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 postdoctoral research with Drs. John Houde and Srikantan Nagarajan at UCSF, where she used MEG to study the dynamics of speech feedback control, finding evidence for corrective movements even in “correct” speech. She was awarded an NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) to extend this work to individuals with aphasia under the mentorship of Dr. Swathi Kiran at Boston University. In 2017, Dr. Niziolek began a faculty position at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she directs the Brain, Language, & Acoustic Behavior Lab. Her lab uses neuroimaging and acoustic analyses to characterize the sensory representations of speech goals, and to leverage mechanisms of feedback control to increase speech intelligibility in individuals with communication disorders.