Education & Training
2022
Ph.D., Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Dissertation: Effects of Preceding Vowels on Physiological Responses to Successive Consonants
The University of Texas at Austin
2016
M.A., Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences – Research
Thesis: Cross-linguistic Semantic Priming Effects in English Language Learners
University of Colorado Boulder
2014
B.A., Foreign Languages and Literature
National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
Selected Publications
Aryal, S., Cheng, F.-Y., Mishra, S. K., & Smith, S. B. (2026). Brainstem encoding of speech in the extended high frequencies and its behavioral correlates. Journal of Neurophysiology, 135(1), 190–201.
Cheng, F.-Y., Medina, S., Obinna, O., & Smith, S. B. (2025). Dominant mid-to-high-frequency harmonics predict neural encoding and perception of concurrent vowels with large f0 differences. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 158(2), 1296–1307.
Cheng, F.-Y., Campbell, J., & Liu, C. (2024). Auditory sensory gating: Effects of noise. Biology, 13(6), 443.
Xu, C., Cheng, F.-Y., Medina, S., Eng, E., Gifford, R. H., & Smith, S. B. (2023). Objective discrimination of bimodal speech using frequency following responses. Hearing Research, 108853.
Cheng, F.-Y., & Smith, S. B. (2022). Objective detection of the speech frequency following response (sFFR): A comparison of two methods. Audiology Research, 12(1), 89–94.
Cheng, F.-Y., Xu, C., Gold, L., & Smith, S. B. (2021). Rapid enhancement of subcortical neural responses to sine-wave speech. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 15, 747303.
Cheng, F.-Y., & Champlin, C. A. (2021). Auditory brainstem responses to successive sounds: Effects of gap duration and depth. Audiology Research, 11(1), 38–46.
Narasimhan, B., Cheng, F.-Y., Davidson, P., Kan, P. F., & Wagner, M. (2017). The influence of visual, auditory, and linguistic cues on children's novel verb generalization. In G. Sengupta, S. Sircar, G. Raman, & R. Balusu (Eds.), Perspectives on the architecture and acquisition of syntax (pp. 217–233). Springer.
Selected Presentations
Aryal, S., Cheng, F.-Y., Mishra, S. K., & Smith, S. B. (2026, April). Extended high-frequency hearing loss disrupts neural encoding of speech at the brainstem. American Academy of Audiology (AAA) Convention, San Antonio, TX. Student Research Forum.
Smith, S. B., Aryal, S., & Cheng, F.-Y. (2025, December). Extended high frequency hearing predicts neural encoding and perception of speech in the standard frequency range. Sixth Joint Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Acoustical Society of Japan (ASA/ASJ), Honolulu, HI.
Aryal, S., Cheng, F.-Y., Mishra, S. K., & Smith, S. B. (2025, June). Beyond the audiogram: Brainstem encoding and behavioral correlates of EHF speech. International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group (IERASG), Boulder, CO.
Cheng, F.-Y., Sunderhaus, L., Shi, L., Obinna, O. S., Medina, S., Neukam, J. D., et al. (2025, February). Developmental impacts on neural and behavioral measures of binaural acuity in normal hearing and electroacoustic stimulation (EAS) listeners. Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) Midwinter Meeting, Orlando, FL.
Cheng, F.-Y., & Xu, C. (2024). Enhancing clinical decision-making with machine learning: Insights from auditory electrophysiology. Annual Conference of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), Seattle, WA.
Cheng, F.-Y., Smith, S. B., & Champlin, C. A. (2023). Effects of preceding vowels on physiological responses to successive consonants. Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) Midwinter Meeting, Orlando, FL.
Cheng, F.-Y., Xu, C., Gold, L., & Smith, S. B. (2022). Auditory perceptual shifts from non-speech to speech enhance subcortical auditory processing. Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) Midwinter Meeting, Virtual Meeting.
Cheng, F.-Y., Xu, C., Ornelas, M.-E., Goodall, H., Gold, L., & Smith, S. B. (2021). Attention effects on cortical neural processing in spatial listening. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 150(4), A143.
Teaching
Montclair State University
Spring 2026
CSND 545: Diagnostic II
Spring 2026
CSND 621: Implantable Devices for the Remediation of Hearing Loss
Fall 2025
CSND 708: Psychoacoustics
Fall 2025
CSND 750: Research Methods
Previous Teaching Experience
SLH 158L: Anatomy & Physiology of the Speech and Hearing Mechanisms Lab
Assistant Instructor, The University of Texas at Austin
SLH / CSD 358: Anatomy & Physiology of the Speech and Hearing Mechanisms
Teaching Assistant, The University of Texas at Austin
CSD 373: Principles of Aural Rehabilitation
Teaching Assistant, The University of Texas at Austin
Credentials & Professional Background
May 2025–Present
New Jersey Audiology License
State Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology
Aug. 2023–Present
Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A)
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Aug. 2023–Aug. 2025
Texas Audiology License
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
Clinical Background
Dr. Cheng is a licensed audiologist with clinical training in diagnostic audiology, electrophysiologic assessment, hearing technology, cochlear implant-related services, and aural rehabilitation. Her clinical background informs the BEAN Lab's focus on clinically relevant measures of speech perception and listening challenges.
