Soo-Eun Chang

Post-doctoral Fellow, Clinical Neurosciences Program, NINDS/NIH
Ph.D., Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.S., Speech and Hearing Sciences, Vanderbilt University
B.A., Psychology, Seoul National University

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section, University of Michigan Medical School
Affiliate Faculty, Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan
Affiliate Faculty, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan

My lab conducts research on the neural bases of developmental stuttering, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by frequent occurrences of sound-syllable repetitions, prolongations, and blocks that interrupt the flow and rhythm of speech production. Stuttering affects approximately 1% of the population, and 5% of preschool age children. The cause of stuttering is unknown and treatment options for stuttering are limited. Our studies involve analyses of brain functional and structural measures acquired through multimodal neuroimaging methods such as fMRI, DTI, structural MRI, fNIRS, and EEG. Using these techniques, we are able to examine subtle differences in brain functional and structural connectivity that differentiate people who stutter compared to people who do not stutter. These findings are expected to help lead to further investigations to develop novel treatments for stuttering in the future.