Researchers at the Spartan Stuttering Lab

J Scott Yaruss, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-SCF, F-ASHA, is a Professor of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University. He has published more than 130 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, Minimizing Bullying for Children Who Stutter, and the all-new Go-To Guide™: Getting Started with Stuttering Therapy (all published by Stuttering Therapy Resources, Inc.).

PhD Students

Megan Arney, MS, CCC-SLP, is a doctoral candidate 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, MS, 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, MS, CCC-SLP, a Ph.D. student in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State, is originally from the small town of Arnett, Oklahoma. She earned her BS and MS 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 PhD 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.

Erika Mueller is a PhD student at Michigan State University from Delaware, Ohio. She earned her BS from MSU with a double major in psychology and communication with minors in cognitive science and communication science and disorders, as well as her MA from MSU in Speech-Language Pathology. 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!

MA students

Maeve Lopus is from Novi, Michigan and she is a master's student in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at MSU. Her area of interests are Stuttering.

Sarah Gundry is originally from Grand Rapids, MI, and she is currently a master's student in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at MSU. Her area of interests include fluency disorders, pediatric feeding and swallowing. She hopes to inspire and uplift patients from all ages and backgrounds. Simultaneously, her goal is to advocate for patients and research ways that we can better identify and provide access to, particularly undeserved, populations. Beginning this year, her brother, sister, and Sarah are all simultaneously MSU Spartans! Go Green! Sarah's been with the Spartan Stuttering Lab since her freshman year of undergrad, and she's excited to work on further projects throughout my graduate career!

A master's student in Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Kate Plymale is a member of the Spartan Stuttering Lab. She is interested in stuttering and hopes to work with children in her future career. Kate plans to become a speech-language pathologist and hopes to eventually work in a private practice. She is from Northville, MI.

BA/BS students

Edona Prenaj is originally from Okemos, MI. Majoring in Communicative Sciences and Disorders and minoring in Cognitive Sciences and Leadership in Integrated Learning, she plans to attend graduate school. She has an interest in both Speech Pathology and Audiology, and she has not yet decided which career path she wants to pursue. She is Albanian, but her family is from Kosovo, and Dua Lipa and she share the same meaning behind their names.

Lily Slater is originally from Grand Blanc, Michigan. She is majoring in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at MSU. She plans to go to graduate school to become a speech-language pathologist. She is very interested in fluency disorders, particularly cluttering. Other than that, she would love to end up working as a medical SLP.

Bailey Marino is majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Business. She is from White Lake, MI. She plans to attend SLP grad school either in Michigan or Chicago. She is interested in working with kids after grad school in either a private practice or another setting!

Natalie Husson is majoring in Communicative Sciences and Disorders, and she is from Marysville, MI. She plans to go to Graduate school to get her masters in Speech Language Pathology. She is interested in working with children in a clinical setting. Since she started working at the SSL, she loves learning about the effects of stuttering variability. With what she has been exposed to in her courses, she would love to work in a pediatric clinical setting. Fun fact about her, she transferred to MSU her junior year because she played volleyball on scholarship at a community college.

Amber Tetreau is an undergraduate student from Port Huron, Michigan. She is a major in communication sciences and disorders and has a minor in Spanish. After her undergrad, she hopes to further research disorder variability and treatment. After graduation, she hopes to work as an SLP. She is most interested in developmental and neurological disorders. She is a competitive powerlifter in her free time.

Emma Buckley is from Rochester Hills, MI. She is majoring in Communicative Sciences and Disorders and a minor in Educational Studies. Emma plans to attend graduate school to receive her master's in Speech Pathology. Her long-term goal is to work as a speech-language pathologist in the schools.

Lexi Cickovski is originally from Walled Lake, Michigan. She is majoring in communicative sciences and disorders and minoring in Cognitive Science. She plans to attend grad school for speech pathology and work with children in a school setting. She studied abroad in London last summer.

Alyssa Hurley is a sophomore with a major in Communicative Sciences and Disorders and with a minor in Cognitive Science. she is originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota. She plans to graduate school in speech-language pathology. A fun fact about her that she is has been a figure skater since she was 3!

Kristen May is an undergraduate student in the Spartan Stuttering Lab. She is from Traverse City, Michigan. Her major is Communication. Her plans after graduation are to potentially get a Master's/PhD in Speech Language Pathology. She is very interested in learning more about what happens in the brain during stuttering and what parts of the brain are involved. She is also very passionate about working with young kids who have stutters and positively impacting their lives. She loves to spend time outdoors and read in her free time.

Alumni

Caryn Herring, PhD, CCC-SLP is a person who stutters, speech-language pathologist, and received her doctoral degree at Michigan State University. She received her BA in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Pittsburgh with a certificate in American Sign Language, and her MS 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 the board of directors of Friends – The National Association of Young People Who Stutter and co-hosts the StutterTalk B-Team Podcast.

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!