Samantha O’Connell
Postdoctoral Scholar
Keck School of Medicine
Email: sroconne@usc.edu
Dr. Sam O’Connell is a postdoctoral scholar at Keck School of Medicine of USC and is a member of the Bionic Ear Lab. Sam has been studying music psychology for the past 13 years and has conducted research about the benefits of music training on neural and cognitive development, the desire to move to music (i.e., musical groove), and has worked with a startup tech company that trained attention in those diagnosed with ADHD. Currently, she uses both EEG and fNIRS technologies to study pitch and rhythm perception in cochlear implant users with the hopes of improving their appreciation of music. She received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University in 2011 and she completed her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2021. When not in the lab, Sam’s an active violinist in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, a tap dancer, and enjoys cooking, hiking, yoga, and discovering new restaurants with her partner, Mike, and their rescue pup, Molly.
