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
Samira Barzegar
Samira Barzegar is pursuing a research master’s degree in Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences at the University of Groningen. With a Bachelor’s degree in Human Movement Sciences, her research interests focus on neurostimulation and human movement, also in relation to speech and speech disorders. She is involved with the Speech Biosignal Processing Lab through an interdisciplinary project under the supervision of Miles Wischnewski (RUG Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, Department of Experimental Psychology) and Defne Abur.
Nicoline te Lindert
Nicoline te Lindert is a master student in Neurolinguistics at the University of Groningen. She is doing her thesis in the Speech Biosignal Processing Lab on the topic of breathing control during speech.
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.
Luyao Wang
Luyao Wang is a Research Master’s student in the European Master’s in Clinical Linguistics (EMCL) programme, jointly offered by the University of Groningen, Ghent University, and the University of Eastern Finland. She is currently completing her internship and master’s thesis at the Speech Biosignal Processing Lab, where she’s involved in a project on the neural control of pitch.
Bachelor’s students
Lora Dimitrova
Lora Dimitrova is a third-year Bachelor’s student in Communication and Information Studies at the University of Groningen. She has an interest in Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences and will be working in the Speech Biosignal Processing Lab for her bachelor’s thesis. Her thesis focuses on the relation between cognitive function and speech control.
Lab Alumni
Thomas Tienkamp (2022 – 2025). PhD, University of Groningen. Speech motor control following surgical treatment for oral cancer: acoustic and kinematic insights.
Blanca Alonso Gonçalves (2024- 2025). MS, Language and Communication Technologies, Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program, Universities of Groningen. Master Thesis: Exploring Perplexity as a Linguistic Marker of Symptoms of Psychosis.
Irene de Nijs (2024- 2025). MS, Clinical Linguistics, University of Groningen, University of Ghent, University of Eastern Finland. Master Thesis: Articulatory-kinematic variability in individuals surgically treated for tongue cancer.
Sarah Medendorp (2024- 2025). MA, Neurolinguistics, University of Groningen. Master Thesis: The acoustic consequences of tongue cancer surgery and the influence of electromagnetic articulography on vowel and fricative production.
Araya Kiros Hailemariam (2024- 2025). MS, Language and Communication Technologies, Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program, Universities of Groningen. Master Thesis: Optimising the Differential Recognition of Depression and Schizophrenia Using Speech-Based Multimodal Temporal Modeling.
Justin Paetzelt (2024- 2025). MS, Information Science, University of Groningen. Master Thesis: Modeling Pitch Sensitivity in Speech.
Teja Rebernik (2022 – 2024). PhD, Speech Lab Groningen, University of Groningen. Acoustic and Kinematic Insights into Articulatory Sensorimotor Control in Parkinson’s Disease
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.
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.
Rachel d’Cruz (2022 – 2023). MA, 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.