Researchers at the Spartan Stuttering Lab
J Scott Yaruss, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-F, F-ASHA, is a Professor of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University. He has published more than 125 peer-reviewed manuscripts, more than 200 other papers on stuttering, and several clinical resources, including the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES), Early Childhood Stuttering: A Practical Guide, School-Age Stuttering Therapy: A Practical Guide, and the Minimizing Bullying program (all published by Stuttering Therapy Resources, Inc.)
Caryn Herring, M.S., CCC-SLP is a person who stutters, speech-language pathologist, and a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University. She received her B.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Pittsburgh with a certificate in American Sign Language, and her M.S. in Speech-Language Hearing Sciences from Purdue University. Caryn works clinically with children and adults who stutter and was previously the SLP at SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young. Caryn is the chairperson of board of directors of Friends – The National Association of Young People Who Stutter and co-hosts the StutterTalk B-Team Podcast.
Megan Arney, MS, CCC-SLP, is a doctoral student at Michigan State University. She earned her undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and her master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Prior to Michigan State University, Megan practiced as a speech and language pathologist in the school, hospital, and clinical setting with all age ranges. Megan's research interests include stuttering, specifically the impact that this has on a person’s life, trait mindfulness in people who stutter, and additional components in stuttering treatment.
Jia Bin is a Lansing Chapter leader of the NSA. She is a board member of World Stuttering Network and former host of StutterSocial. Jia has played a vital role in unifying the Chinese stuttering community by participating in the StutterTalk podcast, founding a Chinese stuttering podcast, hosting online support groups, and organizing events. Now pursuing a Ph.D., she previously earned master’s degrees in Secondary Education and Communicative Sciences and Disorders. Upon completion of the Ph.D., Jia plans to combine her interests of stuttering and social communication disorders into a career in teaching and clinical work.
Molly Landers, a Ph.D. student in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State, is originally from the small town of Arnett, Oklahoma. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in CSD from Oklahoma State University, completing a master’s thesis titled “Rootedness and Prelateral Mergers in Oklahoma.” Molly’s research interests include linguistic complexity in stuttering, counseling perspectives in stuttering, and how to support students who stutter in public schools. Upon completion of her Ph.D., she hopes to combine her clinical, teaching, and research interests to help others in higher education.
Amir Hossein Rasoli Jokar, a Ph.D. student in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State, a speech-language pathologist and scholar, hails from Tehran, Iran, though his roots can be traced back to Malayer, Hamedan. Amir is a person who stutters and he achieved his bachelor's degree in speech therapy from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Amir brings five years of clinical experience to the table, particularly in the field of stuttering. He is also the founder and manager of Green Speech Start Up, the first of its kind in Iran dedicated to stuttering. His research interest primarily lies in understanding the experiences of those who stutter and identifying methods to mitigate the adverse effects of stuttering on their lives. Currently, he is contributing to the Spartan Stuttering Lab under the guidance of Professor Scott Yaruss.
Angelica Bernabe is a person who stutters from Peru and is the director of the Specialized Center for Stuttering (Centro Especializado en Tartamudez). She is a Psychologist, SLP student, and Research Assistant in the Spartan Stuttering Lab. She is dedicated to working with people who stutter and training professionals, having presented for clinicians from 25 countries. Angelica won the International Fluency Association Clinician Award in 2022 (Canada) for her work helping people who stutter in South America. She aspires to continue her studies with a Ph.D. and eventually work as a professor in a university. Angelica runs a Stuttering Podcast and a YouTube channel. She speaks Spanish, English, and Portuguese, and she is learning Dutch!
Cameron Martin is originally from Clarkston, MI, and she is currently a graduate student in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at MSU. While earning her undergraduate degree at Michigan State, she joined the Spartan Stuttering Lab in 2021. Cameron plans to work as a Speech-Language Pathologist after graduate school, and she is most interested in working with children.
Erika Mueller is a graduate student at Michigan State University from Delaware, Ohio. She earned her B.S. from MSU with a double major in psychology and communication with minors in cognitive science and communication science and disorders. Erika has been a member of the Spartan Stuttering Lab since November 2020, and she has enjoyed working on the variability of stuttering project. She is primarily interested in early childhood fluency intervention and hopes to positively impact the lives of children who stutter and their families. Fun fact: Erika has been a vegetarian for the past 8 years!
A junior majoring in Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Kate Plymale is an undergraduate research assistant in the Spartan Stuttering Lab. She is interested in stuttering and hopes to work with children in her future career. Kate plans to attend graduate school to become a speech-language pathologist and hopes to eventually work in a private practice. She is from Northville, MI.
Majoring in kinesiology with a minor in communicative sciences and disorders, Olivia Parker is a senior from Grand Ledge, MI. She has been a member of the Spartan Stuttering Lab since 2021. Both of Olivia’s parents are alumni of MSU, so she is a proud Spartan! In the future, Olivia plans to attend graduate school and is interested in working with individuals with head and neck cancer.
Sarah Gundry is an undergraduate student in Communicative Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Cognitive Sciences. She is from Grand Rapids, Michigan and plans to attend a graduate program to pursue a master’s degree in CSD. Interested in stuttering research, Sarah joined the Spartan Stuttering Lab earlier this year. In her free time, Sarah enjoys the outdoors, movies, and playing the violin.
Grace Hetke is a junior at Michigan State, and she is originally from Brooklyn, MI. She is studying communicative sciences and disorders with a minor in business. Interested in pediatric speech-language pathology, Grace plans to attend graduate school upon completion of her B.A. Her long-term goal is to own a speech-language pathology private practice. Aside from studying, Grace loves to paint and drink coffee!
Kori Kloostra, from Clarkston, MI, is a senior majoring in Communications with a minor in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at MSU. She plans to attend graduate school in speech-language pathology, ideally somewhere warm and sunny. Kori’s long-term goal is to provide speech and language services for children with autism and adult patients in the medical SLP field. She has been a member of the Spartan Stuttering Lab and assists with the stuttering variability project.
A senior majoring in Communicative Sciences and Disorders and Psychology, Kennedy Mitchell is from Clarkston, MI. She is also completing a minor in Cognitive Science, and she plans to attend graduate school in hopes of becoming a speech-language pathologist. Kennedy’s long term goal is to work with children and individuals in outpatient care. Fun fact: Kennedy’s great grandma is alive and 110 years old!
