I am primarily interested in sociophonetics and laboratory phonology, especially with respect to processes of language variation and change. Specifically, I use quantitative and experimental methods to address questions related to both production and perception of American English dialects. For example: What phonological and sociolinguistic knowledge do speakers have access to  in the domain of language variation and change? In what ways does language variation and change reflect broader phonological and social factors?

In the past, I have worked on the persistence of phonologically-conditioned intrusive consonants despite ongoing vocalic change among English speakers in Raleigh, North Carolina using a combination of ultrasound imaging and acoustic analysis. Additionally, I have worked on the ethnolinguistic conditioning of vowel system changes among English speakers in Robeson County, North Carolina. In the future, I plan to continue a research program that combines laboratory methods with variationist questions.