Research Team

Julius Fridriksson is a professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and a SmartState Endowed Chair of Memory and Brain Functioning. He graduated from the Sudurnes Community College (Iceland) with a university preparatory degree (studentsprof) and later completed his M.A. in speech pathology at the University of Central Florida. He then received a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in Speech and Hearing Sciences in 2001. Following completion of Ph.D. study, Dr. Fridriksson joined the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of South Carolina.  In 2016, he received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop the Center for the Study of Aphasia Recovery (C-STAR).  He is currently serving as the Vice President of Research at the University of South Carolina.

Leonardo Bonilha, M.D.-Ph.D., a physician scientist and professor of neurology, is the Director for the University of South Carolina Brain Health Program and Senior Associate Dean for Research at the USC School of Medicine in Columbia. Bonilha’s areas of expertise include brain health, aphasia, epilepsy, seizures and language. His research focuses on understanding structural and functional network adaptations to brain injury, particularly regarding language impairments after stroke. Additionally, his studies include neuronal networks associated with epilepsy and their response to treatment. He has participated in four clinical trials within the past 15 years and his research has been featured in more than 300 peer reviewed articles.

Dirk den Ouden is an Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders. His background is in formal linguistics, but he has worked on natural and disordered language use for over 25 years. Dirk directs the Neurolinguistics Lab and co-manages the Aphasia Lab at USC. His research interest lies in the relation between language representations and language use, and in how their interplay is affected in language disorders. He has combined models based on linguistic theory with psycho- and neurolinguistic evidence in the investigation of language processing and impairment, particularly in the domains of phonology and syntax.

Sarah Newman-Norlund is the Associate Research Director and leads the Aging Brain Cohort (ABC) which is a research team dedicated to understanding the factors influencing brain health across the adult lifespan. She graduated from Mary Washington College (VA) with a B.A. in Psychology (2001) and earned her Master’s in Psychological and Brain Sciences (2003) from Dartmouth College.  Sarah moved to Columbia, SC with her husband Roger in 2009 from the Netherlands where she worked on an international research project looking at communicative intentions and the brain. She has dedicated her career to research in multiple domains including cancer research, communication, cognition, neuroscience, and pediatric medicine.  Everything is better with teamwork, and she loves being a part of ABC and C-STAR.  Sarah also enjoys spending time with her three children, hiking, baking, making jewelry, and walking her dog, Bella.

Roger Newman-Norlund is a cognitive neuroscientist interested in how the brain supports language production and comprehension. As a graduate student at Dartmouth College he mapped brain changes accompanying sound and gesture-based second language acquisition. As part of the Aphasia Lab at the University of South Carolina he uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to understand how the brain changes as people get older, as well as how the brain adapts following traumatic events. He has over a decade of experience in the application of computer technology-based training interventions designed to develop communication skills in clinical populations including stroke, traumatic brain injury and autism.

Chris Rorden holds the Endowed Chair in Neuroimaging at the University of South Carolina’s Department of Psychology. He co-directs the McCausland Center for Brain Imaging. Chris began his training as an undergraduate at the University of California in San Diego before completing a PhD in Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge in England. He then worked as a post-doctoral scientist at Birkbeck College, the British Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and at University College London. He has previously served as a tenured faculty member at the University of Nottingham and Georgia Institute of Technology. He currently holds adjunct positions at Favaloro University and University of Tübingen. A hallmark of his work is a close collaboration with clinicians, using recent advances in brain imaging and brain stimulation to understand medically significant questions. He has developed some of the most popular tools in his field for visualizing and analyzing these data (for example MRIcroGL, Surf Ice and dcm2nii). These tools are all made freely available, allowing other teams to exploit these methods.

Ben Fisher is the Program and Data Resource Manager for the Aging Brain Cohort. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Emory University in African Studies and Journalism and completed graduate coursework in Gender Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. His experience working in public health programs, research programs and advocacy organizations inspired his passion for data quality. In his free time, he enjoys reading fiction and non-fiction, listening to podcasts, and watching crime and suspense thrillers on Amazon Prime, Acorn, and BritBox in his free time.

Kelli Powell is the Administrative Assistant for the Aging Brain Cohort. She has a B.S. in Business Administration & Management Science from the Darla Moore School of Business at USC. Although originally from southwest Florida, Kelli has called Columbia, SC home since obtaining her degree. In her free time, she loves to travel with her family but can usually be found at a baseball game or Gamecock sporting event.

Celestine Williams is the Research Program Manager for the Aging and Brain Cohort. She graduated with a BS in Psychology from Augusta University. She then went on to complete her MS in Experimental Psychology, after which she worked at the Georgia Prevention Institute at Augusta University on various studies involving exercise intervention and childhood academic performance in overweight/obese and ADHD children, Vitamin K supplementation in adults and children, and blood pressure effects on cognition and epigenetics in adults with a history of hypertension and in twins. Most recently, she completed a second MS in Epidemiology and for fun, she sings in three community choirs, reads, and plays videogames.

Natalie (Busby) Hetherington, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow from the UK where she earned both her B.S. in Psychology and Biology and M.Res. in Neuroscience from Newcastle University. She graduated with her doctoral degree from the Neuroscience and Aphasia Unit at the University of Manchester at the end of last year before moving to SC. Her research interests include using neuroimaging, in particular structural connectivity, to investigate language recovery post-stroke. In her spare time, Natalie enjoys travelling and photography.

Nicholas Riccardi, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow. Nick graduated with a B.A. in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina. He then completed his Ph.D. in 2023 at the University of South Carolina, where he used neuroimaging and neurostimulation to study how language is organized in the brain. Nick also uses neuroimaging to understand the neural correlates of language impairments post-stroke. He now works primarily with the Aging Brain Cohort, where his focus is on investigating brain health and cognition across the lifespan. He continues to collaborate with the Aphasia Lab and is part of an ongoing effort to establish a South Carolina Alzeihmer’s Disease Research Center.

Makayla Gibson is a doctoral student in the Cognitive & Neural Sciences program at the University of South Carolina. A South Carolina native, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Public Health in 2018. Makayla has assisted in curating large publicly available datasets such as the SOOP database and ARC, both hosted on OpenNeuro. Makayla’s research focuses on investigating factors that impact brain health and stroke outcomes, particularly as seen on MRI. By combining her background in public health with her passion for neuroscience, she hopes to contribute to a better understanding of how lifestyle choices and environmental factors influence our brain’s resilience and recovery from injury. In her spare time, Makayla enjoys spending time outdoors, whether it’s fishing or combing the beach for shark teeth.

Samaneh Nemati, M.S, Biomedical Engineering is a doctoral student in the Aphasia Laboratory at the University of South Carolina working with the Aging Brain Cohort. She graduated with a M.S in Biomedical Engineering with a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience at Ferdowsi University (Iran). Then she joined Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and the National Center for PTSD, as a Postgraduate Associate Researcher where her work focused on applying connectivity-based approaches to elucidate biomarkers of stress-related psychiatric disorders. Her current focus is application of multivariate methods of data analysis to neuroimaging data of healthy and damaged brains, with a particular emphasis on a clinical population of stroke survivors.

Sarah Wilson is a doctoral student in the Linguistics program, specializing in Psycholinguistics. She received her B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Tennessee in 2018 and her M.A. in Linguistics from the University of South Carolina in 2022. She is a member of the Aging Brain Cohort (ABC) team in the Aphasia Lab. Her research interests include using behavioral and brain stimulation techniques to study lexical and syntactic processing, linguistic alignment, and the role of memory in discourse. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, hiking, horseback riding, exploring historic sites, and spending time with family.

Emily Archibald is a graduate student in the Speech-Language Pathology program at the University of South Carolina. She is from High Point, North Carolina and completed her undergraduate degree in Audiology and Speech Pathology with a minor in Child and Family Studies from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (go Vols!). In her free time, she loves spending time with her friends and family, going on walks, exploring new places, and reading. She is excited to work as a graduate assistant in the Aging Brain Cohort and can’t wait to experience all Columbia and USC have to offer!

Shatyrah Copeland is a graduate student in the Speech-Language Pathology Program at USC. I am from Oak Ridge, TN and recently graduated from East Tennessee State University with a B.S. in Rehabilitative Health Sciences. I enjoy spending time with family and friends!

Peyton Earl is a graduate student in the Speech-Language Pathology program at the University of South Carolina. She is from the Orlando, Florida area and graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. in Public Health and minor in Psychology. In her free time, she loves to travel and spend time with friends and family. She is excited for the opportunity to grow and learn within the Aging Brain Cohort/Aphasia Lab and experience all USC has to offer!

Meg Goebel is a graduate student in the Speech-Language Pathology Program at the University of South Carolina. She is from Huntsville, AL, and graduated from the University of Mississippi (Hotty Toddy!) with a degree in Exercise Science. In her free time, she loves to spend time with her cat, tend to her plants, read, and stay active. She is excited to experience Columbia and everything the university has to offer!

Emily Johnson is a graduate student in the Speech-Language Pathology program at the University of South Carolina. She is from San Antonio, TX and graduated from Baylor University with a B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders. In her free time, she loves going on walks, traveling, cooking, and spending time with family and friends. She is excited to be a graduate assistant in the Aphasia lab and explore more of Columbia!

Rayna Teague is a graduate student in the Speech-Language Pathology program at the University of South Carolina. She is from North Carolina and graduated from Western Carolina University with a B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a minor in Special Education. In her free time, she enjoys reading, bullet journaling, and spending time with my friends and family. She is interested in working with adults with neurogenetic communication disorders, so she is very excited to gain valuable knowledge from the Aging Brain Cohort and my graduate studies!

Connor Boyle is a sophomore undergraduate student from Myrtle Beach with a major in Neuroscience and a concentration in cellular and molecular neuroscience. He is on a pre-med track and hopes to expand his knowledge of cognitive neuroscience, neuroimaging analysis, and the research process with the ABC lab. Outside of his work in ABC, he also works as a Resident Assistant at UofSC. In his free time, he enjoys going to the gym, hanging out with friends, and trying new food.

Kendall Brown is an undergraduate student studying Biological Sciences & Medical Humanities and Culture at the University of South Carolina. She is a sophomore from Charlotte, NC and hopes to attend medical school after graduation! Kendall enjoys pilates, true-crime, painting, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. She is incredibly excited for this opportunity and hopes to learn more about research and dive into neuroscience!

Roshni Ismail is an undergraduate student at the University of South Carolina majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in both Art Studio and Medical Humanities and Culture on the pre-medical track. She is from Greenville, SC and is interested in studying neurological diseases, neuroplasticity, and cognitive functions of an aging brain. In the future, Roshni plans to attend medical school and pursue a career in neurology. In her free time, she likes to travel with her family, play badminton with friends, and binge-watch new TV shows!

Ansley Martin is a freshman undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior on the pre-medical track. She is looking to study functional connectivity, cognitive, and lifestyle correlations to migraine within ABC’s data. Outside of ABC, Ansley does neuroimaging research on Parkinson’s disease and In her free time she likes to work out and paint with friends!

Neekan Nasiri is an undergraduate student at the University of South Carolina majoring in Neuroscience on a premed track. He is from Daytona Beach and is currently working with the ABC vowel study in the Aphasia Lab; using programs such as Pratt to separate formants in vowel production along with data collection. After graduation in May of 2027, he plans to continue pursuing a career in neuroscience and attend medical school. Neekan enjoys swimming and hanging out with his friends in his free time.

Sriya Pallapothu is a sophomore undergraduate student at the South Carolina Honors College. She is pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Medical Humanities & Culture. After college, she hopes to attend medical school and become a physician. In her free time, Sriya likes to draw, paint, listen to music, and binge watch TV shows.

Avani Shah is an undergraduate student at the University of South Carolina. She is from Fort Mill, South Carolina. She is currently majoring in Public Health with a minor in Biology and is on the Pre-Med track with plans to go to Medical School. In the future, she hopes to work as an Ob-Gyn or in Internal medicine. In her free time, she loves trying new foods, binging tv shows, dancing, and hanging out with her friends!

Ava Stienes is an undergraduate student in the South Carolina Honors College. She is from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience with a minor in Spanish. Ava is very interested in neurologic diseases related to aging. In the future, she hopes to attend medical school and possibly pursue a career in Neurology. In her free time, she enjoys going on hikes, listening to music, going to concerts, and spending time with friends and family.