Laboratory for Speech Physiology and Motor Control

The University of Washington's Laboratory for Speech Physiology and Motor Control (Max Lab) offers training opportunities primarily for individuals in the following tracks: (1) B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences and (2) Ph.D. students in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience. In addition, individuals from other University of Washington departments or programs (e.g., Biomedical Engineering; Psychology; Physiology and Biophysics; School of Medicine) can be affiliated with the lab for academic and research experiences that complement their main affiliation.

Individuals with a strong interest in the sensorimotor and neurobiological mechanisms underlying speech production or human motor control in general are offered a stimulating and technologically advanced research environment. Individuals with an interest in these lines of research find in the Laboratory the collaborators and up-to-date research facilities to expand their knowledge in multiple scientific disciplines (e.g., human motor control, neuroscience, speech science, laboratory instrumentation), to participate in several ongoing research projects, and to start developing and conducting their own projects.

National and international collaborations with established speech and nonspeech motor control scientists further contribute to the same goal.

Trainee Funding

Undergraduate students conducting research in the Laboratory for Speech Physiology and Motor Control usually work for academic credit. However, depending on the student's status and prior research experience, funding may be available through various programs listed by the University's Undergraduate Research Program. Students should contact the lab director, Dr. Ludo Max, by e-mail () if they are interested in initiating an application to one of those programs. In addition, undergraduate student labor or work-study positions are sometimes available in the lab.
Occasionally, half-time graduate assistantships or hourly positions funded through research grants are available for master's students who would like to work in the lab.
Doctoral students in the lab are funded through full-time graduate assistantships from their department or from research grants. Full-time assistantships provide a full tuition waiver and stipend.
Postdoctoral researchers are expected to apply, if eligible, for individual NIH, NSF, or other postdoctoral fellowships. Occasionally, grant-supported postdoctoral positions may be available.

For more information about any of the training and funding opportunities in the Laboratory for Speech Physiology and Motor Control, please contact the lab director ().