Talk to a Ph.D. Student
Our Current Ph.D. Students who have agreed to provide further information on the Program
You may email these students to discuss the program.
- Raghav Jha (Audiology)
jharh@dukes.jmu.edu - Rebecca Jones (Speech-Language Pathology)
jone22rm@jmu.edu

Husna Firdose
First Year Student
Advisor: Dr. Ayasakanta Rout
Education:
All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru, India, BSc, Speech and Hearing, 2013.
All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru, India, MSc, Audiology, 2015
Research Interests:
- Cognition and hearing loss.
- Measures to improve hearing aid benefit and satisfaction in different auditory disorders.
- Amplification outcome measures.
- Signal processing strategies and impact on speech perception skills.
Other Interests: In my leisure time like to spend time with my lovely kid and enjoy cooking.

Kiera Berggren
Third year student
Advisor: Dr. Erin Kamarunas
Education:
Undergraduate: Lewis and Clark College, BS, Chemistry
Master’s degree: University of Oregon, MS, Chemistry
2nd Master’s degree: SUNY College at Plattsburgh, MA, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Research Interests:
- Dysphagia
- Dysarthria
- Neuromuscular diseases (including cognition)
- Language Development
Other Interests: cycling, paddling, traveling, and volunteering with the symphony.

Preeti Pandey
First Year Student
Advisor: Dr. Ayasakanta Rout
Education:
Masters in Audiology (MSc. Audiology), All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, 2016
Bachelors in Speech and Hearing (BSc sp.& hg.), All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, 2014
Research Interests:
- Speech Perception in Hearing Impaired
- Improving Signal Processing in Hearing Aids
- Ecological Assessment of Hearing Aids

Raghav H Jha
Second Year student
Advisor: Dr. Erin Piker
Education:
Masters in Audiology (MSc. Audiology), All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, 2016
Undergraduate degree: Bachelors in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology (B.ASLP), 2014
Research Interests:
- Vestibular physiology and diagnostics
- Psychophysics of vestibular system
- Auditory neurophysiology

Faith Frost
Advisor: Dr. Emily Zane
Education:
University of Montevallo, B.S. Speech-Language Pathology 2017
University of South Alabama, M.S. CCC-SLP 2019
Research Interests:
- Autism
- Pragmatics
- Language
- Neurodiversity
Other Interests: Watching movies and traveling with my husband

Kelsey Murray
Second Year PhD Student:
Advisor: Dr. Erin Kamarunas
Education:
2012 University of Mississippi, B.A. English (Minor Social Studies)
2013 University of Mississippi, B.S. Communication Sciences and Disorders (Minor English)
2014 University of Southern Mississippi, M.S. Deaf Education concentration in Early Oral Invention
2016 Western Kentucky University, M.S. Speech-Language Pathology
Research Interests:
- Adult Dysphagia
- Auditory Perception/Processing
Other Interests: Family time with her husband, daughter, and puppy dog, All things Disney, Coffee

Shiree Conlin Harbick
Fourth Year Student
Advisor: Dr. Rory DePaolis
Education:
Undergraduate degree: James Madison University, B.S. CSD 1996
James Madison University M.S. Speech-Pathology 1997
Research Interests:
- Early Intervention
- Preventive Programming for Environmentally at-risk Infants
- Infant Language Development
- Clinical Education-Community Partnership Models