Our Team

Principal Investigator

Jessica Salley Riccardi, PhD, CCC-SLP, she/her

Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders  at the University of Maine

I earned by PhD in Communication Sciences in May 2022 from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH). My dissertation was titled “Cognitive Fatigue in Children with Traumatic Brain Injury: Comparisons Across Tasks and With Peers”. I am also a clinical speech-language pathologist, having earned my M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln and my B.S. in Communication Sciences & Disorders from the University of New Hampshire.
Hometown: Andover, MA
Favorite thing in Maine: Being outdoors with her pup Yeti (see honorary lab members) and cheering on UMaine’s athletes with Bananas (pictured right)

 

Graduate Students

 

Brooke Underhill, B.Sc Psychology, she/her

MA student in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Hometown: Miramichi, New Brunswick, CA
Favorite thing in Maine: I love attending sporting events here at UMaine. Hockey is my favourite, but I am working on learning football!

 

 

Taylor Wells, B.Ed. Inclusive Education, she/her 

MA student in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
Favorite thing in Maine: The maple trees in the fall!
 
 
 
 
 

Helen Murray-James, B.Sc Biology, she/her

MA student in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Hometown: Wayne, ME
Favorite thing in Maine: Everything outdoors, but my favorite activities are hiking and skiing!
 
 
 

Paige Kavanaugh, B.Sc Human Kinetics, she/her

MA student in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Favorite thing in Maine: The running trails!
 
 
 

Adrienna Thorne, B.A Linguistics, she/her

MA student in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Hometown: Old Perlican, Newfoundland
Favorite thing in Maine: Acadia National Park and blueberries!

 

Undergraduate Students

Lydia Bradfield, she/her

BA student in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Minors in Child Development and Disability Studies
Hometown: Sidney, Maine (born in Michigan)
Favorite thing in Maine: enjoy boating on the beautiful lakes in the summer and apple picking in the Fall.

 

Molly Hale, she/her

BA student in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Minors in Education and Child Development & Family Relations
Hometown: Cumberland, Maine
Favorite thing in Maine: I love hiking and exploring Maine’s outdoors!

 

 

Sera Hodgson, she/her

BA student in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Hometown: Rindge, NH
Favorite thing in Maine: Fielder’s Choice ice cream!

 

 

Katie Davison, she/her

BA student in Sociology and Communication Sciences and Disorders
Hometown: Charlton, Massachusetts
Favorite thing in Maine: Hiking trails in Acadia
 

 

Ellie Walker, she/her

BA student in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Minor in Business Administration
Hometown: Scarborough, Maine
Favorite thing in Maine: Skiing at Sugarloaf or boating in Casco Bay!

 

 

Sophie Dean, she/her

BA student in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Minor in Native American Studies
Hometown: Keene, NH
Favorite thing in Maine: The gorgeous seasons throughout the year.

 

 

 

Honorary Lab Members

Yeti Riccardi

Even though science makes Yeti tired, she loves being a part of the lab. She is often on campus, looking to make friends and talk about research.
Hometown: Unity, Maine
Favorite thing in Maine: getting pets on campus and running in/eating snow!

 

 

 

 

 

Lab Alumni

Sam Cartwright, he/him, B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders 2023 – pursuing his M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology at La Salle University (Philadelphia)