People
Lori Leibold, Ph.D
Principal Investigator
Lori Leibold is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed her Master’s degree in Audiology at the University of Western Ontario. After working as a clinical audiologist, she completed her Ph.D. in Lynne Werner’s Infant Hearing Laboratory at the University of Washington. Next, she completed postdoctoral training with Dr. Walt Jesteadt and Dr. Donna Neff at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.
Email: Lori_Leibold@med.unc.edu
Lauren Calandruccio Ph.D, CCC-A
Co-Investigator
Prior to joining the Human Auditory Development Lab, Lauren was a faculty member at Queens College of the City University of New York and the Director of the Speech and Auditory Research Laboratory. The focus of her previous research has been to study how speaking English in as a second language affects one's ability to understand English speech in noisy listening conditions. Having the opportunity to be a part of HADL will allow Lauren to extend her work to include children as well as improve communication for listeners with hearing loss regardless of their native language.
Andrea Hillock Dunn, Au.D, Ph.D, CCC-A
Co-Investigator
Andrea Hillock-Dunn is an Audiology Research Associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed her Au.D. at Northwestern University and her Ph.D. in Hearing Science at Vanderbilt University in Dr. Mark Wallace’s Multisensory Research Laboratory. Her dissertation work investigated maturational changes in the temporal properties of audiovisual processing of speech and non-speech stimuli. Her current research is focused on investigating outcomes in children fitted with frequency compression hearing aids and measuring differences in the ability of infants, children and adults to perceive signals in the presence of background noise.
Email: ahdunn@med.unc.edu
Angela Bonino, Ph.D
Co-Investigator
Angela Yarnell Bonino a recent Ph.D recipient in the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences at UNC-CH researching auditory development. Prior to UNC, she was employed as an audiologist by Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, Kentucky. Angela has a M.S. degree in Audiology from Vanderbilt University and completed her undergraduate education at the University of Rochester.
Email: abonino@med.unc.edu
Emily Buss, Ph.D
Collaborator 
Emily Buss is an Associate Professor in the department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She studied at Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania before coming to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for a postdoctoral fellowship under the guidance of Drs. Joseph Hall and John Grose. Dr. Buss in involved in a wide range of studies of human hearing including normative studies in both children and adults, as well as experiments on the effects of hearing loss in listeners who make use of hearing aids or cochlear implants. Collaboration with Dr. Lori Leibold focuses on better understanding the susceptibility to and release from masking in early development and the effects of non-linear frequency compression technology in pediatric hearing aid users.
Stephen Lockhart, M.S.
Research Programmer
Steve is the research programmer of the Auditory Development Lab. Steve has a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University and a M.S. in Applied Physics from John's Hopkins University. His experience includes scientific programming and signal processing.
Email: Stephen_Lockhart@med.unc.edu
Mallory Baker, B.S.
Research Assistant
Mallory Baker is a 4th-year audiology doctoral student at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. She is the 2012-13 recipient of the Judith Gravel Fellowship at the UNC Hospital pediatric audiology clinic. Mallory is from Seattle, Washington and received her B.S. in Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her primary research focus in pediatric audiology includes investigating children's perception of speech produced in noise and auditory development through infancy and childhood.
Email: mallory_baker@med.unc.edu
Jenna Browning
Research Assistant 
Jenna Browning is a 1st year audiology doctoral student at the University of North Carolina. She is originally from Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington in 2012 with a B.S. in Speech and Hearing Sciences. As an undergraduate, she worked in Dr. Lynne Werner’s Infant Hearing Laboratory. Now as a graduate student, Jenna enjoys working with pediatrics and hopes to focus her future research on children’s speech perception in noise.
Abby Bennett, B.A.
Research Assistant
Abby Bennett is a 3rd year audiology doctoral student at the University of North Carolina. She is originally from Tampa Florida, where she attended the University of South Florida. It was here that she received her Bachelor's of Arts degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. As an undergraduate she worked with Dr. Jean Krause working to better understand the the effectiveness of Cued Speech Translitorators. Now as a graduate student, Abby enjoys working with pediatrics and hopes to focus her future research on children with multiple disabilities.
Email: abby_bennett@med.unc.edu
Bianca Gomez, B.A.
Research Assistant
Bianca is a 3rd year audiology doctoral student originally from Miami Florida. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2010 with a B.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Bianca is particularly interested in how hearing develops in children. Additionally, she is interested in investigating newborn hearing screening protocols and experiences of Spanish speaking populations during the Newborn Hearing Screening process.
Email: bianca_gomez@med.unc.edu
Jacqueline Drexler
Research Assistant
Jacqueline is a 4th year undergraduate student originally from Long Island, New York. She will be graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this upcoming May with a B.A. in Communications Studies with a track in Speech and Hearing Sciences, as well as a minor in Hispanic Studies and Linguistics. After graduating with a B.A., Jacqueline hopes to study audiology and eventually receive an Au.D. Having the opportunity to be a part of the HADL allows Jacqueline to gain research experience in the audiology field.
Hannah Hodson B.A.
Research Assistant
Hannah Hodson is a 2nd year audiology doctoral student originally from Greenville, North Carolina. She received her B.A. in English at the University of North Carolina. Her research interests include auditory development as it relates to classroom acoustics and the optimization of school hearing screening methods.
Email: hannah_hodson@med.unc.edu
Crystal Taylor, B.A.
Lab Manager
Crystal is the lab manager in the Auditory Development Lab. She is a recent graduate from the University of North Carolina--Greensboro, with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. As an undergraduate at UNC Greensboro, Crystal worked in Dr. Kari Eddington's Depression Treatment and Research Lab studying the effects of self-focused attention on depression. Currently, Crystal is taking time to explore her interests in psychology.
Email: Cntaylor@med.unc.edu
