Principal Investigator
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Lee M. Miller
Professor – Dept. of Neurobiology, Physiology & BehaviorProfessor – Dept. of Otolaryngology | Head and Neck Surgery Technical Director: UC Davis Center for Mind & Brain UC Davis leemiller@ucdavis.edu : (530) 297-4474 Lee Miller received his doctorate in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Francisco and Berkeley. His academic training includes quantum physics, single-cell neurophysiology, and cognitive neuroscience. He is a Professor at UC Davis in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, & Behavior and the Department of Otolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery. He serves as Technical Director of the UC Davis Center for Mind & Brain, where his lab investigates the neural bases of auditory perception and speech recognition. His goal is to use techniques such as EEG, functional MRI, and machine learning to translate fundamental scientific results into real-world solutions for people with hearing loss. |
Graduate Students
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Brett Bormann (member of Prof. David Corina’s lab). Brett is a Neuroscience PhD Candidate who is using EEG to investigate sensory and attentional processing in children with ADHD. When not in lab, he enjoys riding his bike along with spending time relaxing at home reading and watching movies with his cats. |
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Suvi Varshney (jointly with Prof. Sergey Stavisky and Dr. David Brandman). Suvi is an MS Computer Science student. His research interests lie in the amalgamation of Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing, specifically in smart personal assistants. At the Neuroprosthetics Lab and the Miller lab, he is working on automated metrics for assessing neurally-synthesized speech quality. |
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Tanya Matyushkina (member of Prof. David Corina’s lab). Tanya is a graduate student in Psychology, broadly interested in speech perception. Her current project is dedicated to investigation of effects of cross-modal plasticity on speech perception in children with cochlear implants. |
Postdoctoral Scholars
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Kelsey Mankel Kelsey Mankel received her doctorate in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Memphis in 2021. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in music, neuroscience, and psychology from Central Michigan University. Her research interests include how listening experience (e.g., music training), learning, and individual differences in perceptual and cognitive factors contribute to the neural processing of speech and music. |
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Daniel Comstock Daniel earned his PhD in Cognitive and Information Sciences from the University of California – Merced, and his Bachelors in Cognitive Science from the University of Wisconsin – Stout. He is broadly interested in the role of higher cognitive systems in auditory and visual perception, the neural mechanisms of timing, and EEG data processing and analysis methods. His previous work includes investigations into the role of the motor system in auditory and visual rhythm cognition and timing, the role of the motor system in audiovisual speech integration, and the effects of repetitive non-concussive head-impacts on neural processing. |
Research Assistants
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Karim Abou Najm Karim is an undergraduate double majoring in Computer Science and Cognitive Science, and minoring in Mathematics. He is a passionate student working towards an understanding of the brain and pushing the boundaries of what can be done with it, through augmentation. This interest extends computationally to learning and emulating the mind, and neurologically to the biological interface on multiple levels of magnification. Outside of class, Karim enjoys writing, usually composing creative pieces and critically reviewing novels. |
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Aman Ganapathy Aman Ganapathy is a Computer Science and Engineering major. He is fascinated by data, more specifically the development of tools and abstract structures to better compartmentalize and utilize it. More specifically, he likes reading and developing algorithms geared towards those specific purposes. In his spare time, he likes to jog, play chess, and read. |
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Ashley Bilbrey
Ashley is a Computer Science major interested in cybersecurity. She also leads the Miller lab Augmented Reality (AR) efforts. |
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Sarah Yuniar Sarah is a student pursuing a computer science and engineering major at UC Davis. She loves web programming and making sims in C++, as well as learning more computer and human languages than she needs to. She likes mac and cheese and coffee in unhealthy amounts, and her hobbies include reading, writing, coding, piano, and continuously failing latte art. |
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Tiana Smith Tiana is a post-baccalaureate student with a fascination with hearing and speech mechanisms. She enjoys using her computational and bioinformatic skills to further understand auditory perception and deafness. In the near future, she hopes to pursue her interest in hearing loss in the medical field. Tiana loves riding her bike, reading books, french fries, and practicing the violin. |
Collaborators
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Sergey Stavisky Asst. Professor of Neurological Surgery- UC Davis |
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Dr. David Brandman Asst. Professor of Neurological Surgery- UC Davis |
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Dr. Hilary Brodie Professor of Otolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery – UC Davis |
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Dr. Doron Sagiv Asst. Professor of Otolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery – UC Davis |
| Gregg Recanzone Professor of Neurobiology, Physiology, & Behavior – UC Davis |
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Wilsaan Joiner Professor in Dept. of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior and Dept. of Neurology – UC Davis |
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Jonathan Schofield Asst. Professor in Dept. of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering – UC Davis |
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Elana Zion-Golumbic Professor, Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University |
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Sanjay Joshi Professor of Engineering – Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering – UC Davis |
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David Corina Prof. of Linguistics – Center for Mind & Brain, UC Davis |
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Kristina Backer Assistant Professor – UC Merced |
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Antoine (Tony) Shahin Assoc. Research Professor – UC Merced |
Alumni
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| Jessica Cai |
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| Jan Truong | Ian Chuang | Nandhini Sridhar |
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| Akshita Sharma | Ralph Shehayed | Britt Yazel |
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| Yinuo Qin | Luis El Srouji | Sonja Swanson |
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| Matthew Stickle | Niranjana Jayakrishnan | Aashir Farooqi |
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| Markham Anderson | Deepak Yadav | Fernando Espinosa-Iniguez |
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| Nathaniel Guteirrez | Sam London | Bartlett Moore |
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| Kristina Backer | Tom Campbell | Kevin Hill |
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| Andrew Kessler | Jess Kerlin | Christopher Bishop |