DeVault Otologic Research Laboratory Team
William G. Kronenberger, MA, PhD
Arthur B. Richter Professor of Child Psychiatry
Allison Ditmars, BS, CCRP
Clinical Research Coordinator
Allison Ditmars joined the DeVault Otologic Research Lab in March 2012 and serves as the clinical research coordinator. Having earned her BS from Purdue University in 2006, Allison studied neurobiology and physiology. She spent several years at the University of Notre Dame, Keck Center for Transgene Research as a research technician, specialized in cell culture, molecular biology and organ/cell imaging. In November of 2014, Allison obtained CCRP certification (Certified Clinical Research Professional) from SOCRA (Society of Clinical Research Associates).
Carolyn Herbert, AuD, CCC-A
Research Audiologist
Carolyn (Carrie) Herbert, AuD, CCC-A, joined the DeVault Otologic Research Laboratory in 2018 as a research audiologist after working in the lab as a research assistant while earning her bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) from Butler University. While studying at Butler, Dr. Herbert focused her studies on the interaction between audiological outcomes and psychology with particular interest in research methods. She worked as a teaching and research assistant to the American Sign Language (ASL) and CSD departments, respectively.
Dr. Herbert earned her doctorate of Audiology from Indiana University in 2018 with her externship placement at IU Health in Indianapolis. While in Bloomington, she worked as a graduate assistant for the ASL program and a research assistant to the Hearing Research Laboratory (Yi Shen, PhD). She also served as the President of the Indiana University chapter of the Student Academy of Audiology and was awarded an Indiana Outstanding Student Clinician Award by the Indiana Lions Speech and Hearing McKinney Outreach Program. Dr. Herbert has extensive knowledge in clinical diagnostics, including audiologic and vestibular evaluations.
She currently works closely with David B. Pisoni, PhD, William Kronenberger, PhD, Charles Yates, MD, Rick Nelson, PhD, MD, and Shannon Risacher, PhD.
While out of the office, Dr. Herbert enjoys spending time with her friends and family, continuing to explore Indianapolis, and serving others through various volunteer opportunities including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Susan Sehgal, MA, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVEd
Speech-Language Pathologist
Susan Sehgal, MA, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVEd, returned to the DeVault Otologic Research Laboratory in 2022 after working as both the Lead Speech Coordinator in the preschool program at St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf-Indianapolis (SJI-I) and a contracted listening and spoken language specialist at the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education. Prior to her position at SJI-I, Susan worked 11 years in the DeVault Lab collecting data and assisting with manuscript preparation on NIH-funded longitudinal studies assessing the speech perception, speech production and language skills of deaf and hard of hearing children using cochlear implants, hearing aids, and vibrotactile aids.
Susan gained extensive knowledge in working with a wide range of children with hearing loss using a variety of hearing devices through her clinical and research positions. Over the past 20 years, she has specialized in conducting diagnostic listening and spoken language evaluations and teaching children to listen and talk using their auditory skills. She coached parents and mentored young professionals in using auditory-verbal strategies that are considered best practice for deaf and hard of hearing children to reach their full potential. Her clinical experience also includes working with children who have additional challenges including childhood apraxia of speech, autism spectrum disorder, executive function concerns, and sensory needs.
Susan actively volunteers in the community. She served on the board of Hear Indiana and as President of that board from 1999-2001. She was a member of the ad-hoc committee to mandate Universal Newborn Hearing Screening in the state of Indiana from 1998-2000. Susan currently is a board member for Indiana Hands and Voices and a member of the advisory committee for HEA 1484 Indiana Deaf Education and Assessments of Language (IDEAL).