-Name: Ariana G. Balestrieri
-Hometown: Montreal/NYC
-Languages spoken: English and French
-Schools/degrees/majors: Brown University, B.A. International Relations
-Current year in program: Lab Staff
-Research interest(s): IPA and phonetic analysis, bilingual processing
-Professional plans for future/goals: documentary filmmaking
-Extracurricular interests: painting/poetry
     favorite author:marguerite duras
    favorite lab snack: other people's birthday cakes

Hi, I am Michelle MacRoy-Higgins and I am a doctoral student in the Speech and Hearing Sciences department. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the State University of New York College at Geneseo and my Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. At Adelphi University, I assisted Dr. Lawrence Raphael and Dr. Florence Myers in research examining the acoustic and perceptual differences in speakers who clutter compared with normal speakers. I received my Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology after completing my Clinical Fellowship Year at Heart Share First Step Preschool, in Richmond Hill, NY. I worked clinically for several years in the Early Intervention/preschool population and I currently work as an Instructor and Clinical Supervisor at Hunter College in the Communication Sciences department. I am currently working on my dissertation which is examining the storage of phonological forms in children who are late talkers. My interests include typical and atypical language and phonological acquisition and Autistic spectrum disorders. You can reach me at mmacroy@gc.cuny.edu or call (212) 817-8860.


 

Tara McDonald, MS, CCC-SLP, TSHH

Tara is a doctoral student in speech and hearing sciences.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and her Master’s degree in Communication Disorders from William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.  She earned her certificate of clinical competence in Speech-Language Pathology after completing a clinical fellowship year treating infants and toddlers.  She continues to work in early intervention evaluating and treating children under three years of age with communication disorders.  In addition, Tara works supervising graduate students as they complete clinical practicum requirements.   Her interests include typical and disordered language development in young children.  E-mail: taranyc@hotmail.com

Hi! My name is Yael Neumann. I am a doctoral student in the Speech and Hearing Sciences department at the Graduate Center-CUNY. My general research focus is in the area of neurogenics with a primary concentration in lexical access for production.
Currently, I am working on my dissertation project entitled: "The Brain Bases of Word Finding Problems in Healthy Younger and Older Adults". A common complaint among healthy older adults is the increased frequency of word-finding problems. Research points to breakdowns in phonological processing. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of age on specific phonological substages of processing, namely, sound segments and syllables. An implicit naming task with event-related potentials is being used. Results will have direct implications for neurocognitive remediation aimed at strengthening weakened links of processing with age. As well, findings will serve as a foundation for investigations of clinical populations, e.g. aphasia, apraxia, etc. with difficulties in lexical retrieval for speech production.
Additionally, I've been involved in two other projects: 1) an electrophysiology project with Dr. Valerie Shafer to identify how processing of regular vs. irregular verbs in sentences differs in the adult, and in both the typical and atypical developing child, and 2) a neurolinguistic study with Dr. Loraine K. Obler looking at how adults with either right or left brain-damage comprehend ‘vocal emblems’ or symbolic sounds, e.g. "Shh" for "Be quiet" and "Brr" for "It’s cold".  In this project, our aim is to further neurolinguistic understanding of the representation of verbal and non-verbal sound patterns in the cerebral hemispheres.
These projects are currently being written up for submission to journals. They have also been presented at various international and national conferences, e.g. The Science of Aphasia (Trieste, Italy), ASHA, and NYSSLHA.
Clinically, I work as a speech-language pathologist at a Rehab Center where I assess and treat clients of all different ages with varied disorders (never gets boring!).  My major clinical interests lie in aphasia, motor speech disorders, voice and fluency. Additionally, I supervise graduate students, CFY and TSSH clinicians, and teach both graduate and undergraduate neurogenically-based courses at various universities.

Margaret T. Shakibai

Margaret T. Shakibai has a BA in Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology from Marymount Manhattan College, 2001, Magna Cum Laude, and a MPhil in Speech and Hearing Sciences, CUNY Graduate Center, 2004 She is currently a Doctoral Candidate in the Speech and Hearing Sciences department, CUNY Graduate Center. Her research area is "The efficacy of a training program to teach kindergarteners to detect lexical ambiguities"  
Research Assistant, Developmental Neurolinguistics Laboratory, CUNY Graduate Center, 2001-2005 Adjunct Professor, Brooklyn College, Research Design, 2004-2005 Adjunct Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Marymount Manhattan College, Fall 2004-present
She has a daughter, Nadia Yasmeen Shakibai, born May 5, 2006 [see photo].



Carol Tessel

Baila Tropper received her Bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication Sciences from Touro College and her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Brooklyn College. Baila was the recipient of the Brooklyn College Speech and Hearing Center Project Award of 2005. She currently works as a New York State licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and Teacher of the Speech and Hearing Handicapped. Additionally, she holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. Baila’s experiences as a speech-language pathologist include servicing pediatric and geriatric populations in clinical, hospital, homecare, and public and private school settings. She currently works in an outpatient clinic in Brooklyn, specializing in the treatment of childhood language impairments.
Baila is a Ph.D. student in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is a recipient of the CUNY Graduate Center Science Fellowship. Baila is presently the lab manager of the Developmental Language Laboratory, directed by Dr. Richard Schwartz. Her primary research interest is language processing in children with specific language impairment. Baila is currently collaborating with researchers from the Developmental Neurolinguistics Laboratory, where she uses electrophysiological methods to examine the brain mechanisms of normal and disordered language.
email: BTropper@gc.cuny.edu

Anthea  Vivona, M.A.,M.Phil.,CCC-SLP  

Anthea Vivona is a doctoral candidate, whose research interests are in child-directed speech. Ms Vivona obtained her B.A. and M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from St. John’s University . She has worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist for H.G. Birch Early Childhood Center since 1995. In addition, Ms Vivona is the ASHA CEU Coordinator for Birch Services, and she supervises graduate students at St. John’s University Speech & Hearing Center.   Her clinical expertise is in the area of evaluation and intervention with children with PDD Spectrum Disorders.

Monica Wagner

My primary research interest pertains to speech processing in the cortex, specifically sound and word processing. As a speech and language pathologist, I am interested in the normal development of speech and language. Only through further understanding of the basic process in normal development can we begin to understand the underlying cause(s) of specific language impairment. I believe there is an essential need for researchers interested in speech and language processing to have an in-depth knowledge of auditory processing in the cortex. At this time, only through the study of animal research in addition to human research can we gain an understanding of the complicated issues involved in processing in auditory cortical networks.
Currently I am working on a research project that compares sound processing in two groups (monolingual English listeners and native Polish listeners) having different native language experience. The goal is to learn the effects of the native language experience on the perception of legal and illegal phonotactic structures. Also, I question whether there are categories of sounds in auditory processing. Because sounds differ in word onset and word final, the monolingual English listener in the current experiment may not perceive phonetic distinctions in word onset that they perceive in word final, demonstrating that the phoneme is not pertinent in processing. Cortical auditory processing is largely an unknown and fascinating research area.
I am currently teaching Anatomy and Physiology of Speech at the undergraduate level. I hope in that endeavor, I am instilling my awe of the process of speech and language. For fun, I cook and enjoy getting people together to socialize. My husband has his dream Harley and taking road trips with him has become an unexpected hobby of mine.

Monica Palmieri Wagner, MA CCC
Speech and Language Pathologist
Doctoral Student in Speech and Hearing Science
The Graduate Center, CUNY

Yan Helen Yu

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