Principal Investigator

Defne Abur directs the Speech Biosignal Processing lab at the University of Groningen. She is an Assistant Professor of Speech & Speech Technology in the Computational Linguistics department and she is affiliated with the Research School for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences. She received a B.S. in Engineering Science from Smith College, with a concentration in Biomathematics, where she performed research in hearing sciences and middle ear acoustics. She completed her doctoral work at Boston University in the Stepp Lab and focused on auditory contributions to speech motor control in voice disorders and Parkinson’s disease. At the University of Groningen, Dr. Abur’s lab examines a variety of biosignals to characterize typical and disrupted auditory function and speech production using an interdisciplinary approach combining engineering, hearing science, and speech science.

Dan Mu is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen.  Her research interests lie in the areas of psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics. Her PhD project centers on using electroencephalography (EEG) techniques to investigate speech motor control related to vocal pitch. She has also been involved in several research projects focusing on language and cognition with various physiological methods at the University of Groningen and the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour.  

Tony Schelhorn is a PhD candidate pursuing a joint degree at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg in Computational Medicine.  His research focuses on using deep learning networks & feature analysis to understand speech motor control in speaker with hearing loss.

Thomas Tienkamp is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen and conducts his research within the Speech Biosignal Processing lab. His research focuses on characterizing the acoustic and kinematic properties of speech in individuals who received surgical treatment for oral cancer. In the past, Thomas has worked together with the Netherlands Cancer Institute on acoustic changes following oral cancer treatment as well as with the Erasmus Medical Center to exploit lexical features to facilitate sentence processing in people with aphasia.

Katharina Polsterer is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen. She received her master’s degree in Language and Cognition from the University of Groningen in 2023 (thesis: Characterizing auditory-motor adaptation of vowel production across age). For her PhD, her NWO funded project investigates how cognition, sensory function, and aging influence speech motor control. This includes focusing on speech changes during aging as well as in Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Valentine Lucquiault is a master’s student in the Language and Cognition Research Master at the University of Groningen. She holds a Master’s degree in cognitive engineering, and is mainly interested in cognitive linguistics and animal cognition. Her involvement with the Speech Biosignal Processing Lab stems from her work on an interdisciplinary project with Dr. Sanne Moorman (Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences).

Master’s Students

Wansu Zhu (2024). MA, Voice Technology.

Xingfeng Yang (2023 – 2024). Xingfeng is pursuing a master degree in language and cognition.

Jiske Yonne Vos (2023 – 2024). MA, Neurolinguistics, University of Groningen. Master Thesis: Auditory-motor Learning and Declarative Memory Retrieval in Young Adults: Are they Related?

Nikki Hoekzema (2022 – 2024). MA, Language and Cognition, University of Groningen, 2024. Nikki is the data steward at the Faculty of Arts and the Digital Competence Center at the University of Groningen.

Josephine Glenn (2022 – 2023). MA, Neurolinguistics, University of Groningen.

Sasha Chaboksavar (2022 – 2023). MA, Neurolinguistics, University of Groningen. Master Thesis: Adaptive responses to vowel formant perturbations in persons with Parkinson’s disease and control speakers.

Valentina Ciot (2022 – 2023). MA, Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Trento. Master Thesis: Acoustic measures of voice in Dutch speakers with and without Parkinson’s disease. Valentina is pursuing a PhD in the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science program at the University of Trieste and the University of Udine.

Rachel d’Cruz (2022 – 2023). MA, European Master in Clinical Linguistics, University of Groningen, University of Ghent, University of Eastern Finland. Master Thesis: : Impact of age on acoustic and perceptual measures of voice quality.