Pedro Andres Alba Diaz
Pedro Andres Alba Diaz is a PhD student whose research focuses on auditory signal processing and cochlear mechanics under the mentorship of Dr. Srikanta Mishra. Pedro holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Guanajuato in Mexico and a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the Universität zu Lübeck and the Technische Hochschule Lübeck in Germany, where he gained experience in auditory research. He has contributed to projects evaluating cochlear implant models and decoding auditory attention. Pedro enjoys traveling and spending time with friends and family outside of academia.
Amanda Ortiz-Alvarez
Amanda Ortiz-Alvarez is a Spanish-English bilingual speech-language pathologist and PhD student currently working alongside her mentor, Dr. Courtney Byrd, at the Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research. Amanda received her BA in Foreign Languages and Linguistics, as well as her MS in Speech-Language Pathology, at the University of New Mexico. Amanda's research presently strives toward exploring the lived experiences of people who stutter/stutterers and their families/relevant others to elucidate facilitators of support, adaptive change, and empowerment for individuals to communicate authentically and live life on their terms.
Prabhani Athukorala
Prabhani Athukorala is a PhD student whose research focuses on auditory neuroscience, signal processing, and computational modeling in hearing and communication systems under the mentorship of Dr. Srikanta Mishra. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, graduating with First Class Honors. Prabhani has contributed to projects on EEG-based brain-computer interfaces for communication, motion analysis in neurological disorders, and sensor-based systems for monitoring developmental and clinical conditions.
Allison Choi
Allison Choi is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Dr. Spencer Smith in the Texas Auditory Neuroscience Lab. Allison earned her bachelor’s degree in Hearing and Speech Sciences from the University of Maryland in 2024. Her research interests include using electrophysiology to investigate spatial hearing and conducting translational research to predict clinical benefits/treatments.
Keerthana (Keerthi) Stanley
Keerthi is a doctoral student under the mentorship of Dr. Jun Wang, and works as a graduate research assistant in the Speech Disorders and Technology Lab. She received her bachelor's degree in Neuroscience from UT Dallas in 2023. Her research interests include better understanding the cognitive processes underlying speech planning and production as well as speech kinematics, both typical and disordered.
Xinming Zhou
Xinming Zhou is a doctoral student in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences studying under the mentorship of Dr. Chang Liu. Xinming received her B.A. in Cognitive Science from the University of Connecticut and an M.S. in Neuroscience from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests lie in the cognitive and neural processes of speech perception, particularly accented speech and speech-in-noise perception among typical and atypical populations.
Jilliane Lagus
Jilliane Marai Lagus, MS, CCC-SLP, is a pre-candidacy doctorate student under the mentorship of Dr. Corinne Jones at the Swallow Modulation Laboratory. She completed a BS in Speech Pathology at the University of the Philippines Manila and an MS in Communication Disorders at the University of Texas at Dallas. Jilliane is interested in the thoughtful examination of the neuroscience of the aging swallow using data science techniques to unearth development patterns otherwise undetectable by manual or traditional analysis. A deeper understanding of how healthy humans eat and drink safely well into vulnerable older age will help clinicians determine better interventions that can help prevent or mitigate swallowing disorders and their effects (malnutrition, dehydration, death). Off-duty, Jilliane's goals include walking 10,000 steps a day, listening to audiobooks at x2 speed, watersports, and learning about new languages and food.
Sarah Medina
Sarah Medina is a current PhD student in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, working under the mentorship of Dr. Spencer Smith. Sarah earned her bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from Tulane University in 2016 and her Doctorate of Audiology (AuD) at the University of Texas at Austin in 2025. Her research in the Texas Auditory Neuroscience (TexAN) lab focuses on neural measures of speech processing in noise, spatial hearing, and auditory attention and memory.
Einat Oz Vecht
Einat Oz Vecht is a PhD student under the mentorship of Professor Courtney T. Byrd. Grounded in her clinical experience as a speech-language pathologist, she is dedicated to bridging research and clinical practice. Her work focuses on empowering children who stutter to communicate openly and on equipping their caregivers to support them in doing so. Einat’s overarching goal is to advance therapy and foster greater life participation for people who stutter through communication, advocacy, resilience, and education.
JoLynn Riojas
JoLynn Riojas completed her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. She is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist and a doctoral student under the mentorship of Dr. Courtney T. Byrd. Her research interests include empowering the voices of school-age children who stutter and inspiring change in school-based speech therapy with an approach focused of communication, advocacy, resiliency, and education.