Our People

Malinda J. McPherson-McNato

Assistant Professor she/her

I received my PhD in 2022 from the Harvard/MIT Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology program, and I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT and UCSD. During my PhD, I was funded by a National Institutes of Health F31 grant and by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program. I have received the Weintraub Graduate Student Award from Fred Hutch and was named to the 2022 Forbes “30 Under 30” list in science. As a Churchill Scholar, I completed my MPhil at the University of Cambridge Centre for Music and Science. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science from Johns Hopkins University.

Tess Starr

Graduate Student they/them

I am a PhD student in the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences department at Purdue. I received my bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College where I majored in Music and Psychology. After graduating from Rhodes, I spent two years as a research assistant working with Dr. Anahita Mehta at the University of Michigan. I am interested in understanding how people perceive and remember pitch information and music.

Puddle

Director of Treats & Tail Wags she/her

Puddle’s main research interest is how to convince people to give her treats and pets. When not working on her research, she likes long walks, naps, sniffing, and playing tug-of-war.