Juraj Mesik Receives NIH Supplement

Congratulations to Juraj Mesik, research assistant professor, on receiving an Administrative Assistant Supplement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for $189,577. 

Mesik explains that the supplement will be used for the following:

“Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a clinical stage of AD that precedes the onset of dementia, making it an opportune stage for both elucidating early consequences of AD on neural function as well as identifying novel neural markers of AD that are reliable and affordable. The present proposal will address both goals by using non-invasive electroencephalographic (EEG) measurements to characterize how the processing of acoustics and linguistic features of continuous speech is affected in MCI with AD biomarkers and to assess whether these measures can reliably distinguish participants with and without MCI. These results will represent an initial step towards the longer-term goals of developing more reliable measures of neural function in AD that can be used for tracking disease progression and evaluation of the effects of novel clinical interventions.”

Juraj Mesik, PhD, research assistant professor and member of the Auditory Perception and Cognition Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. 

Congrats Dr. Gao!

In August 2024, Zi Gao successfully defended their PhD thesis, entitled "Perceptual Categorization and Neural Representations of the Human Voice."  Zi is taking up a postdoc position with Shuman He at The Ohio State University.  Best wishes Dr. Gao!

APC Lab Alum Spotlight: Coral Dirks

Current Employer: University of South Dakota, Vermillion

Current Job Title: Assistant Professor, University of South Dakota Speech Language and Hearing Cochlear Implant Clinical Coordinator

Current website: 

Favorite current project: Evaluating the test-retest reliability of portable, retrofittable speaker arrays for clinical settings. In my dissertation, I used the 48-Channel Speaker Array/Sound Field (Booth 1) in the Center for Applied and Translational Sensory Science Lab to help show that a cochlear implant can help partially restore spatial hearing in people with profound hearing loss in one ear and residual hearing in the other ear. Unfortunately, systems like these are not accessible to audiologists due to cost, complexity, etc and current clinic speaker array systems are neither sufficient nor standardized to test spatial hearing. However, they are increasingly important as hearing device candidacy criteria now include rehabilitation for people with spatial hearing deficits. Through an educational partnership with Walter Reed, I’ve been measuring the test-retest reliability of two speaker array systems that could easily fit in clinic spaces and a clinic budget.

If your current job isn’t your first position since leaving the University of Minnesota, where else have you worked? Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as a Research Audiologist. My favorite project there was doing a field study with 1-325 AIR of the 82nd Airborne Corps (shout out A CO!) to evaluate the effectiveness of different types of hearing protection devices in dismounted combat. I spent a month out of the woods at Fort Liberty (day and night) trying to figure out how to objectively measure mission success.

When were you in the APC Lab?  June 2013 – April 2020

What position did you have during your time at the APC Lab? PhD student

What was your favorite project/paper from your time in the APC Lab? Testing whether the contraction bias** in pitch perception was more consistent with Bayesian inference or signal detection processes. This project was pivotal for my professional growth and skill development.

**When two pure tones are presented sequentially and roved in frequency from trial to trial, we tend to report that the first tone is closer to the mean of the frequency rove range than the second. In other words, the pitch of the first tone “contracts” toward the mean.

Favorite restaurant to grab a bite to eat in the Twin Cities/campus? Wally’s

Do you have any funny stories about your time in the lab to share? One time, I booked a hotel room at the Marriott on the West Bank for one of my research subjects. He was spending the weekend at UMN with me doing experiments for my dissertation. When the subject checked in, the receptionist said he would be sharing a room with a man named “Andrew Oxenham.” He called me in a panic saying, “I’m sharing a room with someone I don’t know?!” Of course, I talked to the receptionist and cleared it up.

Favorite scientific conference to attend? American Auditory Society. It’s a great blend of basic research and clinical application.

Any words of advice for current students/researchers? Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You are there to learn! And, go back in the archives and read Jackson Graves’ words of advice!

Elaea Purmalietis Reflects on Her Experience As a Person Hard of Hearing

In a recent Minnesota Daily article titled “Hard-of-hearing students, staff reflect on daily life with hearing loss,” university community members share their challenges with hearing impairments. Elaea Purmalietis reflects on her own journey and discusses her unique type of hearing loss, which limits the benefits of hearing loss from traditional hearing aids due to the limitations of devices capable of resolving low-frequency hearing loss that are intended to amplify high frequencies.

Purmalietis highlights the nature of her condition, noting that the absence of a visible hearing aid often leads others to overlook her struggles. She emphasizes that ignoring others who try to initiate a conversation is not intentional rudeness but rather a consequence of her difficulty in hearing things around her in the environment. Individuals may not know they should get her attention by tapping her or making sure Purmalietis can see them before they start talking.

Nevertheless, Purmalietis remains resilient, stating, "I refuse to let it define me negatively or isolate me. Instead, I proactively inform people about my hearing impairment." She highlights the importance of seeking support from resources like the Disability Resource Center (DRC), which facilitates appropriate accommodations to enhance accessibility in academic settings.

Elaea Purmalietis is a post-bacc researcher in the Auditory Perception and Cognition Lab (APC Lab). In Fall 2024 she will start her graduate studies in Psychology, advised by Andrew Oxenham.

Andrew Oxenham Named Waldfogel Scholar of the College

Andrew Oxenham receiving the award
from CLA's Interim Dean Ann Waltner

We are excited to announce that Andrew Oxenham has received the Waldfogel Scholar of the College Award. This honor supports faculty research and creative activities. They are scholars who have taken intellectual risks, whose work has achieved a high level of distinction, and who have transformed the way knowledge is constructed.  

The award also honors the legacy of Professor Melvin Waldfogel. Professor Waldfogel joined the University of Minnesota's Art History faculty in 1955 and taught for three decades.

We appreciate Andrew Oxenham’s many meaningful contributions to both the Psychology Department and the College of Liberal Arts. 

Andrew Oxenham, PhD is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota and the director of the Auditory Perception and Cognition Laboratory.