College of Engineering @ USF College of Behavioral & Community Sciences @ USF
Global Center for Hearing and Speech Research

The Global Center for Hearing & Speech Research is a focal point of hearing, speech and deafness research, including ties with the Departments of Communication Sciences & Disorders, Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, and School of Aging Studies. The Center clinicians and researchers have diverse backgrounds and expertise at multiple levels: research scientists, visiting scholars, postdoctoral fellows, research audiologists, technicians, and students. Through the Center's faculty and trainees, affiliations and collaborations involving the Center represent distinct and varied professional disciplines within the University, across the country, and internationally.

Current and past Trainees & Staff

Dr. Robert Frisina

Name Status Lab Location Project Status
Parveen Bazard, Ph.D. Research Associate USF Therapeutic Interventions for Age-Related Hearing Loss Current
Mark Bauer, M.S. Ph.D. Student- BME USF Drug Development to Treat Age-Related Hearing Loss Current
Dominika Borakiewicz, M.S. Ph.D. Student- BME USF Mechanisms of Acquired Hearing Loss Current
Tobias De Souza Undergrad- BME Major USF 3D Bioprinting of Blood Vessel Tissue Current
Lauren Paganella, B.S. M.S Student- BME USF Molecular Biology of Age-Related Hearing Loss Current
Jennifer Pineros, M.S. Ph.D. Student- BME USF Connexin Gap Junctions and Age-Linked Hearing Loss Current
Mark Thivierge Undergrad- BME Major USF Neural Mechanisms of Hearing Loss Therapies Current
Cameron Triana Undergrad- BME Major USF 3D Printing of Cartilage for ENT Reconstruction Current
Reza Amanipour, M.S. Ph.D. Student- BME USF Drug Testing for Prevention of Noise-Induced Hear. Loss Past
Valentine Barraza Florida High School Student USF Functional Anatomy of the Auditory System Past
Ratka Damnjanovic, M.S Ph.D. Student- BME USF Laser, Plasmonic Hybrid Stimulation of Nerve Cells Past
Kathy Liu Undergrad- BME Major Johns Hopkins Univ. Biological Mechanisms of Presbycusis Past
Melinda Moffitt Undergrad Audiology Major Univ. N. FL Combination Therapy to Prevent Hearing Loss Past
Nate Watson Undergrad- BME Major Duke Univ. Inflammation and Age-related Hearing Loss Past
Sayantani Adhikary Florida High School Student USF Genetic Analyses Changes in the Aging Auditory System Past
Parveen Bazzard, M.S. Ph.D. Student in Chemical Eng USF Novel Methodologies for Nano-particle Stimulation of the Auditory and Somatosensory Systems Past
Carlos Cruz USF Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering USF Aging Auditory System: Anatomical and Physiological Deficits Past
Joseph Dituri M.S. Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Eng USF Cardiac and Respiratory Physiology Monitoring Past
Nicole Febles, M.S. Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Eng USF Tissue Engineering Approaches to Treating Hearing Loss & Deafness Past
Karim Hamidi M.S. Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Eng USF Physiology of Sodium and Potassium Cell Membrane Channels Past
Rebecca Henry USF Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering USF Physiological Age Changes in Auditory Processing Past
Ashley Hinton, Au.D. Student in Communication Sciences & Disorders USF Age-Related Hearing Loss in Animal Models Past
Jared Hirschfield Florida High School Honors Student USF Neuroscience and Behavioral Investigations of Age-Related Hearing Loss Past
Harish Kumar, B.S. USF Masters Student in Biomedical Engineering USF Ion Channels Modulated with Hormone Therapy Past
James Ledbetter Univ. S. Carolina Undergrad in Biomedical Engineering USF Photonic Stimulation of Nerve Cells Past
Carlos Lodeiro USF Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering USF Laser/Nanoparticle Stimulation of Nerve Cells Past
Alexander Malone, M.D. USF Surgical Resident in Otolaryngology USF Molecular Biological Bases of Hearing Loss Past
Lauren Mannix USF Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering USF Molecular Pathway Alterations in the Aging Auditory System Past
Elizabeth Schaefer USF Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering USF Neural Changes Characteristic of Presbycusis Past
Alaa Taha USF Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering USF Neural Changes in Age-Related Auditory Processing Past
Chandler Walton USF Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering USF Genetics of Age-related Hearing Loss Past
Tanika Williamson, B.S. Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Eng USF Neural and Molecular Underpinnings of Age-Linked Hearing Loss in Animal Models Past
McKenzie Watson USF Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering USF Neurobiological Underpinnings of Age-Related Hearing Loss Past
Xiaoxia Zhu, M.D. Senior Bioscientist USF Multi-Disciplinary Determination of the Neural and Molecular Bases of Age-Related Hearing Loss Current

Dr. Joseph Walton

Name Status Lab Location Project Status
Luis Franco-Waite, M.S. Ph.D. Student- BME USF Neurophysiological correlates of age-related hearing loss Current
Elliott Brecht, M.S. Ph.D. Graduate Student in Biomedical Engineering USF Neurophysiological correlates of age-related hearing loss Past
Joshua Halonen, Ph.D. Neuroscience, Research Fellow USF Behavioral and neural correlates of sound perception in a mouse model of hormone replacement Past
Ashley Hinton, B.A. AuD/PhD Student, CSD USF Behavioral and neural correlates of sound perception in a mouse model of hormone replacement Past
Ryan Longenecker, Ph.D. Pos-Doc Research Assoc. USF Behavioral Measures of Age-Related Hearing Loss Past
Andrea Lowe, B.S. Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering USF Neural correlates of drug and noise induced tinnitus in animal models Past
Nicole Wood Honors Undergraduate Pre-Med Major USF Effects of Aldosterone on behavioral measures of auditory temporal processing Past

Dr. Ann Eddins

Name Status Lab Location Project
Natalie Douglas, Ph.D. Ph.D. Research Student in Audiology USF Organizational Readiness to Implement External Memory Aids for Residents with Dementia .
Makenzie Kline, Au.D. Au.D. Graduate Student in Audiology USF Behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of binaural envelope and fine-structure coding.
Amy Murray, Au.D. Au.D. Graduate Student in Audiology USF The effect of auditory training on behavioral and event-related potential measures of auditory memory.
Bryce Romershausen, Au.D. Au.D. Graduate Student in Audiology USF Neural correlates of the binaural masking level difference in older adults.