Mili Kuruvilla-Dugdale

Mili Kuruvilla-Dugdale is an Associate Professor, and she directs the Speech Perception and Kinematics Lab. Her research focuses on improving foundational knowledge about speech physiology in neurodegenerative diseases, with the goal of developing more sensitive assessments. A second research area is aimed at developing optimal auditory-perceptual scaling methods for dysarthria assessment that are grounded in psychophysical principles and have strong psychometric properties. Dr. Kuruvilla-Dugdale and her collaborators are also developing innovative systems to accurately track tongue dysfunction and build personalized electronic voices for individuals with progressive speech loss. Her work is funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and has appeared in leading scientific publications. 

Email: [email protected]

Deepthi Crasta

Fourth-Year PhD Student

Deepthi Crasta started her PhD in the CSD department in 2023. She holds a Bachelor of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology from Mangalore University, India, and a Master of Science degree in Speech Language Pathology from MAHE University, Manipal, India. Before beginning her PhD, she worked as an SLP with various populations in different settings in Mangalore, India. Her research focuses on understanding speech production deficits in speakers with neurodegenerative disorders and how listeners perceive impaired speech. 

Fun Fact: Outside of her academic pursuits, Deepthi enjoys going to the gym and exploring cuisines from different cultures.

Email: [email protected]

Piper Steburg

Senior

Piper, a senior studying Speech and Hearing Sciences, is from Madrid, Iowa! She joined the lab in January of 2025 to see if research would be something she'd want to pursue in the future. Her favorite part of being in the lab is comparing data from various participants.

Fun Fact: Piper has started painting a Warhammer Army!

Email: [email protected]

Hannah Voigt

Senior

Hannah is a senior from La Grange Park, Illinois! She joined the SPeaK lab in the fall of 2024 to take what she learns in the classroom and apply it in other ways. She shared that research, "Gives me a chance to grow, challenge myself, and keep learning new things."

Fun Fact: Hannah has a twin brother!

Email: [email protected]

Emma Woodford

Junior

Emma is a junior from Geneva, Illinois! She joined the SPeaK lab in spring 2025 because she wanted to gain experience working with people who are interested in the same field. She enjoys research because it allows her to look at information from different perspectives.

Fun Fact: She loves trying out all the different coffee shops downtown!

Email: [email protected]