Who We Are

Daniel Abrams is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Speech and Social Neuroscience Laboratory in the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Abrams’s work is grounded in a deep interest in understanding how our brain is able to make sense of the complex acoustical information in speech and what is different in the brains of individuals who struggle with speech perception.

Dr. Abrams’s research interests extend to a range of clinical populations, including individuals with autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, dyslexia, and dyscalculia as well as neurotypical children, adolescents, and adults. Beyond his interests in speech perception, he has also contributed to research examining the brain basis of reading, social, memory, and math function.

Kelly graduated from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University in 2018 with a double major in Psychology and Family and Human Development. She has multiple years of experience working with individuals with autism spectrum disorder in clinical settings. She mainly works on the ASD Speaker-Listener study, but also assists with the PRT for Adolescents study and the Alzheimer’s Disease Speaker-Listener study. She is excited to learn more about the neural basis of social communication differences in autism and how society can better accommodate autistic individuals in social settings. Eventually, she plans to get her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Pediatric Neuropsychology. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games and taking her Aussie mix, Apollo, to the beach.

Mia received her BA from Gonzaga University in Psychology in 2020. She primarily works with children with autism on the ASD Speaker-Listener study, while also contributing to the Alzheimer’s Disease Speaker-Listener and PRT for Adolescents studies. Pulling from her direct experience working 1:1 and in group settings with autistic children, she developed a keen appreciation and reverence for various modalities of communication. She is looking forward to gaining a richer understanding of our complex social world and the intricate linguistic qualities that comprise interactions. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, camping, and ceramics.

Delaney graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 2019 with a major in Cognitive Science and minor in Linguistics. She has research experience in post-stroke aphasia and language recovery, as well as clinical experience with neurodegenerative diseases. She mainly works on the Alzheimer’s Disease Speaker-Listener project and assists with the ASD Speaker-Listener project. She is interested in learning more about the differences in how language and communication deficits arise, how variation in the presentation of deficits affects brain representations, and in working on ways to strengthen connections and communication in people with Alzheimer’s Disease. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, drawing, and going to the beach with her dog.

Thuan graduated from Luther College ('21) with a psychology major and later on finished her masters in developmental disorders at the University of Nottingham ('22). She has a background in clinic work with autistic children with co-occurring disorders. She has also research experience in dissecting key developmental aspects of critical thinking skills in young children and the developmental trajectory of multisensory integration and how that differs in autistic individuals. She wants to further explore early comprehensive autism interventions that can be adaptable and feasible to rurals areas, while taking into consideration rural culture. To balance her work life out, she enjoys cooking, working out, and exploring new restaurants. 

Jinnie is a current undergraduate at Stanford University pursuing degrees in Psychology and Philosophy with a minor in Education, through which she is interested in developing an understanding of epistemological development in young children. She will be working on the PRT for Adolescents study. She is enthusiastic to deepen her understanding of social communication and information processing, and she is eager to see how these insights can inform policy-level interventions. As this is her first formal experience in a research lab, she is also excited to develop herself in psychology research and gain understanding of the process. In her free time, she is involved in children's theater and especially enjoys singing.

Jenn holds an MA in Romance Philology from Columbia University and a BS in Physics. Jenn worked for 15 years in high tech software, focusing on ramping up international startups, fostering customer education, and managing cross-national projects and processes. She wrote education curricula and delivered courses to customers in 3 languages across 5 countries, and served as the primary customer advocate for Europe. After a break to raise her children, Jenn has joined our lab to help develop processes for our upcoming large n clinical trial. Her special interest is support for adolescents who have autism, so she is very excited to focus on the Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Adolescents with Autism clinical trial.

Research Studies: Autism Spectrum Disorder Speaker-Listener, Alzheimer’s Disease Speaker-Listener, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Adolescents with Autism

Research Studies: Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Adolescents with Autism

Research Studies: Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Adolescents with Autism

Research Studies: Alzheimer’s Disease Speaker-Listener

Research Studies: Autism Spectrum Disorder Speaker-Listener, Alzheimer’s Disease Speaker-Listener

Research Studies: Autism Spectrum Disorder Speaker-Listener, Alzheimer’s Disease Speaker-Listener

Research Studies: Autism Spectrum Disorder Speaker-Listener, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Adolescents with Autism

Research Studies: Autism Spectrum Disorder Speaker-Listener, Alzheimer’s Disease Speaker-Listener, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Adolescents with Autism

Research Studies: Autism Spectrum Disorder Speaker-Listener, Alzheimer’s Disease Speaker-Listener, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Adolescents with Autism