Defne Abur 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, she examines a variety of biosignals to characterize typical and disrupted auditory and speech function using an interdisciplinary approach combining engineering, hearing science, and speech science.
Doctoral Researchers
Susanna Girino
Susanna Girino is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen and the University Medical Center Groningen. She obtained her Master’s degree in Neuroscience and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation from the University of Padova in 2025. She is affiliated with the Speech Biosignal Processing Lab and the Department of Human Movement Sciences. Her PhD research, funded by a Young Academy Groningen PhD Award, investigates motor learning and control in Parkinson’s disease, contributing to the broader goal of identifying early motor biomarkers to support diagnosis and treatment. Her PhD project is supervised by Defne Abur, Riemer Vegter, and Han Houdijk.
Valentine Lucquiault
Valentine Lucquiault is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen. She holds Master’s degrees in cognitive engineering (2024) and in Language and Cognition (2025). She completed her second master thesis in the Speech Biosignal Processing Lab (Sensorimotor Control of Pitch across Age in Adulthood). She has continued her work in the lab as a PhD researcher with an NWO funded project, which investigates the relationship between body-level and speech-level rhythm control. Her PhD project is supervised by Defne Abur and Martijn Wieling.
Dan Mu
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 the neural mechanisms underlying speech processing. 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. Her PhD project is supervised by Frank Tsiwah, Defne Abur, and Martijn Wieling.
Katharina Polsterer
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. She completed her master thesis in the Speech Biosignal Processing Lab (Characterizing auditory-motor adaptation of vowel production across age). She has continued her work in the lab as a PhD researcher with an NWO funded project, which investigates how cognition, sensory function, and aging influence speech motor control. The project includes assessing how speech changes during aging, as well as in Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Her PhD project is supervised by Defne Abur and Martijn Wieling.
Tony Schelhorn
Tony Schelhorn is a PhD candidate pursuing a joint degree at Friedrich-Alexander Universitat Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) in Computational Medicine. His research focuses on using deep learning networks & feature analysis to understand speech motor control in speakers with hearing loss. His PhD project is supervised by Michael Döllinger and Ulrich Hoppe (FAU) with Defne Abur and Martijn Wieling (University of Groningen).
Master’s Students
Bomiao Zhang
Bomiao Zhang is a student in the European Master’s in Clinical Linguistics (EMCL) programme, a joint programme offered by universities of Groningen, Ghent and Eastern Finland. His research focuses on phonetic and prosodic analysis of speech in clinical populations, particularly in Parkinson’s Disease. He will be completing his internship and master’s thesis at the Speech Biosignal Processing Lab.
Lora Dimitrova
Lora Dimitrova is a research master student in Language and Cognition at the University of Groningen. She has an interest in Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences and her work in the Speech Biosignal Processing Lab focuses on the relationship between speech and cognitive changes.
Meike Meertens
Meike Meertens is doing a research master in Language and Cognition at University of Groningen and works as a student assistant for the Center of Language and Cognition Groningen. Her main interests are in phonetics and clinical linguistics. Meike assists with data collection and recruitment in the lab.
Lab Alumni
Samira Barzegar (2024 – 2026). MS, Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences. University of Groningen.
Luyao Wang (2025- 2026). MS, Clinical Linguistics, University of Groningen, University of Ghent, University of Eastern Finland.
Nicoline de Lindert (2025- 2026). MA, Neurolinguistics, University of Groningen.
Lora Dimitrova (2025- 2026). BA, Communication and Information Studies, University of Groningen.
Thomas Tienkamp (2022 – 2025). PhD, Speech Lab Groningen, University of Groningen.
Blanca Alonso Gonçalves (2024- 2025). MS, Language and Communication Technologies, Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program, Universities of Groningen.
Irene de Nijs (2024- 2025). MS, Clinical Linguistics, University of Groningen, University of Ghent, University of Eastern Finland.
Sarah Medendorp (2024- 2025). MA, Neurolinguistics, University of Groningen.
Araya Kiros Hailemariam (2024- 2025). MS, Language and Communication Technologies, Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program, Universities of Groningen.
Valentine Lucquiault (2023 – 2025). MA, Language and Cognition, University of Groningen.
Justin Paetzelt (2024- 2025). MS, Information Science, University of Groningen.
Teja Rebernik (2022 – 2024). PhD, Speech Lab Groningen, University of Groningen.
Wansu Zhu (2024). MA, Voice Technology.
Xingfeng Yang (2023 – 2024). MA, Language and Cognition, University of Groningen.
Jiske Yonne Vos (2023 – 2024). MA, Neurolinguistics, University of Groningen.
Nikki Hoekzema (2022 – 2024). MA, Language and Cognition, University of Groningen.
Josephine Glenn (2022 – 2023). MA, Neurolinguistics, University of Groningen.
Sasha Chaboksavar (2022 – 2023). MA, Neurolinguistics, University of Groningen.
Valentina Ciot (2022 – 2023). MA, Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Trento.
Katharina Polsterer (2022 – 2023). MA, Language and Cognition, University of Groningen.
Rachel d’Cruz (2022 – 2023). MA, Clinical Linguistics, University of Groningen, University of Ghent, University of Eastern Finland.