Engineer Lab
The Engineer lab is dedicated to understanding and improving the speech processing impairments observed in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism. Our team is developing potential adjunctive interventions that can increase the neural and behavioral benefits of speech rehabilitation therapies.
Are you interested in getting involved in research to develop new therapies for serious neurological disorders? If you are able to devote 9 hours per week to research activities, please email your resume and current class schedule to our lab manager, Yuko Tamaoki.
News
23rd International Congress on Acoustics
The 23rd International Congress on Acoustics in Aachen, Germany.
Nerve Stimulation + Repetitive Sounds Help Improve Hearing
Thank you American Physiological Society for supporting the important research being conducted at the Texas Biomedical Device Center.
Read the paper
Listen to the podcast
See the press release
2019 CAROLINA NEUROSTIMULATION CONFERENCE
Dr. Engineer attended the second annual Carolina Neurostimulation Conference (CNC) in Chapel Hill, NC in June. The conference featured talks from experts in network dynamics, brain stimulation, and modeling and analysis.
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Awards Over $13 Million in Young Investigator Grants to 200 Scientists Pursuing Innovative Mental Health Research
Crystal T. Engineer, Ph.D., University of Texas at Dallas, will explore a potential treatment for auditory symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. People with autism often struggle to process speech, and experience hearing deficits even after training to strengthen their auditory skills. Using an established rat model of autism, Dr. Engineer will test whether such training has stronger effects when paired with stimulation of the vagus nerve, which contributes to sensory processing. She hopes to point toward better treatment for auditory deficits among people with autism, and to identify brain networks involved in the improvement of sound processing. Read More
Dr. Crystal Engineer and graduate fellow Jonathan Riley present their work at the 6th International Conference on Auditory Cortex
The 2017 meeting of the International Conference on Auditory Cortex (ICAC), which consists of nearly 300 scientists of diverse expertise all of whom work on the auditory cortex, took place on September 10-15, 2017 at The Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, Canada, to discuss and debate new findings in hearing-research and auditory-cortex function. Read More
Vagus nerve stimulation as a potential adjuvant to behavioral therapy for autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders
Many children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders undergo expensive, time-consuming behavioral interventions that often yield only modest improvements. The development of adjunctive interventions that can increase the benefit of rehabilitation therapies is essential in order to improve the lives of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Read More