Meet Our Team

Maureen Shader, AuD, PhD

Principal Investigator

Maureen Shader is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and the director of the BRAiN Lab at Purdue University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, a Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) degree, and Ph.D. in Hearing and Speech Sciences. Dr. Shader completed a post-doctoral research fellowship as part of the Translational Hearing Research Group at the Bionics Institute of Australia where she developed a diagnostic test battery to address poor outcomes experienced by cochlear implant recipients. Her research investigates auditory perception and cortical processing in adults with cochlear implants. The goal of Dr. Shader’s research program is to better understand individual differences within the population of cochlear implant recipients and to improve post-implantation outcomes.

Sandy Snyder, BS

Lab Manager

Sandy Snyder has been a Research Associate in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences for the past 14 years. She joined the BRAiN lab in the summer of 2023. She schedules participants for studies being conducted within the laboratory, collects data from participants, directs and organizes the undergraduate and graduate students regarding lab tasks, and assists with data file management and analysis. Sandy studied kinesiology and agriculture economics previously at Purdue.

Eric Rodriguez, AuD

PhD Student, SLHS

Eric Rodriguez is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communication disorders from Texas State University and a clinical doctorate in audiology (Au.D.) from Purdue University. He completed a clinical + research externship at Boys Town National Research Hospital where he was able to evaluate and treat a wide range of populations, including cochlear implant recipients, dizziness patients, and difficult-to-test patients across the lifespan.
Eric’s research interest is largely influenced by his experiences as a clinician. He is interested in speech perception outcomes in cochlear implant recipients, particularly the factors that affect clinical performance. He assesses these factors using objective measures, such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and behavioral measures that are commonly used in a clinical setting, such as aided speech perception testing. In a secondary line of research, Eric looks at barriers for culurally-and-linguistically diverse (CLD) populations and how clinicians are able to overcome these barriers.
Beyond academia, Eric enjoys hammocking, music, and finding creative ways to avoid Midwest winters.

Abbie Mollison, BS

PhD Student, SLHS

Abbie Mollison is a PhD student in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and French/Francophone Studies from Creighton University.
Abbie’s research interests include exploring ways to improve response reliability in neuroimaging studies with systemic physiology augmented functional near-infrared spectroscopy (SPA-fNIRS), analyzing grammar syntax usage in cochlear implant users, and concurrent neuroimaging with fNIRS and EEG systems.
Outside of research, Abbie loves listening to music while painting or working out and playing video games like Stardew Valley and Breath of the Wild.

Abigail Metzger, BA

AuD Student, SLHS

Abby received her bachelor’s degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University at Buffalo in May of 2022. She is currently a second year student in the Doctor of Audiology program here at Purdue and has worked in the BRAiN Lab since July of 2022. Abby is interested in working with adult and geriatric patients to diagnose hearing loss and fit hearing devices. In her free time, Abby enjoys cooking, hanging out with friends from her cohort and watching sports (Go Bills!!).

Victoria Sinfield, BS

MS Graduate Student, BME

Victoria Sinfield is a master’s student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She received both a B.S. in BME and a B.A. in Linguistics at Purdue in May 2023, and is interested in researching the neural correlates of speech and language by means of neuroimaging techniques. Victoria joined the lab in Fall 2023 and currently studies the effects of cognitive load on speech perception. When not in the lab or the classroom, she enjoys getting coffee with friends and cheering on Purdue basketball.

Dakota Carson

Undergraduate Student, SLHS

Dakota Carson is a sophomore majoring in Speech Language Hearing Sciences with minors in ASL/Deaf Studies and Psychology. Dakota joined the lab in the Spring 2024 semester after taking a hearing sciences class with Dr. Shader. They are interested in learning more about cochlear implants, auditory perception, and how hearing aids affect the brain. Outside of the lab, Dakota plays piccolo in the Purdue AAMB, is a member of the ASL Club Executive Board, and is part of Kappa Kappa Psi, the band service fraternity. In their free time, Dakota enjoys hiking, baking, and rock climbing.

Adler (Addy) Kolb

Undergraduate Student, SLHS

Addy is a junior in Speech, Language and Hearing Science at Purdue. She is a member of Alpha Xi Delta at Purdue. She was drawn to the lab due to the client interaction opportunities and ability to expand her knowledge on cochlear implants. Fun fact, she spent her 2024 spring semester studying in Spain! After graduation, she hopes to further her education and get her AuD.

Taylor Teague

Undergraduate Student, SLHS

Taylor Teague is a senior majoring in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences with minors in Critical Disability Studies, ASL/Deaf Studies, and Human Development and Family Studies. Taylor joined the Lab in the fall 2023 semester after learning more about cochlear implants. She has an interest in the effects of aging on hearing comprehension and will be completing an honors thesis project about older adults and discourse comprehension tasks. In her free time, she enjoys reading, going on walks, and playing with her dogs, Bentley and Bodhi!

Fred The Head

The fNIRS Model

Fred was ordered off Amazon in 2022. He then got the addition of a 3-D printed neck in 2023. Fred’s hobbies include wearing the fNIRS cap, watching fixation crosses on the TV screen, and observing daily happenings in the lab.