Grace Sampson, a senior in the School of Kinesiology majoring in Kinesiology with a neuroscience minor, was awarded a research grant by the University Research Opportunities Program.  The research project is centered around further understanding the neural mechanisms of spasmodic dysphonia, a speech disorder; leading to an effective and noninvasive treatment method. As an undergraduate research assistant working on this project, Grace will assist in many aspects. “I will be involved in recruiting participants, data collection, and data analysis/interpretation.” Grace discussed how she learned about the grant opportunity, “I first heard about UROP through my TA, Naveen Elangovan, who works in the Human Sensorimotor Control Lab. Through talking to him and Dr. Konczak I was able to get involved with the lab and submit my UROP proposal.”  The grant will mainly be used to fund the equipment needed for the study. Finally, Grace talked about how she felt to receive this. “I am honored to receive this grant because it gives me the opportunity to get involved in research as an undergraduate. I am looking forward to this experience, getting to work alongside everyone in the HSCL and learning all that I can from them.”