PhD Students

Julianne Alexander (née Frye), M.A. CCC-SLP

Julianne received her BS in Speech and Hearing Sciences and BA in Spanish from Indiana University Bloomington and her MA in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Iowa. She has practiced as an SLP for the past two years, specializing in adults with neurogenic communication disorders. Julianne is pursuing a dual major in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and Neuroscience. She joined the NEURAL Research Lab as a PhD student in Fall 2020.

Email: julifrye[at]indiana.edu

Katelyn Urena, B.A.

Katelyn received her BA in Psychology with a focus in Neuroscience at the City University of New York Queens College. During her undergraduate career, she investigated the effects of statin therapy on cognitive function in zebra finches. During her undergraduate career, Katelyn participated in the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (U-STAR) as well as the NIH-Bridges to Baccalaureate Training Program. She is pursuing a dual major in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and Neuroscience. She joined the NEURAL Research Lab as a PhD student in Fall 2021.

Email: kurena[at]iu.edu

Ellie Birch, M.A. CCC-SLP

Ellie received her BA in Speech and Hearing Sciences and her MA in Speech-Language Pathology from Indiana University Bloomington. She has practiced as an SLP for five years, specializing in adults with neurogenic communication disorders. She has spent the past two years working on the Traumatic Brain Injury unit at The Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana. Most recently, she became involved in research at the hospital and completed training to administer a novel treatment protocol for patients with alexithymia post TBI. Ellie is pursuing a dual major in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and Neuroscience. She joined the NEURAL Research Lab as a PhD student in Fall 2021.

Email: ebbirch[at]iu.edu