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Our Staff
The NCRAR is cultivating a community of clinicians, research scientists, and scholars who can address the communicative, economic, psychosocial, and vocational issues associated with auditory disorders. The Center is unique because of the broad range of professionals who work together with a focus on delivering rehabilitative therapeutics within the lifetime of the Veteran, with the greatest effectiveness and in a way that promotes efficiency.
Currently, more than 40 professionals are engaged in a variety of research and development activities of the NCRAR. Working alongside auditory research scientists and audiologists, it is commonplace to find such other professionals as healthcare educators, immunologists, otolaryngologists, neurologists, neuropsychologists, oncologists, and speech-language pathologists.
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Administration
| Dawn Konrad-Martin, Ph.D. | Director |
| Sarah Theodoroff, Ph.D. | (Interim) Associate Director |
| Patrick Helt, M.A. | Deputy Director, Administrative Officer |
| Christine Kaelin, MBA | Program Manager |
| Marianne Pierson, M.A. | Health Science Specialist |
Core and Associate Investigators
| Curtis Billings, Ph.D. | Electrophysiology, auditory plasticity, and aging |
| Naomi Bramhall, Ph.D. | Electrophysiology, cochlear synaptopathy |
| Kathleen Carlson, M.S., Ph.D. | Epidemiology, Health Services research, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), tinnitus |
| Khaya Clark, Ph.D. | Implementation science, Health Services research, tinnitus, ototoxicity |
| Riley DeBacker, Au.D., Ph.D. | Ototoxic hearing loss prevention, computational audiology, artificial intelligence |
| M. Patrick Feeney, Ph.D. | Peripheral auditory function, hearing screening, and aging |
| Robert Folmer, Ph.D. | Hearing conservation, tinnitus, auditory and cognitive processing |
| Frederick (Erick) Gallun, Ph.D. | Psychoacoustics and cognitive processing |
| Angela Garinis, Ph.D. | Ototoxicity, physiologic measures of peripheral and central auditory processing |
| Timothy Hullar, M.D. | Vestibular disorders, multisensory integration, cochlear implantation |
| Tess Koerner, Ph.D., Au.D. | Electrophysiology, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) |
| Dawn Konrad-Martin, Ph.D. | Peripheral auditory function, aging, diabetes & ototoxicity |
| Kate R. Oppegaard, Ph.D. APRN | Cognitive and psychological impacts of cancer and its treatment, patient reported outcomes, patient self-management |
| Melissa Papesh, Ph.D. Au.D. | Clinical auditory neuroscience |
| Robert Peterka, Ph.D. | Balance control, sensory integration, vestibular disorders |
| Kelly Reavis, Ph.D., M.S., MPH | Epidemiology, Population and Military Hearing Health, Infectious Disease |
| Sarah Theodoroff, Ph.D. | Tinnitus, sound tolerance conditions (hyperacusis, noise sensitivity) |
Research Support Staff
| Daniel Claypool, MPH | Research Assistant |
| Serena Dann, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
| Stephanie Edmunds, MS | Research Coordinator |
| Melissa Frederick, Au.D. | Grants Administrator, Research Audiologist |
| Matthew Hamilton-Sutherland, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
| Anne Heassler, AuD | Research Audiologist |
| Michelle Hungerford, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
| Michele Hutter, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
| Sean Kampel, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
| Joseph Nadeau, B.A. | Research Assistant |
| Daniel Putterman, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
| Chandra Random, B.A. | Research Assistant |
| Sambith Rout, B.S. | Research Assistant |
| ShienPei Silverman, M.A. | Research Coordinator |
| Sachyea Spackman, B.S. | Research Assistant |
| Hunter Stuehm, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
| Haley Szabo, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
| Emily Thielman, M.S. | Research Coordinator & Statistician |
| Jay Vachhani, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
| Chantal Van Ginkel, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
| Nicole Whittle, Au.D. | Research Audiologist |
Engineer and Technical Support Staff
Postdoctoral Fellows and CDA-1
- Sarah Bochat, Ph.D.
- Jennifer "Niffer" Brodsky, Ph.D., DPT
- Marianne Casilio, Ph.D.
Au.D. 4th Year Externs (2025-2026)
- Katie Esser, BA
- Melissa Mikkelson, BA
Affiliate Investigators
- Royce Clifford, MD, Otolaryngology, genetics of functional decline in the auditory and vestibular systems
- James A. Henry, Ph.D., Tinnitus
- Laurie King, Ph.D., PT, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), gait and balance, rehabilitation
- M. Samantha Lewis, Ph.D.
- Miranda Lim, M.D., Ph.D., TBI/PTSD, sleep, rehabilitation, multisensory sensitivity
- Gabrielle Saunders, Ph.D., Auditory rehabilitation, person-centered care, and alternative hearing care pathways
- Peter Steyger, Ph.D., Mechanisms and pre-clinical models of ototoxicity
- Lindsey Wooliscroft, M.D., Neurology
Affiliate Clinicians
- Trisha Milnes, MHA, AuD, CCC-A, AIB-VAM, Chief, Audiology and Speech Pathology Services, Charlie Norwood VAMC, Augusta, Georgia
- Tara Zaugg, Au.D., CRH REC Consultant, VISN 20 and REC ICC Clinical Lead, VISN 20
