Research Assistants

Research assistants play a vital role in the lab’s work — running sessions, coding data, and helping families feel at home. Their curiosity and care make every study possible.

Current Research Assistants

The students working alongside us this semester.

  • Hsin Ning Hsu, MM
  • Mary Varga
  • Hannah Frazier
  • Reagan J. Howe
  • Madeleine Noon
  • Nihara Kodippili

Alumni Research Assistants

With gratitude to the students who helped build our foundation and carried this work forward.

  • Stephen Chavez, MM, MT-BC
  • Jae Young Jung, MM, MBA, MT-BC
  • Dr. Jessica E. Teich, PhD, MT-BC, MTA, NMT-F®
  • Ruowen (Viola) Qi, MM, RMT-China
  • Christa Nicols, MM
  • Samantha Klein, MM, MT-BC
  • Emily Spencer Martin M.S. CCC-SLP, MT-BC
  • Taryn Weber, MT-BC
  • Sereen (El-Ghossaini) Hammerton, MM, MT-BC, NMT
  • Celeste Alderete, MM
  • Lauren Berry, MT-BC
  • Ryan Fowler, MT-BC
  • Hsun Ying “Yve” Huang, MM, MT-BC

Our alumni list is being updated. Please get in touch if you want to be included.

Student Co-Authors in Parent Coaching of Music Intervention (PaCoMI) and related studies

The following students have contributed as co-authors on peer-reviewed publications of the Parent Coaching of Music Interventions (PaCoMI) and related references.

  • Ruowen (Viola) Qi, MM, MT-BC
  • Emily R. Welsh, MT-BC
  • Madelyn Wampler
  • Liesel Bradshaw, MT-BC, SCMT
  • Gabriel Lehrer, MT-BC
  • Theresa Hoover, PhD
  • Allison Sorensen, PhD
  • Zihe Gao, PhD

Student Co-Authors in other topics (more information soon!)

The following students have contributed as co-authors in course-based research studies.

  • Celeste Alderete, MM
  • Jessica A. Kunst
  • Michelle Weeks, MT-BC
  • David Ragland
  • Olympia Van Blenis
  • Abagail Berg
  • Brandon Deleon
  • Travis Williams
  • Hsin Ning Hsu, MM
  • Hanna Choi, MM
  • Maddie Willacey, MT-BC
  • La Tasha Butler
  • Hanna Moon-Earle,
  • Rachael Nunemacher, MM, MT-BC
  • Kaylyn Manlove-Simmons
  • Mizuki Asano, MT-BC
  • Jiyeon Ryu, MM
  • Dylan Abernathy, MM, MT-BC
  • Maren Rosholt
  • Liesel Bradshaw, MT-BC
  • Ryan Fowler, MT-BC

Interested in becoming one of our Research Assistants?

In the Music for Better Beginnings Lab, we partner with families, students, and scholars to make music interventions more accessible, evidence-based, and responsive to everyday life.

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© 2026 Music for Better Beginnings · Eugenia Hernandez-Ruiz, PhD, MT-BC · Arizona State University

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