Team

Irina Castellanos, PhD; Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery
Courtesy Assistant Professor of Speech and Hearing Science

Dr. Castellanos joined the faculty at The Ohio State University College of Medicine in 2016. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Science from Florida International University, where she was trained in multisensory perception. Dr. Castellanos then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Indiana University School of Medicine, where she focused on how neurocognitive systems are impacted by a period of early auditory deprivation in deaf children who use cochlear implants as a treatment for profound deafness. Her research seeks to explain how underlying neurocognitive processes (in particular, executive functions) regulate and contribute to the large individual differences observed in critical quality-of-life outcomes following cochlear implantation. Dr. Castellanos’ work is currently funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Students
Jessica Lewis, BA, Graduate Student: Jessie joined our lab in August 2018 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science and a clinical doctorate in Audiology. She will spend her 4th year clinical + research externship at Boy’s Town National Research Hospital. Jessie’s research interests include effortful listening and neurocognitive processes in adult cochlear implant users.

Courtney Melick, Lab Manager: Courtney joined our lab in the summer of 2019 and is currently leading our team as the lab manager. She will be graduating with a degree in biochemistry in the Fall of 2021. Courtney works extensively on a project examining how different directives from mothers facilitates language development in children. Courtney plans to pursue a dual AuD/PhD in Audiology.

Leah Espinal: Leah joined our lab in the summer of 2019 and is interested in hot executive functioning. She is pursuing a degree in Public Health with a Pre-Med concentration. Leah supports the community as a Pastoral Aid and volunteers at Physicians Care Connection.

 

New lab members (summer 2021): Emma Rohrs, Yuehe (Anna) Wang, and MacKenzie Peterson.

Alumni
Maria Zulliger, previous STEP Fellow: Maria joined our lab in July 2017 and completed her STEP Signature Project on Facilitative Language Techniques in the Spring of 2018. She graduated with a degree in Nutrition Sciences with a pre-dental specialization.

Helen Mitchell: Helen joined our lab in the summer of 2018. She graduated with a degree in Neuroscience with a minor in Flute performance.

Jillian Harrington, previous Senior RA: Jillian joined our lab in June 2017 and defended her undergraduate thesis project examining maternal linguistic input in the Spring of 2019. She graduated with a degree in Biology and was accepted into the College of Nursing at OSU.

Gina Vivino: Gina graduated with a degree in Neuroscience. At our lab, Gina worked on projects related to children’s language development and how research can be implemented into clinical practice. Gina was accepted into Medical school in 2019.

Julianne Peacock: Julianne graduated with a degree in Biology major with a pre-health specialization. At our lab, she worked on projects related to behavioral regulation and early language development.

Jake Sawyer, previous Senior RA: Jake joined our lab in January of 2019 and defended his undergraduate thesis project examining hot executive functioning in the Spring of 2020. He graduated with a degree in Neuroscience and was accepted into Medical School in 2020.

Chloe Lammers: Chloe joined our lab in the Spring of 2020. She worked on two projects: linguistic transcriptions of maternal input and behavioral coding of hot executive functioning. She graduated with a degree in Speech and Hearing Science and was accepted into OSU’s AuD program in 2021.

Aayush Sharma, previous Senior RA: Aayush joined our lab the summer of his freshman year and worked with us throughout his OSU undergraduate career. He defended his undergraduate honors thesis project examining the association between sleep routine and executive functioning in the Spring of 2021. Aayush graduated with a degree in Neuroscience and was accepted into Medical School in 2021.

Natalie Safdar, AuD, previous Graduate Student: Natalie joined our lab in May 2017 and began her first year as an Audiology graduate student in the fall of 2017. Her professional interests include pediatrics, cochlear implants, and speech-language outcomes in children with cochlear implants. Natalie completed her 4th year clinical externship in Pediatric Audiology at UNC Medical Center Chapel Hill. She graduated with clinical doctorate in Audiology in the Spring of 2021 and recently accepted a Clinical Faculty position  at Eastern Carolina University!

Collaborators
Jodi Ford, PhD, RN; The Ohio State University College of Nursing
David B. Pisoni, PhD; Indiana University, Bloomington
William G. Kronenberger, PhD; Indiana University School of Medicine
Derek M. Houston, PhD; The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Chen Yu, PhD; The University of Texas at Austin
Aaron C. Moberly, MD; The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Rachael Holt, PhD; The Ohio State University