Former members of the Auditory Engineering Lab:

Image of Sean McWeeny Sean McWeeny, Ph.D. (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-mcweeny-839780a2/)
  • Completed Post-doctoral Fellowship; Project: Hearing Aid and Assistive Listening Systems for Live Music
  •  Now a Research Scientist, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago, USA
Image of Keiko Gutierrez Keiko Gutierrez (e-mail: gutierrk@mcmaster.ca)
  • Completed M.Sc. (PNB); Project: Desire for control, self-efficacy, and tinnitus distress
Image of Abigail Buller Abigail Buller (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-buller/; e-mail: bullea2@mcmaster.ca)
  • Completed Bachelor's Thesis (Eng. Phys.); Project: Computational modelling of the auditory periphery
  • Now an M.Sc. student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at McGill University 
Image of Larissa Taylor Larissa Taylor, Ph.D. (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larissa-taylor-48440864/; e-mail: taylorla@mcmaster.ca)
  • Completed Ph.D. (ECE); Project: Evaluation of hearing aid processing of speech & music
  • Also previously completed M.A.Sc. (ECE) in the AEL; Project: Physiological modelling of the effects of hearing loss and hearing aids on music perception
  • Now an Audio Systems Engineer with Starkey Hearing, Eden Prairie, Minnesota  
Image of Daniel Shields Daniel Shields (e-mail: shieldsd@mcmaster.ca)
  • Completed M.Eng. (ECE); Project: Biophysical modelling of auditory nerve fibers
  • Also formerly NSERC USRA student; Project: Physiological measures of listening effort in hearing aid users
Image of Brendan Tao Brendan Tao (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-tao/; e-mail: taob1@mcmaster.ca)
  • Completed two NSERC USRAs; Projects: Physiological measures of listening effort in hearing aid users, and Computational modelling of genetic hearing loss
  • Now in Medical School at UBC, Vancouver, BC
Image of Michael Wirtzfeld Michael Wirtzfeld, Ph.D. (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-r-wirtzfeld/; e-mail: wirtzfmr@mcmaster.ca)
  • Completed post-doctoral fellowship; Project: Computational modelling of the effects of genetic hearing loss on the auditory periphery
  • Also previously completed Ph.D. (ECE) in the AEL; Project: Model-based speech intelligibility and quality predictors
  • Now Embedded System and Software Scientist, Hearing Instrument Systems and Software Development at Sonova Group, Kitchener, ON
Image of Benjamin Cinq-Mars Benjamin Cinq-Mars (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencinq-mars/; e-mail: cinqmab@mcmaster.ca)
  • Completed Dean's Excellence USRA; Project: Improved hearing aid processing for live music
  • Current Bachelor's Student in Electrical Engineering and Management at McMaster
Image of Thomas Couacault Thomas Couacault (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-couacault/; e-mail: tcouacault@gmail.com)
  • Completed McMaster–University of Rennes 1 Exchange Program internship; Project: Applications of signal processing in the LIVELab
  • Now a Master of Engineering student at INSA Rennes, France
Image of Simon Lemoigne Simon Lemoigne (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-lemoigne/; e-mail: simon.lemoigne@gmail.com)
  • Completed McMaster–University of Rennes 1 Exchange Program internship; Project: Signal processing for cochlear implants
  • Now a Masters of Engineering student at CentraleSupélec, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Image of Kirsty Murdoch Kirsty Murdoch (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsty-murdoch-0a2658138/)
  • Visiting M.Eng. Student (BME) from University Glasgow, Scotland; Project: Perceptual and EEG assessment of tinnitus
  • Now an Engineering Scientist at Inside Biometrics Ltd, Inverness, Scotland;
Image of Michael Bagnowski (e-mail: bagnowsm@mcmaster.ca)
  • Completed NSERC USRA; Project: Physiological measures of listening effort in hearing aid users
Image of Helen Heinermann Helen Heinermann (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-heinermann-319280158/; e-mail: heinermh@mcmaster.ca)
  • Visiting M.Sc. Student (Neuroscience) from Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany; Project: Optimizing hearing aid amplification gain with a computational model of the auditory periphery
  • Now working in Clinical Affairs, R&D, Vibrosonic GmbH, Mannheim, Germany
Image of Lou Denjean-Massia Lou Denjean-Massia (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lou-denjean-massia-512b10138/; e-mail: loudenjean@gmail.com)
  • Completed McMaster–University of Rennes 1 Exchange Program internship; Project: Applications of signal processing in the LIVELab
  • Now a Masters Student in Digital Marketing at the Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, Evry, France
Image of Laura Green Laura Green (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-green-26ba99123/; e-mail: greenlhs@mcmaster.ca)
  • Completed Integrated Science Honours Thesis; Project: Biophysical modelling of auditory nerve fibers
  • Now a PhD student at NYU Center for Neural Science
Image of Yousof Erfani Yousof Erfani (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yousof-erfani-phd-21755783/; e-mail: erfani.yousof@gmail.com)
  • Completed post-doctoral fellowship; Project: Modelling the effects of genetic hearing loss on the auditory periphery
  • Now a Artificial Intelligence Architect/Data Scientist, Apple, San Francisco, USA
Image of Jason Boulet Jason Boulet, Ph.D. (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonboulet/?ppe=1; e-mail: jason.boulet@gmail.com)
  • Completed Ph.D. in Neuroscience; Project: Biophysical and stochastic-process models of cochlear implant stimulation
  • Now a Data Scientist at Sobeys, Toronto, ON
Image of Sonia Tabibi Dr. sc. Sonia Tabibi (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonia-tabibi/)
  • Visiting doctoral student in Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, ETH Zürich & Universitätsspital Zürich, Switzerland, funded by the ICanHear network; Project: Phenomenological modelling of cochlear implant stimulation of a population of auditory nerve fibers.
  • Now a Software Engineer DSP, Sonova Group, Zürich, Switzerland
Image of Dana Swarbrick Dana Swarbrick (web site: https://www.uio.no/ritmo/english/people/phd-fellows/danasw/)
  • Undergrad (Psychology - Music Cognition) student; Project: Analysis of live music recordings in the LIVELab.
  • Now a doctoral student at the University of Oslo, Norway
Image of Stephanie Cheung Stephanie Cheung, Ph.D. (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanietcheung/)
  • Completed M.A.Sc. in ECE; Project: Physiological modelling of ILD processing for linked and unlinked bilateral hearing aids
  • Now a Policy Resident, Office of the Secretary of the Cabinet, Cabinet Office of the Government of Ontario, Toronto, ON
Image of Spencer Chambers Spencer Chambers (web site: https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/plasticsurgery/people/bio/chambers_spencer.html)
  • Summer undergraduate research student; Project: Biophysical modelling of synaptic transmission and spike generation at the IHC-AN synapse
  • Now a Resident in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Western University, London, Ontario
Image of Rasha Ibrahim Rasha A. Ibrahim, Ph.D. (web site: http://scholar.cu.edu.eg/?q=rasha_ibrahim/)
  • Completed Ph.D. in ECE; Project: Contributions of envelope and temporal-fine-structure cues in speech intelligibility
  • Now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Mathematics and Physics, Cairo University, Egypt
Image of Tim Zeyl Timothy J. Zeyl, Ph.D. (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timzeyl)
  • Completed M.A.Sc. in ECE; Project: Model-based hearing aid algorithms
  • Now a Staff Engineer, Distributed Scheduling & Data Engine Lab at Huawei Technologies, Canada Research Centre, Markham, ON
Image of Stephen Vetsis Stephen Vetsis (web site:https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-vetsis-54104b20 )
  • Completed M.A.Sc. in ECE; Project: Modeling of the effects of hearing loss on neural responses in the auditory brainstem
  • Now the Director of Pricing & Regulatory Policy at Hydro One, Toronto, ON
Image of Mohamed Negm Mohamed H. Negm (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohamed-negm-39aa0b16)
  • Completed M.A.Sc. in BME; Project: Models of stochastic ion channel gating for cochlear implant stimulation
  • Now a Hardware Compliance Manager, Amazon, Seattle, WA
Image of Faheem Dinath Faheem Dinath (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faheemdinath)
  • Completed M.A.Sc. in BME; Project: Model-based hearing aid amplification schemes
  • Now a Senior Project Manager at Canada Life, North York, ON
Image of Benedict Leung Benedict Leung
  • Completed M.Eng. in Elec. & Biomed. Eng.; Project: Physiological assessment of hearing aid compression schemes
Image of M.S.A. Zilany M. S. Arefeen Zilany, Ph.D. (web site: https://www.qatar.tamu.edu/programs/ecen/faculty-and-staff/dr.-muhammad-zilany)
  • Completed Ph.D. and Postdoctoral Fellowship in ECE; Project: Normal and impaired models of the auditory periphery
  • Now an Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University at Qatar
Image of Melissa Perri Melissa Perri (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-perri-5698b316)
  • NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Award student; Project: Algorithms for modelling stochastic ion channel gating
  • Now the Head of Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs at Cloud DX, Waterloo, ON
Image of Jeff Bondy Jeff Bondy, Ph.D. (web site: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jeff-bondy-0941484)
  • Completed Ph.D. in ECE; Project: Modeling auditory perception in normal and hearing-impaired listeners
  • Now the Principal Engineer, Integrated Device Technology, Inc., Waterloo, ON
Image of Naomi Harte Naomi Harte, Ph.D. (web site: https://www.tcd.ie/research/profiles/?profile=nharte)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow; Project: Combining frequency shaping and compression in hearing aids
  • Now an Associate Professor in the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Image of Shahab Ansari Shahabuddin (Shahab) Ansari, Ph.D. (web site: https://www.giki.edu.pk/Faculty/Engr-Dr-Shahabuddin-Ansari)
  • Completed M.A.Sc. in ECE; Project: Combining frequency shaping and compression in hearing aids
  • Now an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at the GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Pakistan
Image of Jennifer Ko Jennifer Ko, LL.B. (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-ko-2755171b)
  • Completed M.A.Sc. and was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by the ECE Department for an outstanding thesis; Project: Lateral-inhibitory-network processing of spontaneous and speech-driven neural activity
  • Now a Partner, Crinson Law LLP, Toronto, Ontario
Image of Kamran Mustafa Kamran Mustafa (web site: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kamranmustafa)
  • Completed M.A.Sc. in ECE; Project: Robust formant tracking in noise
  • Now a Sr S/W Engineering Manager, Wear OS, Google, Mountain View, California. 
Image of Sid Das Siddharth Das (web site:https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharth-das-714723a6)
  • Undergraduate Student; Project: Synthesis of realistic speech for evaluation of speech-feature estimation algorithms
  • Now a Section Manager - Project Management and Controls at AMEC NSS, Thornhill, Ontario
Image of Harjeet Bajaj Harjeet Bajaj (web site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harjeet-bajaj-b7914b1)
  • Undergraduate Student; Project: Lateral-inhibitory-network models of tinnitus
  • Now the President and CEO of Savormetrics, Hamilton, Ontario
Image of Christoph Kallenberger Dr.-Ing. Christoph P. Kallenberger (web site: http://www.xing.com/profile/Christoph_Kallenberger)
  • Undergraduate Student; Project: Models of convergent auditory-nerve input onto coincidence-detector neurons in the cochlear nucleus
  • Now a Development Engineer, Automobile Industry, Leonberg, Germany

Created by Ian Bruce <brucei@mcmaster.ca> - last modified Tuesday, January 28, 2025