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              Funding For Research
              Understanding Types of Grants And Funding
  
    
    Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research


**On this page:**Description and Application GuidanceNIDCD Diversity ScholarsDescription and Application GuidanceProgram Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs and PIs) holding specific types of National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants may be eligible for administrative supplement funding (see the full program announcement) to improve the diversity of the research workforce by recruiting and supporting students, postdoctorates, and eligible investigators from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups that have been shown to be underrepresented in health-related research. This supplement opportunity is also available to PDs/PIs of research grants who are or become disabled and need additional support to accommodate their disability in order to continue to work on the research project. Administrative supplements must support work within the scope of the original project.This funding opportunity is designed specifically for applicants proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial. Applicants to this funding opportunity are permitted to propose research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor. This funding opportunity is designed to provide support for research experiences for individuals from diverse backgrounds throughout the continuum from high school to the faculty level. The proposed research experience must be an integral part of the approved, ongoing research of the parent award, and it must have the potential to contribute significantly to the research career development of the candidate.Detailed eligibility criteria are described in the full program announcement. Also see the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity (November 22, 2019). Specific application guidance includes the following:The institution/university of the PI determines, justifies, and certifies the eligibility of the candidate based on the Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity.The PI of the NIDCD-funded award prepares the supplement application with input from the candidate.Typically, supplements are provided for one year, with a strong justification required for a second year.The application must clearly describe the need for additional mentored research training.The research strategy section in the application must include the following subheadings:*Career development plan:* The PI should include details of specific activities and milestones to be accomplished during the supplement duration. For predoctoral fellows, postdoctoral fellows, and medical students, a plan to transition to NIH mainstream research training and/or research funding should be provided*Mentoring research plan:* The PI should describe the specific activities planned for the candidate during the supplement period and the PI’s previous training and mentoring experience.For high school, undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, master’s, predoctoral students (including Au.D. and medical students), and postdoctoral fellows, the application should include a biosketch for the candidate using the NIH fellowship biosketch format.The parent award must have an active budget that is at least equivalent to the duration of the requested supplement and should not be in (or go into) a no-cost extension.Typically, NIDCD allows one supplement per parent award to support one candidate. Possible exceptions will be considered for exceptional PIs and candidates with a strong justification and with support from the program official assigned to the parent award.Supplements are limited to candidates who are citizens or non-citizen nationals of the U.S. or to candidates who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S. (i.e., in possession of a Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551).Candidates supported on a research award (such as an R01) may not be transferred to a supplement to increase the availability of funds to the parent award for other uses.Candidates may be temporarily supported by the parent award while the application is under reviewed.Discussions of the supplement request with the program officer assigned to the parent award are highly encouraged to make sure that the proposed project falls within the scope of the parent award.NIDCD accepts applications on a rolling basis.For application guidance and additional information on administrative supplements to promote diversity in NIDCD-supported research, please contact Alberto Rivera-Rentas.
      
      NIDCD Diversity ScholarsIn keeping with its goal of enhancing the diversity of the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research workforce, the NIDCD has established the NIDCD Diversity Scholars Program. This program recognizes the engagement and research commitment of a diverse and accomplished group of scholars and mentors. The NIDCD commends the scholars for their hard work and accomplishments, and the mentors for their efforts to foster the scholars’ progress toward independent research careers. The NIDCD Diversity Scholars include:
              2023 Diversity Scholars
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                          Matthew Ardis
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Matthew Ardis.**Institution:** University of Southern California**Career Level:** Predoctoral (Au.D.)**Research Summary:**In 2022, I received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Currently, I am a research assistant in the Bionic Ear Lab at the University of Southern California and an Au.D. student at the California State University of Los Angeles (CSULA). My area of interest is cochlear implants and how speech and music perception can be improved using these devices. Being a cochlear implant user myself, I hope to have an impact on those with hearing impairments as both a clinician and researcher.
              Jerrica M. Butler
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Jerrica M. ButlerInstitution:** University of Texas at Austin**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:**After years of working as a registered behavioral technician (RBT) and clinician with children with autism spectrum disorders, I found my way into research through my fieldwork. This interest in research stems from working closely with families on building language through play and managing challenging behaviors. My current project is working to target limitations to understanding child communication, particularly the generalizability of observed communication. Few studies have examined the measurement stability and generalizability of child communication when observed across multiple caregivers, and no study to date has examined the stability and generalizability of disruptive behaviors from naturalistic child-caregiver interactions.
              Anthony Tyrone Collins Jr.
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Anthony Tyrone Collins Jr.Institution:** Johns Hopkins University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**Combining our brain's natural ability to adapt to sensory experience with cutting-edge neural prostheses, such as cochlear implants, allows for both the restoration and enabling of hearing in those with hearing loss and deafness, respectively. Given that neural plasticity and the success of cochlear implants decline with age, my doctoral research focuses on how temporary loss of vision reenables plasticity in the auditory circuits of adults. My diversity supplement project focuses on how brief visual deprivation alters the activity of corticothalamic neurons in layer 6 of the primary auditory cortex—neurons involved in the focusing of our attention to sounds. The results from my research will contribute to our understanding of how to restore plasticity in the adult brain for better treatment of hearing loss/deafness, as well as providing a potential biological understanding of how blind individuals often possess enhanced hearing and pitch discrimination.
              Jorge Contreras
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Jorge Contreras.**Institution:** University of Michigan**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Jun Hee Kim, Ph.D. My research focuses on understanding how auditory dysfunctions, particularly hypersensitivity, can be a potential aid in diagnosing children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as early as possible. We tackle this problem by using several mouse models closely associated with ASD in humans. I am interested in changes occurring in the central auditory system, particularly in the arrangement of the cells and in the synaptic connections involved in acoustic hypersensitivity. The results of my studies will contribute to our understanding of the auditory system in ASD and its utility as an ASD screening tool.
              Juwan Copeland
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Juwan Copeland.Institution:** Baylor College of Medicine**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**I am currently a doctoral candidate developing novel gene therapy strategies for treating sensorineural hearing loss in the lab of Andy Groves, Ph.D. Sensorineural hearing loss involves the progressive and permanent death of auditory sensory (cochlear) hair cells and is the most common type of hearing loss, affecting millions worldwide. My project focuses on the *in vivo* delivery of key developmental transcription factors to stimulate hair cell growth from non-sensory cells in the mature cochlea. This research has the potential to expand our knowledge of gene therapy strategies that facilitate the functional recovery of hearing in affected individuals. My long-term research interest involves using similar gene and cell-based therapies to ameliorate the effects of genetic diseases such as sickle cell anemia. Given the rapid advances in this field, I am strongly motivated by both academic and industry-based opportunities.
              George Cruz
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar George Cruz.Institution:** SUNY Stony Brook**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**I developed a strong interest in neuroscience research during my undergraduate studies. I started at SUNY Stony Brook as a master’s degree student in 2021, and now have transferred into the Ph.D. program with support from Dr. Xiong. I am working on research to determine the dysfunctions of the auditory striatum in aging mice and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mouse lines. Difficulties in learning new tasks and in making judgements based on sensory information, such as auditory cues, are common symptoms in AD patients as well as in normal aging. Previous studies indicated that the auditory striatum plays an essential role in auditory decision-making and learning. My thesis project targets the research gap by aiming to determine the dysfunction of auditory striatal activity and circuits in aging mice and AD mouse lines.
              Kathleen Depina
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Kathleen DepinaInstitution:** University of Miami Miller School of Medicine**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:**I received a B.A. in neuroscience and psychology from Boston University. I am currently a research associate in Dr. Nirupa Chaudhari's laboratory, where I conduct molecular, anatomical, and functional research in sensory systems. After gaining much training in various experimental techniques, I am now working with a senior scientist to use Cre-dependent adeno-associated viruses to 1) trace the central projections of and 2) visualize the secondary neuronal targets of a subset of gustatory neurons that respond to sour stimuli. In addition, I have been given the opportunity to prepare to do RNA sequencing analysis by attending several transcriptomics-focused webinars, workshops, and courses. I will also be collaborating with other researchers to investigate and modulate taste perception in mice using chemogenetic inhibition. I look forward to continuing to contribute to the research performed in this laboratory and to broadening my repertoire as a promising biomedical researcher thanks to Dr. Chaudhari and my coworkers.
              Amanda Marie Duffy
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Amanda Marie Duffy.
**Institution:** Massachusetts General Hospital**Career Level:** Postdoctoral**Research Summary:** I am a postdoctoral research fellow within the Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery at Massachusetts General Hospital and a member of the multi-institutional BrainGate team. Our lab researches and develops intracortical brain-computer interface (iBCI) devices to enable movement and communication for individuals who have lost these abilities due to severe neurological disease or injury, such as ALS, severe stroke, or spinal cord injury. The BrainGate technology records neural signals from the motor cortex, decodes these signals, and then relays that decoded information to an effector such as a computer cursor or robotic arm device. The goal of my project is to quantify within Mass General Brigham (MGB) the percentage of people with diagnoses related to severe communication and/or upper extremity deficits who may benefit from such an iBCI.
              Leslie Gonzales
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Leslie GonzalesInstitution:** University of Rochester**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**I am a graduate student at the University of Rochester, working in Dr. Kenneth Henry’s lab. Cochlear synaptopathy is the loss of afferent synapses between inner hair cells and auditory nerve fibers, and occurs due to acoustic overexposure and normal aging. Cochlear synaptopathy is a common pathology hypothesized to produce perceptual deficits in noise, known as hidden hearing loss. My project addresses the important gap in the literature on whether the surviving auditory nerve fibers after synaptic damage demonstrate changes in encoding to sound. Approaches used in my project include auditory nerve recordings, histological studies, and scalp potential recordings.
              Kennedy Kehaulani Guess
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Kennedy Kehaulani GuessInstitution:** Baylor College of Medicine**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**I am a licensed speech-language pathologist. I received my master's degree from the University of Houston. I am currently a patient coordinator in the Schnur Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine. Under the direction of Dr. Tatiana Schnur and Dr. Margaret Blake, I investigate the recovery of language and theory of mind following right hemisphere stroke. Through my diversity supplement, I have received training in neuroimaging and quantification of longitudinal behavioral changes from acute to subacute to chronic stroke. My lab members and I published a textbook chapter on the functional neural correlates of spoken discourse. I presented work at the Dr. Robert G. Grossman Mission Connect Scientific Symposium on quantifying longitudinal changes in communication after right hemisphere stroke. Using lesion symptom mapping, the results from our study will inform us of the neural correlates associated with deficits in the areas of theory of mind, social communication, and language.
              Ankur Gupta
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Ankur Gupta.**Institution:** Stanford University**Career Level:** Predoctoral (medical student)**Research Summary:** I earned an undergraduate degree in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and am now a medical student at the University of Louisville. I completed a research year in Dr. Peter Santa Maria’s lab at Stanford University between my third and fourth years. We studied mechanisms of the innate immune system—specifically the role of macrophages—in causing outer hair cell loss in chronic suppurative otitis media. I studied the role of a chemokine receptor and macrophage receptor, CCR2, on sensorineural hearing loss in chronic suppurative otitis media. I plan to complete my final year of medical school and apply to otolaryngology residency.
              Verenice Ascencio Gutierrez
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Verenice Ascencio Gutierrez.
**Institution:** University at Buffalo, SUNY**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I am currently a Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Ann-Marie Torregrossa. Our lab focuses on how taste and gut feedback contribute to food acceptance and intake—specifically, in regard to salivary proteins and bitter foods. Under normal circumstances, taste compounds (i.e., foods) must first mix with saliva before reaching target taste receptors, implying a role for saliva in modulating taste signaling. Our lab is interested in how exposure to bitter diets can alter salivary proteins, which in turn can increase acceptance of the bitter food and decrease sensitivity to the bitter taste. I am currently focusing on learning molecular techniques such as protein separation to determine which specific classes of proteins are involved in increasing bitter acceptance. I plan to use the learned techniques in future work.
              Eyerusalem Haile
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Eyerusalem Haile.**Institution:** University of Illinois at Chicago**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:**I am a postbaccalaureate in the Zak Lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago. My research focuses on understanding sensory processing in the olfactory system and how it is affected by neurodevelopmental disease. Autism spectrum disorders are characterized by sensory hypersensitivity and reactivity, which have profound and negative impacts on quality of life. My research aims to understand how neural circuits and sensory processing in the olfactory system are disrupted in a mouse model of autism, leading to abnormal odor perception. I am conducting behavioral experiments to measure perceptual thresholds and odorant avoidance. I intend to follow this work with electrophysiological recordings of cellular activity in the olfactory bulb and the piriform cortex. I am currently applying to graduate schools and plan to continue to study the cellular basis of animal perception and behavior.
              Trent Henry
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Trent Henry.Institution:** Michigan State University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**I am a Ph.D. student in the Analysis of Voice and Hearing Laboratory (AVAH Lab) under the supervision of Dr. Maryam Naghibolhosseini at Michigan State University. My current research focuses on how we can use high-speed videoendoscopy and objective measures to better understand voice disorders. Specifically, I am investigating the vibratory characteristics of the vocal folds at the onset and offset of phonation for several neurogenic voice disorders, including adductor laryngeal dystonia, vocal tremor, and unilateral vocal fold paralysis. I also use artificial intelligence to study these disorders. Our long-term goal is to aid clinicians in the diagnosis of these disorders.
              Gabriela Llarena
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Gabriela Llarena.
**Institution:** University of California, Santa Cruz**Career Level:** Master's degree student**Research Summary:** I received a bachelor's degree in psychology and molecular biology from New York University in 2021. I am now a master's degree student at UC Santa Cruz in the molecular, cell, and developmental biology program, and am doing my research in the Feldheim Lab. My project in this lab involves molecular labeling of auditory responsive neurons in the mouse superior colliculus in order to learn how these neurons gain the response properties.
              Juan Londoño
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Juan Londoño**Institution:** University of Miami**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:**I recently graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminology. I am interested in the field of child development and neuroscience. I am honored to be a recipient of the NIDCD supplement award. Under the direction of Drs. Daniel S. Messinger and Lynn K. Perry, I am conducting research using automated speech recognition tools to understand bilingual language development in children with hearing loss. This opportunity not only aligns with my academic aspirations, but also allows me to contribute to the broader understanding of diverse populations and their language acquisition trajectories.
              Kassia Love
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Kassia Love.
**Institution:** Massachusetts Eye and Ear**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** I received a B.A. in biomedical engineering and neuroscience from Harvard University in 2022. I am a postbaccalaureate research fellow in the Jenks Vestibular Physiology Laboratory. I study sensorimotor behaviors using computational neuroscience approaches. During behaviors like postural control, the brain constantly senses motion through sensory inputs to generate motion commands. These sensory inputs include the vestibular organs that sense three-dimensional rotation, translation, and gravity. Errors in these cues can affect behavior, but the role that these errors play in central nervous system processing still needs to be elucidated. I am using computational models to investigate how erroneous vestibular cues affect behavior, including errors resulting from vestibular dysfunction.
              Edward Martinez
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Edward Martinez.
**Institution:** Rutgers University**Career Level:** Postdoctoral**Research Summary:**I received my Ph.D. at Rutgers University Newark, where I was trained as a developmental neuroscientist. My current interest is to understand the epigenetic changes during development of inner ear neurosensory progenitors. The diversity supplement project focuses on the chromatin remodeling protein CHD7 and determining if it regulates non-canonical DNA regulatory elements, such as anti-sense promoters, during differentiation of otic neurosensory progenitors into auditory neurons. Using genome editing tools such as CRISPRi, I will specifically block CHD7 binding at anti-sense promoters of genes involved in neuronal differentiation, monitor changes in transcription of these genes, and determine whether neuronal differentiation is altered. In addition, I will examine an *in vivo* spiral ganglion neuron specific knockout mouse model to confirm the effects observed in otic progenitor cell lines. I am hopeful that the research will identify new mechanisms that underlie inner ear development.
              Keysha A. Martinez-Torres
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Keysha A. Martinez-Torres.
**Institution:** Vanderbilt University**Career Level:** Postdoctoral**Research Summary:** I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at Vanderbilt University. My main research interest is language development in Spanish-speaking populations. My current goal is to gather baseline data on the language, literacy, and hearing of Spanish-speaking children with cochlear implants.
              Clara Martinez-Voigt
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Clara Martinez-Voigt.**Institution:** University of Michigan**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** My sensorineural hearing loss, my interest in music and language, and my undergraduate major in psychology combined to bring me to the field of auditory neuroscience at the Apostolides lab after graduating from college. I study how descending projections from the auditory cortex control neural activity in the inferior colliculus. To this end, I use two-photon calcium imaging and optogenetic silencing in behaving mice. In a separate project, I also use fluorescent neurotransmitter sensors to study the receptive fields of individual synapses.
              Sarah Medina
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Sarah MedinaInstitution:** University of Texas at Austin**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**I am an Au.D. student and graduate research assistant at the University of Texas at Austin. My work in the Texas Auditory Neuroscience Lab involves collecting behavioral and objective data. This data is used to examine the auditory neural processes involved in spatial listening, listening in noise, and attention effects of listening. My current project investigates attention effects at the brainstem and cortical levels in response to concurrent vowel mixtures differing in fundamental frequency. Our lab aims to improve clinical measures of auditory function by providing objective markers that may correlate to behavioral results. Objective measures of auditory function are necessary to provide adequate care to populations who cannot respond behaviorally to testing.
              Cynthia Moncada-Reid
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Cynthia Moncada-ReidInstitution:** Harvard Medical School**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**I am a Ph.D. student in the Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology program at Harvard Medical School. I received a B.S. in neuroscience and B.S. in cognitive science from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where I investigated mechanisms of gene regulation and chromatin remodeling in neurons with Dr. Gerald Crabtree at Stanford University with the support of UC Santa Cruz’s STEM Diversity program. As a Ph.D. student with Dr. Lisa Goodrich at Harvard, I am now studying the synergistic dynamics of Maf transcription factors in the cochlea, examining how their interactions at the molecular level drive the emergence of diverse synaptic phenotypes. With molecular and genetic methods, I am investigating how these transcription factors orchestrate the gene expression landscape in SGN subtypes, crucial for translating the acoustic world into neural signals. This focus on transcriptional interplay offers novel insights into the molecular complexity underpinning phenotypic diversity in the peripheral auditory system.
              James Tyler Moore
      Profile photo of diversity scholar James Tyler Moore.
**Institution:** Northeast Ohio Medical University/Kent State University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** Early life stress has been shown to have widespread effects on the developing brain, and in recent years has been linked to persistent auditory processing deficits. My research is focused on the developing primary auditory cortex in Mongolian gerbils and how early life stress may alter the normal developmental trajectory. My current project, supported by the NIDCD supplement grant, uses fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to label subpopulations of inhibitory interneurons that help regulate plasticity and critical period timing. In this way, we can examine changes to these important circuits across early development and elucidate the cellular changes that may underlie how stress contributes to sensory deficits later in life. This work is being conducted in the lab of Professor Merri Rosen as part of my Master of Science degree in neuroscience through Kent State University and Northeast Ohio Medical University, where I am also completing an M.D.
              Thomas Alexander Myers II
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Thomas Alexander Myers IIInstitution:** University of Louisville**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**I received my undergraduate and master's degree at Eastern Michigan University, where I learned to record from single units in the trigeminal ganglion. This brought me to the University of Louisville, where I use immunohistochemistry, calcium imaging, electrophysiology, and optogenetics to study the anatomy and function of specific genetic subtypes of mechanosensory neurons that innervate the tongue.
              Genesis Massiel Nunez
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Genesis Massiel Nunez**Institution:** Rutgers University**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:**I graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in biological sciences in 2023. After I completed my degree, I began to work in the laboratory of Dr. Justin Yao as a research assistant. Our laboratory seeks to uncover the neural basis of auditory decision making and cognition. My research focuses on determining how hearing loss impairs cognitive processing involved in multisensory decision making. Working in the Yao Lab has given me a new fondness for the field of auditory neuroscience, and it has encouraged me to pursue a medical degree with a specialization in otolaryngology.
              Ryan Owens
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Ryan Owens.**Institution:** University of Rochester**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I am a Ph.D. candidate researching the interplay between chemosensory neurons and the immune system in mammals. Our diversity supplement project is dedicated to unraveling the relationship between these two systems. Chemosensory epithelia are primary sites of molecular detection, conveyed through the activity of chemosensory neurons. Concurrently, the chemosensory epithelia act as sites of primary defense against environmental threats, including pollutants, toxins, and infectious agents. By investigating the interplay between these systems, we will gain new insight into how chemosensory neurons, supporting cells, and immune cells influence each other in healthy and diseased states.
              Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku.
**Institution:** Gallaudet University**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:**In my postbaccalaureate training with the Center for Deaf Health Equity at Gallaudet University, an aim is to explore the relationship between cancer worry, cancer beliefs, and cancer screening behavior within the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing (DDBHH) population. This investigation aligns with the Center’s U01 grant on advancing cancer health equity among diverse DDBHH populations by leveraging technology-enhanced approaches and community health workers (CHWs) who use American Sign Language (ASL). Among DDBHH people who use ASL, there are documented reports of difficulties in understanding cancer health information in print, accessing clinical services for screenings, and understanding and following treatment-related directives if screening results warrant a cancer diagnosis. By elucidating the relationship between cancer worry and cancer screening behaviors in DDBHH people, we aim to identify optimal strategies for resolving cancer worry-related barriers to receiving cancer prevention and screening. At the conclusion of this diversity supplement, I plan to attend medical school in 2024.
              Isaias Salgado
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Isaias Salgado.Institution:** University of Texas at Dallas**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:**Hispanic children disproportionately live in areas with limited resources, putting them at risk for language delays that predict mental health and academic outcomes. Ensuring adequate Hispanic participation in research is crucial in reducing the disparities these communities face. The Baby Brain Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas focuses on the interplay between caregiver speech and brain development. My diversity supplement project aims to remove barriers for Spanish-speaking families in large and highly impactful studies. The results will contribute knowledge about the language environment in Spanish-speaking families, helping us to provide families with effective tools to cultivate a nurturing language environment that fosters brain development.
              Lubriel Sambolin-Escobales
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Lubriel Sambolin-EscobalesInstitution:** The Jackson Laboratory**Career Level:** Postdoctoral**Research Summary:**In 2022, I obtained a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences with a focus in neurosciences from Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico. I am currently a postdoctoral associate in the Tarchini Lab at The Jackson Laboratory. Here, we principally use mouse genetics to study the mechanisms that pattern sensory hair cells during development and maintain their organization throughout life. One of my projects exploits a unique spontaneous mouse mutant to investigate a new mitochondrial protein essential for hearing and balance.
              Aracely Simental-Ramos
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Aracely Simental-Ramos.
**Institution:** University of Southern California**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I received a B.S. in neuroscience from UCLA in 2020. I am currently a neuroscience Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Lindsey Schier at the University of Southern California. My research focuses on the molecular pathways behind diabetes and obesity at the level of the oral cavity. Our overall goal is to understand how the chemical composition of foods and fluids are sensed and how these signals are processed in the brain to influence behavior.
              Sydney Tunches
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Sydney Tunches.Institution:** University of Houston**Career Level:** Undergraduate**Research Summary:**I am an undergraduate researcher in the Child Language Ability Lab (C-Lab), where we are identifying eye-gaze pattern profiles in bidialectal speakers with and without developmental language disorders (DLD). For my diversity supplement project, I am studying dialect detection of children compared to one of their parents. To capture real-time visual attention, we use Sticky, a webcam-based Tobii eye-tracking software. I aim to evaluate sensitivities to violations of phonology in both Mainstream American English (MAE) and African American English (AAE). This study will provide more empirical work on language processing in school-age children needed to locate clinical markers of DLD.
              Brendan M. Williams
      **Profile photo of diversity scholar Brendan M. WilliamsInstitution:** University of Texas at Dallas**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:**Individuals with autism spectrum disorders often experience difficulties with everyday communication. Receptive language ability can be impacted by neural dysfunction along the auditory pathway. My doctoral research is focused on understanding the relationship between neurophysiological responses to sound and functional behavior. My diversity supplement project focuses on evaluating the influence of vagus nerve stimulation paired with sound presentation on anterior auditory field sound-evoked responses in a rat model of autism. The results from my research will contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of altered auditory processing among individuals with autism spectrum disorders, and will evaluate targeted therapeutic interventions for improving sound processing.
              John Silvanus Wilson III
      Profile photo of diversity scholar John Silvanus Wilson III.
**Institution:** Boston University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Helen Tager-Flusberg, Ph.D. As a developmental and clinical psychologist, I am interested in studying the neurological correlates of language and social communication differences in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). My work currently investigates receptive language processing in children with ASD who are minimally verbal (i.e., have fewer than 20 spoken words) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). I am interested in seeing how this population responds to stories that contain references to their specific interests. The findings will be used to help identify the neurological characteristics of children with ASD who respond to individually targeted language. This research could potentially aid the development of novel targeted and intensive language interventions for this group of children.
              Jereme C. Wingert
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Jereme C. Wingert.
**Institution:** Oregon Health & Science University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I obtained a B.S. in neuroscience at Washington State University before joining the Ph.D. program in behavioral and systems neuroscience at OHSU. My doctoral research focuses on the neural circuits that support perception of natural sounds in complex acoustic environments. Accurate hearing in noisy settings requires perceptual grouping of dynamic and often overlapping sound features into behaviorally important targets or distracting noise. My experiments combine chronic multi-channel neural recording, free-moving auditory discrimination behavior, and targeted optogenetics. By selectively inactivating callosal projections in the auditory cortex, I will test the role of interhemispheric communication on behaviors requiring grouping of spatially localized natural sounds and on neural coding that supports successful behavior.
              Sarah Jade Woods
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Sarah Jade Woods.
**Institution:** University of Utah**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I am a Ph.D. student in the Cognition and Neural Science Program in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah. I received a B.S. in psychology and a B.A. in French from Southwestern University in 2021. My current research interests focus on understanding the neural mechanisms of cognitive effort during speech comprehension. With support from the NIDCD diversity supplement, I am testing whether measures of oscillatory and aperiodic neural activity derived from EEG can serve as markers of listening effort in older adults with sensorineural hearing loss.
              2022 Diversity Scholars
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      Tose Akinmola
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Tose Akinmola.
**Institution:** Northwestern University**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** I received a B.S. in psychology from the University of Georgia in 2021. I am currently a research assistant at Northwestern University in the Developmental Mechanisms Lab. Under the direction of Drs. Elizabeth Norton and Lauren Wakschlag, I work on the When 2 Worry Study, investigating early language and mental health trajectories with a focus on language delays and behavioral and emotional development. W2W has allowed me to work with a diverse set of families, conduct child and adult language assessments, and run infant and child electroencephalography (EEG) data collection. The focus of this research is to generate a clearer model of language delay in toddlerhood and help parents and clinicians better identify when to be concerned about children's language development.
              Jonet Artis
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Jonet Artis.
**Institution:** New York University**Career Level:** Postdoctoral**Research Summary:** I am a postdoctoral researcher in the **L**anguage **E**xperience and **A**cquisition **R**esearch at **N**YU Lab (LEARN Lab). One of my research interests is the early language development of individuals with autism. The goal of our diversity supplement project is to develop an eye-tracking measure that will assess the receptive language vocabulary of young children who are on the autism spectrum.
              Andoni I. Asencor
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Andoni I. Asencor.
**Institution:** University of Miami Miller School of Medicine**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** The Chaudhari lab at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine focuses on the gustatory sensory pathway which, at its core, involves the first detection of taste stimuli at the taste bud cells and subsequent sensory transmission by way of the geniculate ganglion neurons to the central nervous system. The lab studies these neurons at the molecular, anatomical, and functional levels. My 2020-2022 diversity supplement research project looked at how a new capsid of the adeno-associated virus (AAV-PHP.S) could be used to label peripheral sensory ganglion neurons with fluorescent markers, including in a Cre-dependent fashion to label selective neuronal cell types. We used the method to view real-time physiological activity of selected subsets of cranial ganglion sensory neurons (Asencor, et al., eNeuro. 2022 Jun 6;9(3): ENEURO. 0373-21.2022). I am now a first-year neuroscience Ph.D. student at the University of California San Francisco and in the midst of laboratory rotations.
              Joseph Brower
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**Institution:** Massachusetts Eye and Ear**Career Level:** Undergraduate**Research Summary:** My interest in conducting research in the lab of Artur A. Indzhykulian, M.D., Ph.D., stemmed from witnessing my mother suffer from Usher syndrome type 2A. Having the opportunity to contribute to projects ameliorating the effects of hearing conditions has been incredibly meaningful to me. I have received training in structural biology and biochemistry and have contributed to the lab’s work on characterizing the stability and structural properties of IPT domains 1 and 2 of polycystic kidney and hepatic disease 1-like 1 (PKHD1L1). I have learned how to perform primer design, DNA cloning, bacterial protein expression, and X-ray protein crystallography and have used these skills, alongside others, to advance the PKHD1L1 project and assist with an Usher syndrome type 1F gene therapy project as well. In the future, I hope to continue researching the pathophysiology of hearing-ocular conditions such as Usher syndrome type 2A.
              Michellee Marie Garcia
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Michellee Marie Garcia.
**Institution:** University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** Although higher-order cortical areas are known to extract complex sensory features such as vocal communications, the circuits underlying these integrative functions are still unclear. Higher-order cortices are generally considered to receive pre-processed inputs from the primary cortices. However, recent studies across sensory modalities suggest that secondary cortices may also receive sensory inputs directly from the periphery, bypassing primary cortical areas. As a research technician at UNC Chapel Hill, my research focuses on delineating the ascending pathways from the periphery to the mouse secondary auditory cortex, using anatomical tracing, *in vivo* electrophysiology, and optogenetics. The results will inform us of the circuit mechanisms underlying the integrative functions of the secondary auditory cortex and provide insights into the general principles underlying how higher-order cortices integrate parallel ascending pathways to generate a coherent percept.
              Guan-En Graham
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**Institution:** Rutgers University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Kasia Bieszczad, Ph.D. As a neuroscientist, my interests lie in the epigenetic mechanisms that underlie learning and memory. My work currently investigates how one epigenetic regulator, HDAC3, targets genes in the adult auditory cortex that are involved in long-term auditory memory formation. My findings will provide genetic targets of epigenetic regulation that may be critical for facilitating the experience-dependent neural processes required for behavioral adaptation. Epigenetic mechanisms are likely key to producing the most robust and long-lasting functional changes in the brain, which are critical for long-term memory formation.
              Jasmine L. Hect
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**Institution:** University of Pittsburgh**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I am an M.D./Ph.D. student studying the neurobiological bases of speech processing at the Center for Neuroscience and Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh. My research leverages direct intracerebral recordings across the auditory cortex from patients undergoing monitoring with stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG) for intractable epilepsy to examine the central hypothesis that listening context systematically affects the encoding of acoustic dimensions in signaling phonemes. My work aims to investigate how human cortical response to speech represents perceptual weights of phonemes, and how connectivity flexibly adjusts to represent perceptual weights under different listening demands in experimental and naturalistic speech paradigms. This will establish how feedback and feedforward signaling between primary auditory cortex (HG) and STP (planum temporale) informs the flexible encoding of perceptual weight of acoustic dimensions, as well as how experimental observations compare to neural encoding during natural speech. Understanding this phenomenon at the neural level is essential for building a complete picture of how the brain perceives human speech. Our scientific premise is that next-generation neurobiological models must account for adaptive plasticity—the dynamic, flexible mapping of speech acoustics to perception.
              Jaydel Hernandez
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**Institution:** University of Connecticut**Career Level:** Undergraduate**Research Summary:** Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others. Studies including typically developing (TD) children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have shown that children with ASD struggle more often with ToM tasks than TD children. Our big-picture project is investigating the degree to which the language development of children with ASD can impact the development of their ToM. My specific study further explores the potential relationship between ToM and language by examining the use of internal state language by children and parents, using both manual and computer-based coding of children’s narratives and their interactions with their parent.
              Kennedy A . Josephs
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Kennedy A. Josephs.
**Institution:** Mayo Clinic**Career Level:** Undergraduate**Research Summary:** I am currently a freshman undergraduate student at Duke University, where I am majoring in psychology and biology. During my diversity summer internship at Mayo Clinic, I performed acoustic measurements of diadochokinetic speech tasks in patients with primary progressive apraxia of speech and examined how these rates are associated with clinical markers of severity and regional 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) variables. This work helped determine the value of acoustic measurements as objective markers of speech impairment in primary progressive apraxia of speech.
              Nthabeleng MacDonald
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**Institution:** Gallaudet University**Career Level:** Undergraduate**Research Summary:** I am an undergraduate research assistant supported on a diversity supplement to an U01 grant that focuses on promoting cancer screening adherence among deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing (DDBHH) people. In addition to participating in all aspects of this U01 project, I am working with my co-mentors on a paper that examines the role of DDBHH community health navigators in strengthening the relationship between DDBHH patients and their healthcare providers. After graduation, I plan to take a gap year and do postbaccalaureate research before attending medical school.
              Laura María Mafla
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**Institution:** Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine**Career Level:** Predoctoral (medical school student on a research year between years 3 and 4)**Research Summary:** I am a medical student at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine on a research year between my third and fourth years. I was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and raised in Houston. I double majored in biology and theatre at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. I am spending my research year in Dr. Alexander Hillel's Otolaryngology Translational Research Lab. I am studying wound healing and fibrosis via the pathogenesis of iatrogenic laryngotracheal stenosis (iLTS) and idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS). The goal of Dr. Hillel's lab is to establish the etiology of iSGS by studying the local immune environment, as well as to develop better treatment options for iLTS and iSGS patient populations. I plan on applying into residency for otolaryngology-head and neck surgery and hope to continue translational tissue engineering research in a Ph.D. program.
              Edward Martinez
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**Institution:** Rutgers University**Career Level:** Postdoctoral**Research Summary:** I received my Ph.D. in biology at Rutgers University – Newark, where I was trained as a developmental neuroscientist. My current interest is to understand the epigenetic changes during development of inner ear neurosensory progenitors. The diversity supplement allows me to focus on whether CHD7 regulates non-canonical DNA regulatory elements such as anti-sense promoters when otic neurosensory progenitors differentiate into auditory neurons. Using genome editing tools such as CRISPRi, I will specifically block CHD7 binding at anti-sense promoters and determine whether neuronal differentiation is altered. The research will identify new mechanisms that underlie inner ear development.
              Karen Linares Mendoza
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**Institution:** University of Pittsburgh**Career Level:** Undergraduate**Research Summary:** I am an undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins University. As a native Spanish speaker, I have always been interested in the cognitive neuroscience of speech development and language learning, and specifically in the advancement of auditory learning methods for learning impairments and auditory processing deficits. For my diversity supplement project at the University of Pittsburgh, I am currently working to uncover neural biomarkers of auditory health. My work focuses on using electroencephalography (EEG), a non-invasive maker of brain processing, to analyze the coalescence of multiple brain areas necessary to process acoustic cues in real-time speech.
              Nancy Mendoza
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**Institution:** The Ohio State University**Career Level:** Junior faculty**Research Summary:** I am an assistant professor of social work at The Ohio State University. My research focuses on building resilience in grandfamilies. I am committed to understanding the strengths and challenges of grandfamilies in order to create and deliver interventions that encourage self-care, communication, and empowerment. I am also interested in culturally grounded research and the development of culturally grounded measures and interventions. Some of my current projects include conducting social network analysis to examine the relationship between social support and resilience in grandparents raising grandchildren; assessing the human service landscape in central Ohio as it relates to grandparents raising their grandchildren; and implementing a self-care program for grandparents raising grandchildren.
              Monique Montoute
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Monique Montoute.
**Institution:** Northeastern University**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** I graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in neuroscience. In 2021, I joined the Language Acquisition and Brain Lab (the QLAB) directed by Zhenghan Qi, M.D., Ph.D., at Northeastern University, where the research focus is on the neurobiological organization of language and how language learning context may affect language differences in typical and atypical development. With the support of the diversity supplement, I have embraced opportunities as a lab manager to conduct behavioral and fMRI sessions with children and adults, improve my lab management skills through completing the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) Good Clinical Practice Training, and enrich my awareness in the field by attending conferences such as the 14th Annual Society for the Neurobiology of Language (SNL) Conference. I am blessed to be among such genuine researchers, and I look forward to facilitating crucial research and refining methods that will lend more insight into language differences in diverse populations.
              Bobbie Caitlyn Morales
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**Institution:** University of California San Diego**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** I received a B.S. in biochemistry at UC San Diego, where I am now a research assistant with the Komiyama Lab. Our laboratory studies the activity of neuronal ensembles and how it might change with experience and learning. My research focuses on the mechanisms that govern the plasticity of adult-born neurons in the olfactory bulb. Understanding how behavior contexts affect brain plasticity and memory abilities can impact future diagnosis and treatments of memory disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
              Natalia Nunez
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**Institution:** University of Pittsburgh**Career Level:** Undergraduate**Research Summary:** I am a senior at the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in communication science and minoring in Spanish. I am currently an undergraduate research assistant in the Brain Systems for Language Lab, and my long-term goal is to become a speech-language pathologist who supports bilingual children who have communication disorders. The overall goal of the research project I am working on is to provide a mechanistic understanding of speech sound processing in children who stutter. We are assessing the rapid transformation from acoustic encoding to perception of phonetic/syllable categories in children who stutter. This requires complementary evidence from multiple non-invasive neuroimaging methods, including EEG and MRI.
              Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku.
**Institution:** Gallaudet University**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** In my training with the Center for Deaf Health Equity at Gallaudet University, we want to explore the relationship between cancer worry, cancer beliefs, and cancer screening behavior within the deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing (DDBHH) population. This investigation aligns with the Center’s U01 grant that advances cancer health equity among diverse DDBHH populations by leveraging technology-enhanced approaches and community health workers who use American Sign Language (ASL). Among DDBHH people who use ASL, there are documented reports of difficulties in understanding cancer health information in print, accessing clinical services for screenings, and understanding and following treatment-related directives if the screening results warrant a cancer diagnosis. By elucidating the relationship between cancer worry and cancer screening behaviors in DDBHH people, we aim to identify optimal strategies for resolving cancer worry-related barriers to receiving cancer prevention and screening.
              Ashlan Reid
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**Institution:** The City College of New York**Career Level:** Postdoctoral**Research Summary:** We focus on the maturation of auditory cortical circuitry and the emergence of hemispheric asymmetry in neuronal circuit architecture. Failure to develop hemispheric specializations in auditory circuits is a common endophenotype in communication disorders. A better understanding of the functional connectivity programs guiding healthy development will provide a comparative template to mechanistically examine deficiencies found in human neurodevelopmental communication disorders. I received my B.S.E in biomedical engineering from Duke University and my Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania. I was a postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience at Cold Spring Harbor and am a current postdoctoral fellow in biology at The City College of New York.
              Seth Tichenor
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**Institution:** Duquesne University**Career Level:** New/junior investigator**Research Summary:** I am a person who stutters, a speech-language pathologist, and an assistant professor at Duquesne University. My research interests include better understanding and predicting individual differences in the experience of stuttering (stammering), understanding how adverse impacts related to the condition develop, and determining how moments of stuttering occur in speech. I am currently investigating the role cognitive-affective processes have on speech production and language formulation processes in stuttering and non-clinical populations. I practice clinically and am actively involved in clinical education regarding stuttering assessment and treatment.
              Nicholas Waring
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**Institution:** Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** In collaboration with colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, I am working on a project using sheep as a large-animal model to test a novel implantable microphone for fully implantable hearing prosthetics, such as cochlear implants. Specifically, we are developing the surgical approach and bracing mechanism for implantation of the microphone in the middle ear of cadaveric sheep temporal bones, with the long-term goal of live-animal trials. We are also investigating surgical access to the round window membrane in a specific breed of sheep. After this research year, I plan to complete my final year of medical school and apply to otolaryngology residency.
              Alyesia Watkins
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**Institution:** University of Pittsburgh**Career Level:** Undergraduate**Research Summary:** The combination of functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) with tasks such as narrative comprehension and picture naming has been used to study brain activation patterns in people with aphasia. However, these previous language mapping paradigms were found to be lacking in feasibility, reliability, and validity. An adaptive semantic matching task was recently developed by Wilson, Yen, and Eriksson (2018) to address these issues, and their results suggest that the procedure is feasible, reliable, and valid for mapping language activation in persons with aphasia. My 2022 summer research project focused on replicating their results in an independent data set collected as part of an ongoing aphasia treatment study.
              Brendan M. Williams
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Brendan M. Williams.
**Institution:** The University of Texas at Dallas**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** Individuals with autism spectrum disorders often experience difficulties with everyday communication. Receptive language ability can be impacted by neural dysfunction along the auditory pathway. My doctoral research is focused on understanding the relationship between neurophysiological responses to sound and functional behavior. My diversity supplement project focuses on evaluating the influence of vagus nerve stimulation paired with sound presentation on anterior auditory field sound-evoked responses in a rat model of autism. The results from my research will contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of altered auditory processing among individuals with autism spectrum disorders, and will evaluate targeted therapeutic interventions for improving sound processing.
              John Silvanus Wilson III
      Profile photo of diversity scholar John Silvanus Wilson III.
**Institution:** Boston University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I am currently a doctoral candidate in the lab of Helen Tager-Flusberg, Ph.D. As a developmental and clinical psychologist, I am interested in studying the neurological correlates of language and social communication differences in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). My work currently investigates receptive language processing in children with ASD who are minimally verbal (i.e., have fewer than 20 spoken words) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). I am interested in seeing how this population responds to stories that contain references to their specific interests. The findings will be used to help identify the neurological characteristics of children with ASD who respond to individually targeted language. This has important implications for developing novel targeted and intensive language interventions for this group of children.
              2021 Diversity Scholars
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      Kelsey L. Anbuhl
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Kelsey L. Anbuhl.
**Institution:** New York University**Career Level:** Postdoctoral**Research Summary:** People with hearing loss exert additional mental effort to understand speech (i.e., more *listening effort*), and the resulting cognitive fatigue can have long-term negative consequences for quality of life. The neural mechanisms underlying listening effort—and how hearing loss alters this mechanism—are uncertain. I am working towards identifying (in an animal model) a cortical network that supports effortful listening during performance on an auditory perceptual task. I also aim to explore how hearing loss in adolescence disrupts this cortical mechanism. Results from these experiments will provide a better mechanistic understanding of listening effort and may facilitate more effective strategies for intervention and remediation of hearing-loss-induced cognitive deficits.
              Andoni I. Asencor
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Andoni I. Ascencor.
**Institution:** University of Miami Miller School of Medicine**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** After receiving my B.A. in neuroscience from Boston University, I joined the Chaudhari lab at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. We focus on the gustatory sensory pathway which, at its core, involves the first detection of taste stimuli at the taste bud cells and subsequent sensory transmission by way of the geniculate ganglion neurons to the central nervous system. Our lab studies these neurons at the molecular, anatomical, and functional levels. My diversity supplement research project looks at how a new capsid of the adeno-associated virus (AAV) can be used to label peripheral sensory ganglion neurons with fluorescent markers, including in a Cre-dependent fashion to label selective neuronal cell types. We used the method to view real-time physiological activity of the gustatory pathway. This work is currently under review for publication.
              Samantha Ayala
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Samantha Ayala.
**Institution:** New York University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** Better understanding the sensory skill development that underlies speech development can help inform best practices in the field of speech-language pathology. Specifically, we are currently studying speech sound perception and oral somatosensory acuity. As a practicing speech-language pathologist, I am currently obtaining, analyzing, and comparing data on development of these two skills in typically developing children and in children with speech sound disorders. This information will be used to tailor individual speech treatments for children in the future.
              Savetrie Bachan
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Savetrie Bachan.
**Institution:** Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I am a speech-language pathologist and Ph.D. student in rehabilitation sciences at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. My research interests are focused on stroke assessment and recovery. This includes examining the appropriateness of commonly utilized clinical assessment practices for historically marginalized populations that are increasingly burdened by poor health outcomes. Additionally, I am interested in disorders affecting stroke populations with comorbid motor deficits, particularly acquired apraxia of speech (AOS). AOS is a unique motor speech disorder that is often caused by stroke. Existing motor learning theories suggest that impairment in AOS arises from impaired feedforward commands which leads to an over-reliance on feedback. My research aims to clarify the role auditory feedback plays in spoken language production in people with aphasia only, and those with concomitant AOS.
              Jeffrey Baffoe-Bonnie
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Jeffrey Baffoe-Bonnie.
**Institution:** University of Maryland, College Park**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I work in the Gaudry lab at the University of Maryland, College Park, in the Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences (NACS) Program, where we have discovered that the Drosophila 5-HT7 receptor (5- HT7R) is associated with detection of low levels of basal 5-HT in the first olfactory relay center, the antennal lobe (AL). We have also found that signaling in this receptor mediates a subtractive form of gain control that leaves the AL less sensitive to odors. I perform large-scale behavioral assays to examine the role of 5-HT7R-expressing local interneurons in courtship, aggression, and aggregation using image processing and machine learning. This research will link serotonergic transmission and neuromodulation with sensory perception and behavior.
              Lauren Berger
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**Institution:** Boston University**Career Level:** Postdoctoral**Research Summary:** My work explores how variations in language modality and exposure can shape language acquisition and use. My research programs have included studying how cochlear implantation at an early age might modulate executive function in adulthood; exploring the neural bases of tactile sign language processing in DeafBlind adults; and currently, studying how the quality of language input from hearing, non-native, signing parents might impact vocabulary acquisition in deaf children. With this diversity supplement award, I aim to identify how hearing parents, as new American Sign Language (ASL) learners, can promote healthy ASL acquisition in their deaf children. This is incredibly important because an overwhelming majority of deaf children in America are born to hearing parents who often do not already know ASL and might even be discouraged from learning it alongside their deaf children.
              Amanda Ciani Berlingeri
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**Institution:**University of Washington**Career Level:**Predoctoral**Research Summary:**My Ph.D. training at the Stone Lab in the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center, University of Washington, concentrates on understanding the underlying mechanisms of the inner ear, with a focus on the vestibular sensory systems (the balance organs). My research applies genetics and cellular biology to gain insights into the development and regenerative capacities of the vestibular periphery. Understanding development helps me to probe what is required to regenerate these cells and possibly restore function of the system when it fails or degenerates. My Diversity Supplement research project focuses on deleting genes using CreER systems to study ways to promote regeneration of higher numbers and additional subtypes of hair cells. Sensorineural vestibular disorders affect a wide range of people and are an unfortunate side effect of some pharmaceuticals. I am hopeful that the research I am doing will identify new ways to treat vestibular disorders and guide inner ear research to new places.
              Benjamin G. Cary
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Benjamin G. Cary.
**Institution:** Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Diversity Scholar); now at the University of California, Berkeley**Career Level:**Predoctoral**Research Summary:** Developing devices that can sense, compute, and actuate on the body to cure diseases has always been fascinating to me—seeing how they tangibly help people. Because of this interest, at MIT as an undergrad and master’s degree student, I developed an implantable microphone to enable fully-implantable assistive hearing devices. This project was motivated by the limitations external assistive hearing devices place on the user. Continuing in this vein of research, I have started my Ph.D. at UC Berkeley, where I am developing metamaterial self-assembly methods. This is a fundamental building block in creating new interfaces to the body with materials which can’t exist in nature. With this fabrication method, I hope to develop uniquely-addressable magnetoelectric microrobots that can sense and actuate upon single neurons non-invasively.
              Saraching Chao
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**Institution:** Arizona State University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** My research interest involves understanding the neural mechanisms of speech production and speech disorders (e.g., stuttering and apraxia of speech). I work in the Speech and Brain Research Laboratory at Arizona State University. In the proposed project in this supplement, I will examine (1) how the brain prepares the auditory and somatosensory systems during speech planning, and (2) whether sensory preparation during speech is related to speech production or perception accuracy. Findings from this project will serve as a foundation for developing personalized neural treatments for speech disorders. By completing this project, I will gain in-depth experience with electrophysiological signal recording and somatosensory stimulation techniques. Additionally, this project will provide me with the necessary training and preliminary data to apply for an NIH F31 fellowship application.
              Wendy C. Georgan
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Wendy C. Georgan.
**Institution:** MGH Institute of Health Professions and Harvard University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** My research interests are centered broadly on child language development and disorders. As a Harvard University Ph.D. student, my research through the MGH Institute of Health Professions focuses on studying developmental language disorder (DLD), a disorder that affects understanding and using language. More specifically, my work aims to understand and improve screening and identification of DLD within educational and clinical settings. The goal of my diversity supplement project is to streamline the process of taking and analyzing language samples, which provide rich information for screening for and diagnosing DLD.
              Amanda Hemann
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**Institution:** University of Colorado Boulder**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** My research project is being conducted in the Children's Auditory Perception Laboratory, where current research focuses on improving hearing health care for children who have developmental disabilities. My project is focused on isolating factors that affect behavioral threshold estimates in young children who have developmental disabilities. Our long-term goal is to improve behavioral methods for evaluating hearing in children with developmental disabilities, ensuring timely identification of hearing loss in this population.
              Nigel Hunter
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**Institution:** Harvard Medical School**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:**I am studying the function of the Ms4a receptors in cell signaling. The Ms4a genes serve as receptors for fatty acids in two cell types: olfactory sensory neurons and microglia. To better understand how Ms4a activity affects cell function, I am currently exploring cell signaling pathways downstream of the Ms4as and building assays that ultimately should allow us to identify new ligands for the Ms4as. Our work should shed new light on the function of these mysterious receptors in both the nose and brain.
              Martin “Jamal” Jenkins
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Martin "Jamal" Jenkins.
**Institution:** University of Michigan – Ann Arbor**Career Level:** Research laboratory technician, senior**Research Summary:** I graduated with B.S. and M.Sc. degrees from the University of Michigan, and did my M.Sc. research in the Clowney lab. As an M.Sc. student and now research assistant, I am studying the developmental events that wire the learning and memory center of the insect brain.
              Jennifer Jolivert
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**Institution:** University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine**Career Level:** Predoctoral medical student**Research Summary:** Bitter taste receptors were originally defined based on their role in bitter taste, but they are also expressed in other tissues throughout the body, including the airway and oral epithelium. These receptors regulate a diverse array of cellular responses including innate immunity, cell proliferation, and metabolism. I am studying how bitter taste receptors regulate epithelial cell function with a goal of identifying novel signaling pathways that intersect with these receptors.
              Josselin Martinez
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**Institution:** Northwestern University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I graduated with a B.A. in June 2021 and am planning to pursue a Ph.D. in fall 2023 with the goal of developing early interventions to reduce socioeconomic disparities in children’s academic achievement. My diversity supplement project involves researching language processing in late-talking, English-Spanish bilingual toddlers to improve the early identification of developmental language disorder (DLD) and thus reduce long-term academic, social, and economic impacts on individuals. Most current measures cannot distinguish between delays in accumulated language knowledge and impairments in language learning/processing, the latter being characteristic of DLD. Our longitudinal study will use eye-tracking to compare word recognition and novel word learning for typically developing and late-talking bilingual children at 24 and 30 months to evaluate whether language processing is better at predicting lexical development than vocabulary measures.
              Nancy Mendoza
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**Institution:** Ohio State University**Career Level:** New/junior investigator**Research Summary:** The current opioid epidemic and COVID pandemic has resulted in a sharp increase in grandparents raising grandchildren, also known as grandfamilies. My research focuses on understanding the strengths and challenges of grandfamilies in order to create and deliver interventions that build resilience by encouraging self-care, communication, resourcefulness, and empowerment. I am also interested in culturally grounded research and the development of culturally grounded measures and interventions. Some current projects include an assessment of the human service landscape in central Ohio as it relates to grandfamilies; the implementation of a self-care program for grandparents raising grandchildren and for their grandchildren between the ages of 9 and 12; and identifying risk factors for delayed language development in children from low-income families.
              Chisom Obasih
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**Institution:** Carnegie Mellon University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I am working towards a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience with a focus on auditory neuroscience. My current research project investigates the relationship between auditory selective attention and auditory category learning. We hypothesize that the process of auditory category learning leans on auditory selective attention to direct focus to features of sounds that are most diagnostic of their category membership, making sound categorization more efficient and accurate. This has implications for how humans learn the sounds of a language, as in second-language acquisition. My ultimate research goals are to discover the ways we can take advantage of auditory selective attention to better learn second-language auditory categories to make language learning easier for adults.
              Abisola Olaleye
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**Institution:** MEMStim, LLC**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** My current research project involves the manufacture of cochlear implants using 3D printing technology. The existing manufacturing process for cochlear implants requires hand assembling of bundled micro-scale electrode arrays, which is expensive and labor-intensive. A printing manufacturing process allows for flexibility in the design and structure of electrodes. My work at MEMStim involves the optimization of the manufacturing process, and the development of cochlear implants that can be utilized in animal studies.
              Rafael Ospino
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Rafael Ospino.
**Institution:** Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is a rare disease of the upper airways characterized by progressive extrathoracic obstruction leading to devastating dyspnea. Management is primarily surgical and aims at maintaining airway patency. Although adjuvant therapies are employed, they have shown inconsistent efficacy. The lack of effective medical therapy is due, in part, to a limited understanding of the pathogenesis of LTS. My work focuses on understanding the underlying mechanism responsible for initiating and propagating fibrosis in the proximal airway. Specifically, we study the immune, fibroblast, and epithelial profile of LTS patients using advanced technologies such as flow cytometry, single cell sequencing, and multiplex immunofluorescence. My current project investigates the spatial localization of the pathological fibroblast population in the scar tissue of LTS patients using multispectral immunofluorescence.
              Ralph Emilio Peterson
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Ralph Emilio Peterson.
**Institution:** New York University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** My doctoral research seeks to determine how social signals interact with auditory cortical circuitry to affect sound encoding. Due to the prevalence of social interaction in daily lives of animals in nature, the striking effect the act of social interaction has on brain function, and the multitude of non-sensory signals present in the auditory cortex, this research has the potential to reveal new information about the basic function of the auditory cortex under ethologically relevant conditions. These results will guide future studies in other sensory systems which may receive input from brain areas involved in social interaction, and will provide a framework to understand how communication disorders may be affected by neural dynamics.
              Vicente Andres Ramirez
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Vicente Andres Ramirez
**Institution:** University of California Merced and Monell Chemical Senses Center**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** Chemosensory perception is highly variable among both individuals and populations. From a public health perspective, I explore how genetics, environment, and disease shape person-to-person variability in taste and smell. My current work is about the effect of inborn genotype on human bitter perception, how air pollution affects the sense of smell, and the prevalence of taste and smell loss as defining symptoms of COVID-19.
              Chavez Rodriguez
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Chavez Rodriguez.
**Institution:** Washington University in St. Louis**Career Level:** Postbaccalaureate**Research Summary:** Although many studies have indicated that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for tinnitus, which is characterized by ringing in the ears, far fewer have considered the ways in which various demographics and populations might view that treatment. Our research is attempting to focus on one demographic, veterans, to understand how CBT for tinnitus is perceived and can be improved to meet the needs of that population. Tinnitus is a common service-related health complaint among veterans and can be complicated by a variety of co-occurring issues including traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is our hope that by assessing the acceptability of CBT for tinnitus among veterans and non-veterans, we can begin to identify factors that can be changed to better accommodate this unique population’s needs.
              Liane G. Thornhill
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Liane G. Thornhill.
**Institution:** Northwestern University**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** I am a research clinician in the Early Intervention Research Group (EIRG) at Northwestern University. Since 2019, I’ve worked as an interventionist and assessor on several federally funded treatment efficacy studies under the direction of Dr. Megan Roberts. Our current research projects aim to support and enhance the early development of infants and toddlers with hearing loss, autism, and/or developmental language disorder.As both a clinical researcher and licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP), I enjoy empowering caregivers as they support their child’s language, communication, and play development! Additionally, I am passionate about promoting and increasing access to early childhood services—especially in marginalized, vulnerable, and/or underserved communities.
              Seth E. Tichenor
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Seth E. Tichenor.
**Institution:** Duquesne University**Career Level:** New/junior investigator**Research Summary:**I am a person who stutters, a speech-language pathologist, and an assistant professor at Duquesne University. My research interests include better understanding and predicting individual differences in the experience of stuttering (stammering), understanding how adverse impacts related to the condition develop, and determining how moments of stuttering occur in speech. I am currently investigating the role cognitive-affective processes play in speech production and language formulation processes in stuttering and non-clinical populations. I also practice clinically and am actively involved in clinical education regarding stuttering assessment and treatment.
              Rodrigo Francisco Tomas
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Rodrigo Francisco Tomas.
**Institution:** University of Florida**Career Level:** Predoctoral**Research Summary:** For my current predoctoral ventures, I am a graduate research assistant in the labs of Dr. Jeremy McIntyre and Dr. Karina Alvina in the department of neuroscience at the University of Florida. My current research project focuses on the modulating role of the neuropeptide melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) in the olfactory bulb. With the use of electrophysiology, immunohistochemistry, and behavioral studies, I will investigate the contributions of this hypothalamic neuropeptide in modulating responses to olfactory stimuli.
              Neelima Wagley
      Profile photo of diversity scholar Neelima Wagley
**Institution:** Vanderbilt University**Career Level:** Postdoctoral**Research Summary:** My program of research examines language and literacy in individuals with diverse linguistic backgrounds. Most theoretical models of language and literacy acquisition are largely based on monolingual and hearing populations. Our understanding of neurodevelopment is even more limited, and models do not adequately represent the variability of different populations of learners. This has direct implications for the identification and intervention of reading difficulties and the education of linguistically diverse students. To better inform our understanding, I am motivated to examine children’s cross-linguistic experiences and their influences on brain development for language and reading acquisition. Throughout my research career, I aim to study the reciprocal relations bridging these areas of interest in hearing, deaf, and hard-of-hearing children, and in children with language and reading difficulties.
    Last Updated Date:
      January 17, 2024

  


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