The GaabLab is always looking for NEW MEMBERS. Please email us if you are looking for a volunteer position, internship, thesis project, research assistant position or postdoctoral position. We also provide research opportunities for medical students, residents and fellows!
Chris Benjamin
Christopher received his BA in Arts with honours in Psychology at The University of Melbourne, Australia, and his Phd thesis has focussed on spatial and temporal binding for episodic memory using event-related fMRI methodology. He has recently joined the group to help with a number of projects, including an examination of comorbidity in development dyslexia.
Research Assistants
Michelle Lee
Michelle Lee received her B.A. in Integrative Biology from University of California, Berkeley. During her last year at UC Berkeley, she studied the behavioral and neurological development of fluid reasoning ability in typically developing children, as well as the neural correlates of cognitive control mechanism in children with Tourette Syndrome. After joining the Gaab lab in October, 2008, Michelle is currently working on several projects involving rapid auditory and phonological processing in children with and without family history of dyslexia or reading disabilities. Using behavioral assessment and neuroimaging techniques, she will be studying the relationship between auditory processing and reading development in children. Furthermore, Michelle is also interested in learning about neurodevelopment of children with other developmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder.
Visiting Scholars
Nora Raschle, M.S.
Nora Raschle received her MA in Neuropsychology from the University of Zurich (Switzerland). During her diploma work she was a research trainee at the Music and Neuroimaging Lab of Prof. Schlaug at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Her research included the investigation of the influence of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the auditory system. During her Master's Program at the University of Zurich she gained experience working with clinical and psychiatric populations. Nora joined the Gaab Lab at the beginning of 2008 as a visiting pre-doctoral student from the University of Zurich. During her PhD work, her research will focus especially on neural and behavioral correlates of typical reading as well as children with developmental dyslexia.
Research Affiliates
Joanna Christodoulou, M.A., Ed.M.
Consulting Graduate Student
Joanna Christodoulou explores reading and reading disabilities from a mind, brain, and education framework. She is a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and conducts neuroimaging research in John Gabrieli's lab at MIT.
Students/ Volunteers
Patrice Stering
Patrice Stering received her M.Ed. from Lesley University and her B.S. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in biology and psychology (neuroscience track). She has worked on research projects at UMass, Harvard, UCSD, and MGH and plans to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. Patrice is interested in studying the neural correlates underlying cognitive development in children. She joined the lab in November 2008.
Jennifer Zuk
Jennifer Zuk is a Master's student in the Mind, Brain, and Education program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She received her B.S. in Music Education and B.A. in Cognitive Science from Case Western Reserve University. Her research interests include music and cognition, specifically the influence music has on cognitive development and learning. Jennifer hopes to bridge her interests in education, cognitive neuroscience, learning disabilities, and music in future research pursuits. She joined the Gaab Lab in June 2008.
Beau Kenyon
Beau Kenyon has earned degrees in music composition from Berklee College of Music [B.Mus., magna cum laude] and Tufts University [M.A.] and is an active composer, pianist, and music educator in the Boston area. In addition to his music background, Beau is a trained Upper Elementary Montessori teacher and currently works at Kingsley Montessori School in Back Bay. Beau first joined the Gaab Lab in March of 2009 as a consulting composer and musician. He has since received an internship and is currently examining the relationship between music and executive function in adults.
Cora Smayda
Cora Smayda is an undergraduate student at Northeastern University studying Psychology. She has taken a focus on child development and has gained previous experience through work in intervention and treatment centers for children in crisis. She joined the Gaab Lab as a student intern in summer 2009 as part of Northeastern?s co-op program. Currently she is working on projects that look at neural correlates underlying the development of language, attention, and dyslexia. She hopes to attend graduate school in the Fall of 2010.
Dasha Hentoff
Dasha Hentoff is a senior undergraduate at Brandeis University majoring in psychology. Dasha joined the Gaab Lab in the summer of 2009 and is currently working on several projects involving rapid auditory and phonological processing in children with and without family history of dyslexia or reading disabilities. After graduation, she plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Alumni
Maria Chang
Maria Chang received her BA in Cognitive Science from the University of California Berkeley. She is using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate auditory processing and reading in children. She is also working on projects aimed at understanding the relationship between musical training and reading abilities using behavioral assessments.
Monica Lee Vakil
Monica Vakil received her M.A. in The Psychology of Music from The University of Sheffield, UK with a focus on dual fMRI, examining vocal performance at the level of duet performance synchrony in singers. She received her B.A in Psychology, Music Psychology (performance anxiety & emotions) and Voice from New York University, Gallatin School of Individualized Study.
Monica's research training includes: cognitive restructuring, behavioral rehearsal and relaxation techniques to alleviate performance anxiety, auditory and movement interaction in infants and adults and biofeedback methods for teaching music articulation to children. Monica's research interests include psychology of performance, such as performance anxiety and emotion regulation in singers as explored by neuroimaging and cognitive/behavioral techniques. Monica joined the Gaab Lab in September of 2007.
Angela Lin
Angela Lin is a sophomore undergraduate student at Boston University. She intends to major in Human Physiology with a pre-med concentration. With this, she plans on attending medical school after she graduates in order to pursue her goal of becoming a pediatrician. Angela joined the Gaab Lab for an internship in the summer of 2009. She will be working on studies that deal with the behavioral aspect of children with and without a family history of dyslexia.
Rachel Steinhorn
Rachel Steinhorn is a senior undergraduate student at Bard College double-majoring in music performance and neuroscience. She joined the Gaab lab in the summer of 2009 and is currently helping on a series of studies examining the impact of musical training on language abilities and executive functions in adults and in children with or without a family history of developmental dyslexia. After graduation, she plans to attend medical school with the goal of becoming a neurologist.
Julia Helfenberger
Julia Helfenberger is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Neuropsychology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. She has gained previous experience working with psychiatric populations and is also familiar with various clinical neuropsychological assessments. Julia joined the Gaab Lab for a three-month internship for the summer of 2009. She will be working on various projects looking at language, language development and dyslexia using behavioral assessments as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging. During her stay, Julia is specifically working with pre-reading children with and without a family history of developmental dyslexia.
Arielle Russell
Arielle Russell is a junior undergraduate student at Brandeis University studying psychology. Arielle joined the Gaab Lab in the summer of 2009. She is currently helping on a few of the lab?s projects, including a study of comorbidity in developmental dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Meghan Goldman
Meghan Goldman received her M.A. from Pepperdine University and her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She joined the Gaab Lab in the summer of 2009. Meghan has previous experience working with children with learning disabilities as a reading tutor and is using this prior knowledge to help the Gaab Lab conduct various studies involving children with and without dyslexia. In the fall, Meghan will attend the University of California, Irvine where she will pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology with a specialization in cognitive neuroscience.
Bianca Levy
Bianca Levy is a Master's student in Mind, Brain, and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from McGill University, where she worked as an assistant lab manager and research assistant at the Levitin Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition, and Expertise. Her interests include music psychology, neuroscience, and developmental disorders, and she hopes to begin doctoral work in clinical or school & applied child psychology in the Fall of 2009.
Roman Boechler
Roman Buechler has joined the gaab lab for a three-month internship in summer 2008. He is on the Master's Program in Neuropsychology at University of Zurich in Switzerland. There he has gained research experience in the field of cognitive neuroscience. At the department of Neuropsychology he is doing diagnostic investigations and traffic psychology assessments. Furthermore he is working as a secondary school class teacher in Switzerland.
KrystyleNorth
Krystle is a senior undergraduate student at Emmanuel College studying the neuropsychology of music. She is particularly interested in music and emotions, as well as methods of non-verbal communication. Krystle is currently analyzing music and language data from the Gaab Lab to support her hypothesis that early childhood music training enhances reading and language abilities. After graduation, she plans to continue this research and eventually pursue a PhD in Cognitive Psychology.
Lakshmi Gopal
Lakshmi Gopal graduated from King's College, London with a BA in Philosophy. She studied Sanskrit and Indian philosophy under the guidance of Professor R.V. Potti in Kerala and has published a children's book based on Indian philosophy. She is currently finishing her medical school requirements at the Harvard University Extension School and looks forward to a career in Pediatrics, not only as a practitioner but as an advocate for universal healthcare for children. Looking forward, Lakshmi wishes to combine her knowledge of time tested traditional Indian approaches to health and nutrition with current innovations in modern medicine to create a more holistic and less invasive approach to pediatric care.
Will Jaffee
After earning a B.A. at Oberlin in philosophy, Will taught Biology of the Brain and Bioethics courses at The Gunnery for two years, a boarding school in the hills of Litchfield County, Connecticut. Over the summers he lead backpacking/whitewater canoeing trips in Virginia, but has now moved back up to Boston (his place of origin) to join the Gaab lab and begin his journey to med school, with the ultimate hope of becoming a neurologist.
Merima Ruhotina
Merima Ruhotina is a junior undergraduate student at Cornell University. She is majoring in Human Development with a concentration on Human Biology. She plans on attending medical school after graduation with the hopes of becoming a pediatrician. Merima joined the Gaab Lab in May 2008.
Priya Kalra
Priya Kalra completed a BA in Cognitive Science (Neuroscience emphasis) at the University of California, Berkeley and an M.Sc. in Functional Neuroimaging at Brunel University (London, UK). She successfully completed her field-experience program at the Gaab lab while enrolled in the "Mind, Brain, and Education" program at Harvard Graduate School of Education.
As an undergraduate, she worked in the D'Esposito Neuroimaging Lab at Berkeley, and after graduating worked with the "language group" at the Memory and Aging Center at UCSF.
Her research interests include testing cognitive models of language and reading with neuroimaging tools and the role of automaticity in normal reading and dyslexia.
Franziska Dahinden
Franziska Dahinden joined the lab for a three-month internship in fall 2007 while she was on her Master's Program in Neuropsychology at University of Zurich in Switzerland.
She has had earlier research experience at the Institute for Empirical Research in Economics of the faculty of Economics, the department of Neuropsychology and the department of clinical psychology at University of Zurich
Working experiences include assistance at the school psychological department in Frauenfeld/Kreuzlingen (Switzerland) and her job in a clinical sleep research lab in Zurich.
Lauren Gibson Lauren Gibson received her B.S. in Psychology and Spanish from Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. During her senior year, she was a research assistant for the Pennsylvania Sex Offenders Assessment Board where she evaluated sex offender recidivism factors and the relationship between their actuarial scores and Sexually Violent Predator Labels. She successfully completed her field-experience program at the Gaab lab while earning her master's in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University.
Ghadah Madi
Ghadah Madi is currently a Graduate student in the Radiological Sciences and Protection program at University of Massachusetts Lowell. She received a Bachelors degree of Science in 2003 in the same Major from King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
After her one year internship in Radiology in different modalities (CT, MRI , Angiography, Fluoroscopy, Nuclear Medicine and Ultrasound) she worked in an Ultrasound department in a children's hospital where she performed scans for Pediatrics as well as neonate patients. Ghadah worked in the High Risk Obstetrics' Ultrasound and Gynaecology department as a Senior Ultrasonographer for 2 years before she received a scholarship to pursue her graduate studies.
Continuous Education and Training: Ultrasound center at Krankenhaus Nordwest, Frankfurt, Germany 2005. Vienna international school of 3D ultrasound. GE and Kretz (Austria) on job training 3D/4D Ultrasound. Several courses in Anatomy, Physiology and Physics awarded 108 CME credit hours by The Saudi Council of Health Specialties.
Anja Marwitz
Anja Marwitz is a graduate student in Psychology at the University of Bremen, with majors in Neuropsychology and Clinical Psychology. She joined the lab for a three-month internship starting in February 2008.
She has earlier research experience at the Department of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neurobiology at the University of Bremen. She also works as an interviewer for young mothers with children at the age of 0-2 yrs for the project ProKind (ProChild) Bremen, conducting accompanying research and behavioral testing.
Anja will stay at our lab until the beginning of May and is looking forward to gain experience working with children in fMRI as well as learning about reading development in children.
Katie Klich
Katie Klich is an undergraduate student at Boston University studying music performance. While primarily a musician, she has some background in neuroscience and psychology and is particularly interested in the neuroscience of autism.
Katie joined the Gaab Lab in September 2007.
Christina Lobe
After earning a B.A. in Music and minor in Music Therapy at University Wisconsin Eau Claire,
Christina moved to Virginia where she counseled, supervised, and performed case management at a wilderness therapy alternative school for at-risk teenagers for 5 1/2 years. She recently moved to the Boston area this June and is beginning to pursue her masters degree in Music Therapy and Counseling at Lesley University. She hopes to become more involved with music research over time.
Students
If you're potentially interested in joining the Gaablab as a graduate student, research assistant or intern, please contact Nadine Gaab
