Prospective Graduate Students
I will be considering applications for doctoral students to begin Fall ’26 in the Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders. You can read about what I am looking for in applications below. I suggest reading about current lab projects and publications.
Current Research: We study communication in autism. This includes language, communicative feedback, and linguistic processing. Additional interests are understanding influences on language and communication development and improving research methods. We collaborate with other researchers who study autistic youth and adults. To conduct this work, we use behavioral methods, including clinical assessment and psycholinguistic measures, and fNIRS.
How I Evaluate Applicants: I evaluate prospective graduate students holistically. I consider all the ways in which applicants’ experience and interests demonstrate excellence and a strong likelihood to succeed in the graduate program and in my lab. Specifically:
- I read personal statements carefully, including the questions that applicants are interested in studying, and look for individuals whose ideas about research questions are a strong match to my own interests, skill set, and knowledge base. I also look for skills that align with our current projects.
- I am unlikely to admit a student who has not previously worked with youth or adults (ideally in research) or who does not have experience in one or more areas, including: clinical assessment, linguistics (syntax), systematic review and meta-analysis, secondary data analysis, fNIRS or related methods, and programming (Python, R, etc.). The only way to know if you like working in these areas is if you have done it before!
Lab Postbac or Postdoc
I will also be considering applications for a lab manager and/or postdoctoral fellow on a rolling basis. Both roles require excellent time management and problem solving skills, as well as the ability to work efficiently and independently. Please reach out by email if interested.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
We generally have a few openings for new undergraduate students to join the lab each year. We encourage undergraduates to be actively involved in the intellectual life of the lab, including biweekly lab meetings during fall and spring to review data, plan studies, etc. We will begin processing applications to join the lab for Summer 2025 and Fall 2025 in April-May 2025. You can complete this form to indicate interest at any time, but we will not consider applications outside of this time period. Please email the lab after you complete the form.