interests: “To understand the neural processes of human reading ability”. One of her ongoing projects focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms of reading in children with hearing loss. The project is part of a longitudinal study that measures the reading ability of children with hearing loss using a series of behavioral tests and neuroimaging techniques — functional MRI, resting state MRI and DTI.

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  Katie Monson

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Katie Monson

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  Katie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in speech-language pathology, with a minor in education, at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. During her senior year, she joined the NL3 Lab thanks to a UCARE award. Katie is interested in neurological disorders, specifically Parkinson’s disease. She hopes to research how singing-based therapy can be used as a remediation tool for the condition. Katie aspires to examine the relationship between music and language development. Katie graduated in May 2017 and is pursuing her Master of Science in speech-language pathology at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

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  Dorsa Motevalli

  Undergraduate Volunteer

  Biography

  Dorsa Motevalli

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  Dorsa is a senior undergrad from Tehran, Iran. She is pursuing a B.S in Biological sciences and is planning to get her Ph.D. in neuroscience. Her previous research experience at UNL focused on animal behavior. By joining the Wang lab, she hopes to gain a better insight into the neurological aspect of the cochlear implant.

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  Laura Munn

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Laura Munn

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  Laura joined in the NL3 Lab as a junior speech-language pathology major at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She is excited to work with and learn from the faculty at the Barkley Center. Her current interests are fMRI data analysis, and learning more about the research process as a whole for her UCARE study with Dr. Wang. She also is involved with student organizations such as UNL National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) and her sorority. Currently, she is pursuing her M.S. in SLP at UNL.

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  Linneaa Nguyen

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Linneaa Nguyen

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  Linneaa is a sophomore majoring in biological systems engineering, with an emphasis in biomedical engineering. She is a graduate of Lincoln Northeast High School in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she was a member of the National Honor Society and participated in Asian Caucus, Orchestra, Engineering Club, Math Club, Upward Bound and EnvrionMentors. She also competed on the school’s track and field team. Linneaa is an active member of Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority Inc. (SYZ), Asian Student Union (ASU) and Vietnamese Student Association (VSA). In addition to working in the NL3 Lab, she also serves as a teaching assistant in ENGR 100. Linneaa plans to pursue a career in prosthetics or tissue engineering.

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  Grace Oh

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Grace Oh

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  Grace is a sophomore at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she majors in biochemistry and has minors in chemistry, mathematics and psychology. Grace made the UNL Dean’s List in both the Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 semesters. She is a graduate of Lincoln Southwest High School in Lincoln, NE, where she was a member of the National Honor Society, Asian Caucus, Wind Ensemble, Varsity Marching Band, Varsity Choir, Junior Youth Orchestra, Lincoln Youth Symphony, HOSA, and French Club. She also competed in Science Olympiad and won a state title in Cell Biology and placed in the top 3 in Anatomy and Physiology and Microbe Mission. Grace is an active member of the Asian Student Union (ASU), Biochemistry Club, and NU Meds at UNL. She works as a volunteer in Dr. Wang’s study, “Understanding the Reading Brain.” Her experience includes working with children at a daycare and an elementary school. She also worked as a teacher assistant for Bright Lights Summer Program. After finishing her undergraduate studies, she plans to attend medical school and pursue a medical specialty in anesthesiology.

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  Soyoung Park, M.A., CCC-SLP

  Ph.D. Student

  Biography

  Soyoung Park, M.A., CCC-SLP

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  Soyoung assists with data collection and analysis of ongoing research studies in the NL3 Wang Lab. Her research interests include functional connectivity and neuroplasticity for speech motor and cognitive rehabilitation, optimal diagnostic intervention tools for rehabilitation and preventive allied health care and community education.
  
  Soyoung holds a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Kansas. She previously worked as a speech pathologist in a variety of health care settings in California, including the University of California, Davis, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Stroke-Brain Injury & Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center in San Jose, Sutter Health Care hospitals in Berkeley, and most recently, at Nebraska’s Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital and Tabitha Health.

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  Ann Pham

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Ann Pham

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  Ann is an incoming third-year undergraduate student majoring in Biochemistry with minors in Psychology and Chemistry on a pre-med route. She grew up in Lincoln her entire life and she said: “attending UNL has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.” She is an active member of the Vietnamese Student Association and chartered an Asian-interest sorority on campus (Delta Phi Lambda). She is also very passionate about individualism and cultural representation in the community.
  
  She worked in animal behavior under Dr. Basolo Summer 2019-Spring 2020 to investigate the consistency of behavior within male swordtail fish in varying stimuli, as well as assess how sex, age, and genetic variation for size influence the test subjects. She is also an America Reads tutor who assists grade school students in Reading and Math, and a volunteer in the emergency department at Bryan West. In her free time, She enjoys painting and spending time outdoors. She is very excited to work under Dr. Wang and her research project working with cochlear implants, as well as the reading project.

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  Michelle Rohman

  Undergraduate Research Assistant

  Biography

  Michelle Rohman

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  Michelle is a senior at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, majoring in biological sciences. She works as a research assistant under Dr. Wang in the NL3 Lab. Her work with children with disabilities and rehabilitation patients through equine-assisted therapy brings a unique perspective to the lab. She hopes to attend occupational therapy school in fall 2019.

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  Tamrat Teshome

  Graduate Student Volunteer

  Biography

  Tamrat Teshome

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  Tamrat, from Ethiopia, is doctoral student in CYAF at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he majors in Early Childhood Education/Child Development with the mentorship of Dr. Evan Choi. He has received MA degree in Clinical Psychology (2013) and Counseling Psychology (2010) from the Addis Ababa University.
  
  Prior to joining UNL, he held a faculty position in Haramaya University where he taught undergraduate courses for four years and led the students’ mental health service program. Tamrat was actively involved in teaching, research, and community engagements back in his country, where he obtained recognition and accelerated academic promotion to the rank of Assistant Professor in January 11, 2018.
  
  Currently, he is interested in studying the impact of early childhood traumatic experiences and how that might affect poverty reduction efforts of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a focus in Ethiopia. In the future Tamrat hopes to engage in child mental health advocacy and awareness creation works – aka “effective messaging” work in order to contribute to the transformation of policy directions and service delivery practices. His passion in early childhood traumatic experiences made him interested in looking into issues from the neuroscience perspective. He joined the NL3 Wang Lab in the summer of 2019 and wanted to learn more about brain imaging research.

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  Thy Thy Trat Thai

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Thy Thy Trat Thai

  Thy Thy Trat Thai is a sophomore biological systems engineering major, with an emphasis in biomedical engineering and pre-medicine at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She was awarded UCARE funding for her project, “Study Brain Function In Children With Hearing Loss,” under the guidance of Dr. Wang, her mentor. Her experience includes working with special education children and analyzing data. She hopes to attend medical school and pursue a medical specialty in OB/GYN.

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  Molly Thornburgh

  Student Volunteer

  Biography

  Molly Thornburgh

  Molly is a senior at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, majoring in communication sciences and disorders. This spring she will graduate and continue onto graduate school to become an Audiologist. She is a member of the National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association (NSSHLA). Summer of 2018, she was awarded funding through UCARE for her project, “Comparing the Influence of Parental Response Methods to Peer Victimization on Child Outcomes” under the guidance of Dr. Meredith Martin. Currently, she is working on her senior thesis analyzing audiologists comfortability in testing pediatric patients, under Dr. Kelly Pritchett, her current mentor. Her research interests are primarily focused in the area of pediatric audiology, and she is very excited to help and continue to learn more about something that she feels so passionately about! She is using her spared time to get neuroimaging research experience at the NL3 Wang Lab.

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  Nicole Walters

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Nicole Walters

  Nicole joined NL3 Lab as a volunteer in 2016, during her junior year as a biology major. After a year of volunteering, she applied to UCARE and began working in the NL3 Lab as a UCARE student. She is currently pursuing her career as a physician assistant in Denver, Colorado.

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  Ellie Watkins

  UCARE Student

  Biography

  Ellie Watkins

  Ellie joined the NL3 Lab as a junior speech-language pathology major at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she also minored in education and gerontology. She is a member of the College of Education and Human Sciences Dean’s List, a University Ambassador, a key member in NSSHLA (National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association), a member in SCEC (Student Council for Exceptional Children) and is the philanthropy chair for her sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, whose philanthropy benefits Autism Speaks. Additionally, Ellie has years of experience working with children at a child development center. Ellie is interested in developmental language disorders and executive functioning pertaining to developmental dyslexia. She is pursuing her master’s degree in speech-language pathology at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

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  Vanessa Whattam

  Graduate Research Assistant

  Biography

  Vanessa Whattam

  Vanessa is a first-year master’s student at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln studying to be a speech-language pathologist. She has worked with children and adult of all ages and with a variety of communication disorders. She joined in the NL3 Lab in the summer of 2018 as a behavioral tester. She is also doing a directed research under Dr. Wang’s mentorship. She has particular interest in acquired neurogenic communication disorders and reading disorders in children. In the future, Vanessa hopes to work with adults with complex communication needs in the medical setting.

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  Elaine Williams, B.S.

  Assessor

  Biography

  Elaine Williams, B.S.

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  Elaine is a first-year graduate student in speech-language pathology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She hopes to eventually work in an outpatient setting assisting a variety of clients with communication needs. She received a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from Kansas State University, where she worked on two teams devoted to research in fluency disorders. Originally from the Kansas City, Kansas area, she is excited to explore Lincoln and develop more research experience at the NL3 Wang Lab administering standardized tests.

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  Taelor Williamson, B.S.

  Assessor

  Biography

  Taelor Williamson, B.S.

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  Taelor is a first-year graduate student in speech-language pathology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Originally from Earlham, Iowa, Taelor received her undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders from the University of Northern Iowa. She is interested in working with people in a medical setting, as well as working with people with complex communication needs through augmented and alternative communication (AAC) intervention. Taelor is excited to learn and develop more research experience at the NL3 Wang Lab.

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  Patrick Wirball

  Undergraduate Student

  Biography

  Patrick Wirball

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  Patrick is a freshman from Chicago, Illinois. He is pursuing his undergraduate degree in biological systems engineering with an emphasis area in biomedical engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. As a pre-med student, he is excited to engage in the research process and learn more about the complexities of hearing loss and cochlear implants.
  
  As a research assistant for Dr. Wang, he will investigate either adult brain images to identify neural predictors of outcomes for cochlear implants or examine neurocognitive factors that may affect the reading development of young children with and without hearing loss. Patrick previously conducted research at the Northwestern Chicago Proton Center on the effectiveness of proton versus photon therapy in cancer treatment. He is a part of NU Meds and the College of Engineering Diplomats. In his free time, Patrick enjoys swimming, skiing, biking and spending time with friends.

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  Yinbo Wu, Ph.D.

  Postdoctoral Fellow

  Biography View CV

  Yinbo Wu, Ph.D.

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  Yinbo Wu is a postdoctoral associate at the Neuroimaging for Language, Literacy and Learning Laboratory. Yinbo graduated with her B.S. in psychology from Soochow University (Suzhou, China) and her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  
  Yinbo is interested in studying the development of executive functions (EFs) and language, and how contextual factors, e.g., family environment and parenting behaviors, and intra-personal factors, e.g., attention, are associated with EFs and language development. She is also interested in using neuroimaging techniques including fNIRS, fMRI and EEG to study the brain areas that underlie the development of EFs and language. The ultimate goal of her research is to develop effective EFs and language interventions for typically developing/developed individuals as well as individuals with developmental difficulty, such as those with ADHD, hearing loss and head injuries.

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  Rebekah Urban

  Assessor – SLP M.S. Student Worker

  Biography

  Rebekah Urban

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  Rebekah is a first-year graduate student in speech-language pathology at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Originally from Colorado, Rebekah received her bachelor’s degree in Audiology and Speech-Language Sciences at The University of Northern Colorado. She is interested in serving people with a variety of communication needs. Rebekah is excited to gain experience at the NL3 Wang Lab.