Curriculum Vitae

Megha Sundara, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences

Biography |  Publications |  Contact Dr. Sundara

Educational Background

Ph.D., McGill University, Communication Sciences & Disorders, Language Acquisition Option (2005). Dissertation: Phonetic perception & production of coronals stops by adults exposed to two languages from birth

M. Sc., All India Institute of Speech & Hearing, Speech Pathology & Audiology (1997). Thesis: Perception of prevoicing by native, non-native & bilingual listeners

B.Sc. All India Institute of Speech & Hearing, Speech Pathology & Audiology (1995).

Clinical Certification Speech Pathology (C) Audiology (C).

Research Interests

• Development of perception & production
• Cross-language comparisons
• Bilingualism
• Neural underpinnings of speech perception

Research Experience

Postdoctoral Fellow, 2005-present. University of Washington (Seattle), Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences.

Laboratory Coordinator, 1999-2002. McGill University, Infant Perception Laboratory.

Research Assistant, 1997-1999. McGill University, Infant Perception Laboratory.

Research Assistant, 1995. Voice & Speech Systems, Bangalore, India.

Teaching Experience

Faculty Lecturer (part-time), McGill University, 1999-2003.

Guest Lecturer, McGill University, 2002. Neurophysiological Methods, part of a seminar on Issues in Language Acquisition.

Guest Lecturer, McGill University, 2001. Categorical Perception, part of a graduate course on Phonological Development.

Reviewer

Applied Psycholinguistics
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

Grants and Bursaries

• GW Stairs Memorial Fund, 2004, McGill University. Title: Critical periods for speech perception: fMRI in monolingual & bilingual subjects (with Denise Klein, Montreal Neurological Institute)
• Winter Bursary, 2004, McGill University Center for Research on Language, Mind and Brain. Title: Critical periods for speech perception: fMRI in monolingual & bilingual subjects.
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Grant, 2002, McGill University. Title: Production and perception in simultaneous bilinguals
• Summer Bursary, 1998, McGill University, Faculty of Medicine. Title: Language and task factors influencing vowel asymmetries

Professional Affiliations

• International Society for Infant Studies, 2001- present
• Acoustic Society of America, 1998- present
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 1998-present
• Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists, 1998-present

Fellowships and Awards

Dean's Honors List. For PhD Thesis, McGill University, 2005.

Best Student Paper in Speech Communication. 142nd Meeting of Acoustic Society of America, 2001

Eileen Peters McGill Major Fellowship. McGill University, 2000-2002.

Faculty of Graduate Studies & Research Fellowship. McGill University, 2000.

Montreal League for Hard of Hearing Award, 2000.

Hydro-Quebec Fellowship. McGill University, 1999

IODE "Silence to Sound" Award, 1999.

Walter Hitschfeld Award. McGill University, 1998.

Hydro-Quebec Fellowship. McGill University, 1998-1999.

President's Best Paper Award. 6th National Conference on Biomechanics, 1999.

Max Stern Fellowship. McGill University, 1997.

Govt. of India Award for Outstanding Students. All India Institute of Speech & Hearing (5 consecutive years), 1993-1997

Languages