Ellen H
- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at University of Southern California (USC)

Expertise

Neuroscience of creativity and music, Parkinson's disease, older adults, Child development, interpersonal entrainment, rhythmic synchrony, arts as a therapeutic intervention, Acting training, Musical Theatre, Auditioning, Writing for the stage, and all artistic creative work

Bio

Ny name is Ellen, and I am an intersectional scientist blending the worlds of creativity and the arts with neuroscience and psychology. My background is in both theatre and music performance and in neuroscience and psychological methods. I've worked in regional theatre performance as an actor as well as as a tap dancer, puppeteer, and vocalist! I also spent several years working as a research coordinator with patients who have Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. In my PhD I am bringing my passions together to study creativity and the arts through a neuroscientific lens. Currently, I study the impact of music and theatre training on child development, singing and meditation on older adults, and synchronous rhythmic movement on social bonding and empathy. In my spare time, I am an avid crocheter, backpacker, and I still sing and tap dance! I'm also the owner of an adorable rescue dog, Korra, who has taught me a lot of about working with trauma and teaching. I also love teaching!

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Research Proposals and Project Development

If you've never done research before, it can be intimidating to figure out where to start. I can help you develop a research proposal idea, and learn how to put together a written proposal, and possibly even go through the experience of collecting your own data. You want to be passionate about what you study, so we will start with brainstorming what excites YOU! You would then go through a literature review process to identity existing research and find gaps in the literature to discover an interesting question you want to try to answer. We could then put together the project surveys and then possibly even collect your own data through interviews, surveys, or other methods.

Create your own play, musical, or monologue

One of the fun things about working in the arts is it is an opportunity to get creative and express your own work! Your goal would be to put together a short piece, be it a personal monologue, a musical, or a play. You can dream big, and express yourself anyway you want! Once we get some ideas flowing, we would focus on how you tell the story, what your goals are, and how to get them across to your audience. There are no limits in this type of work. We would discover together the best way forward!

Audition Coaching

We all experience audition stress: from doing a great slate, to really nailing your character arc in your 1 minute monologue or 16 bar audition song, there's a lot of pressure! I can help you gain comfort and ease through all parts of your audition process, whether it's for a community theatre audition, auditions for college or conservatory, or your professional career. We will figure out the details of what you need to succeed together.

Data Analysis

In this project, you would learn all the ins and out of analyzing data. This could be anywhere from some coding in R to discover what behavioral data is telling you, to learning how fMRI works and how to analyze, visualize, and report fMRI data. This would be for a highly motivated student who wants to really push themselves and their skillset

Coding skills

proficient in R, basic python

Languages I know

French, beginner

Teaching experience

I spent four years as tutor for undergraduate biology, chemistry, and neuroscience classes working one on one and in small groups with students who needed help really focusing in on getting through tough material. I have taught theatre and arts education for children from ages 6 to 18 years old, focusing on acting training, improvisation, stage presence, singing, and performance skills. I have taught an intro to psychology course (Psychological Science and Society), an intensive 4 week summer course that covers a full semester's worth of material for college credit. I have been a teaching assistant for two courses, Cognitive Neuroscience as well as Music, Mind, and Brain.