#  Alumni 

 



##  Alumni 

 

 

       ![harvard medical school building](/sites/g/files/omnuum5491/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/shbtphd/files/banner_image_20160519_longwood_am_017_1.jpg?itok=gog-W0AR) 

 

 



 

 



 

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Our graduates take on leadership roles in academia and industry, where they work at the forefront of scientific discovery and develop novel biomedical devices and remediation strategies for those affected by disorders of hearing, voice, speech, language, and balance. Some combine research careers with clinical practice in otology, laryngology, audiology, or speech-language pathology.



 

##  Featured Alumni Profiles 

 



  [### Gabrielle Merchant

 ](/people/gabrielle-merchant)

 Gabrielle Merchant AuD, PhD (Entered MIT 2009, Graduated June 2014) With a background in speech and hearing science and research training from Dr. Heidi Nakajima at MEE, Dr. Merchant’s dissertation used measurements in both patients and fresh human... 

 

 

      ![Dr. Gabrielle Merchant](/sites/g/files/omnuum5491/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/shbtphd/files/gabrielle_merchant_headshot.jpg?itok=BD1KEOoY) 

 

 

 

   [### Caroline Niziolek

 ](/people/caroline-niziolek)

 Caroline Niziolek, PhD (Entered MIT Sept 2005, Graduated Aug 2010) Dr. Niziolek’s dissertation with Dr. Frank Guenther at BU used fMRI to investigate the influence of phonetic categories on speech feedback control. After graduating, Dr. Niziolek began... 

 

 

      ![Dr. Caroline Niziolek](/sites/g/files/omnuum5491/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/shbtphd/files/niziolek_color_cropped.jpg?itok=WsYw9NJK) 

 

 

 

   [### Rachel Romeo

 ](/people/rachel-romeo)

 Rachel Romeo, PhD (Entered Harvard Aug 2012, Graduated 2018) With a background in psychology and linguistics, Dr. Romeo was interested in how early language experience influences brain development in children, and how this varies by family socioeconomic... 

 

 

      ![Rachel Romeo](/sites/g/files/omnuum5491/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/shbtphd/files/romeo_rachel.jpg?itok=NdFPZzXx) 

 

 

 

   [### Lara A. Thompson

 ](/people/lara-thompson)

 Lara A. Thompson, PhD (Entered MIT 2007, Graduated Aug. 2013) With a background in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Stanford, Dr. Thompson’s Ph.D. research under Dr. Richard Lewis at MEE investigated vestibular dysfunction and the effects of... 

 

 

      ![Dr. Lara Thompson](/sites/g/files/omnuum5491/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/shbtphd/files/lara_thompson.jpg?itok=fcmXpTsp) 

 

 

 

   [### Jonathon Whitton

 ](/people/jonathon-whitton)

 Jonathon Whitton AuD, PhD (Entered MIT 2010, Graduated 2016) With a background in clinical audiology and research training in Dr. Daniel Polley’s Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Dr. Whitton’s dissertation demonstrated that long-term, audiomotor learning... 

 

 

      ![Jonathon Whitton](/sites/g/files/omnuum5491/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/shbtphd/files/210321_decibel_jonathonwhitton_hires-5351-300x200_1.jpg?itok=Smkws8tl) 

 

 

 

   [### Ariel (Wei-Hsi) Yeh

 ](/people/ariel-wei-hsi-yeh)

 Ariel (Wei-Hsi) Yeh, PhD (Entered Harvard 2014, Graduated 2020) With a background in biomedical engineering and research training from Dr. David Liu at HMS, Dr. Yeh’s doctoral research focused on making base editors, a precision genome editing technology... 

 

 

      ![Dr. Ariel Yeh](/sites/g/files/omnuum5491/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/shbtphd/files/ariel-3017edit.jpg?itok=EZ67qv1h)