Join the lab

The BLAB Lab is always looking for motivated and curious students from undergraduate, capstone, and graduate programs to join our lab. Research assistants have the opportunity to learn and contribute through hands-on experiences including data collection, data analysis, experimental design, and experiment programming. Depending on individual interests, students may choose to focus on speech production studies, online speech perception studies, or brain imaging. All students also participate in our bi-weekly lab meetings and journal club discussions. Typically, students participate in the lab for course credit, though depending on lab needs, as well as the student’s status and prior research experience, some hourly positions may be available.

If you are interested in gaining more experience in speech and neuroscience research with the BLAB Lab, please fill out the survey found here.

Prospective graduate students interested in joining the lab should apply through Communication Sciences and Disorders, Language Sciences, or the Neuroscience Training Program. Students in other labs or programs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are also able to have an affiliation with the lab. Interested students should email the lab director, Carrie Niziolek (cniziolek@wisc.edu).

Our lab is not currently recruiting for any postdoctoral research positions. However, interested researchers are encouraged to explore our website and reach out to the PIs of the Speech Motor Neuroscience Group if they are interested in joining the lab. Additional information, mostly taken from the last time our lab was recruiting, is listed below.

The Speech Motor Neuroscience Group at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has previous invited applicants of postdoctoral research positions in the field of speech motor control and learning / speech motor neuroscience. The group consists of two research labs, the Brain, Language, & Acoustic Behavior (BLAB) lab (directed by Carrie Niziolek) and the Speech Motor Action + Control (SMAC) lab (directed by Ben Parrell), both funded through grants from the NIH and the NSF. Postdoctoral scholars interact with vibrant research communities at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, including the Waisman Center (which houses both labs) and the Neuroscience Training Program.

Postdocs in the Speech Motor Neuroscience Group are encouraged to develop additional lines of research in related topic areas, including predictive coding of self-produced vocalizations, feedback-driven speech learning, dynamics of native and non-native speech production, speech motor control in individuals with neurological disorders, computational modeling of the speech motor system, and comparisons of speech and nonspeech motor control systems.  Additionally, there are opportunities for developing new studies employing structural and functional MRI, MEG, and TMS. 

Required qualifications (as listed for recent appointments):

• PhD or equivalent in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, communication sciences and disorders, or a closely related field
• A documented history of research productivity 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Leadership and organizational skills 

Useful qualifications (as listed for recent appointments):

• Experience collecting and analyzing human behavioral data, MEG, EEG, MRI, and/or TMS data
• Computational skills, including MATLAB
• Advanced knowledge and expertise in statistics

Salary and benefits are based on NIH guidelines, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Interested candidates should email both PIs, Carrie Niziolek <cniziolek@wisc.edu> and Ben Parrell <bparrell@wisc.edu>.