Meet the BPM Research Team
Erica Knowles, PhD – Principal Investigator
Dr. Knowles is an associate professor in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Department at Berklee College of Music. They received a B.S. in Historical Musicology from Hofstra University, a M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Seton Hall University, and a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University.
Dr. Knowles is interested in how we acquire and understand musical structure. They are particularly interested in how musical training can influence how we learn from the auditory environment, and how different types of musical training can change the representation of and access to this information.
Outside of teaching and research, Dr. Knowles enjoys playing cello, running, and spending time with their family and friends.
Sarah Naqvi – Undergraduate Researcher*
Sarah Naqvi is a flutist and producer studying Electronic Production & Design at Berklee College of Music, with minors in Psychology and Creative Coding. She is fascinated by music cognition, as it blends her passions for music and science. Sarah is interested in cross-cultural research, particularly South and East Asian musical traditions, as well as psychoacoustics, spatial audio, and hearing sciences. In her free time, she enjoys playing music with friends and watching stand-up comedy.
*Currently completing an independent research project.
Fernando Crespo – Research Assistant
Fernando Crespo is an aspiring music therapist studying at Berklee College of Music. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he is eager to explore ethnocultural approaches to music therapy, particularly within Latin American communities. Fernando plans to further his studies in music therapy, with interests in the Nordoff-Robbins approach and cross-cultural research. Outside of music therapy, he is passionate about piano performance, especially jazz, Latin jazz, and salsa, as well as philosophy, with a special interest in existentialism. When he’s not studying or practicing, you might find him reading, working out, or playing salsa around Boston.
Monicki Firouzmand – Research Assistant
Monicki is a vocalist, songwriter, composer, and Tar player. She began her musical journey studying Persian classical music and later expanded her interests to jazz and pop. Before coming to Berklee College of Music, she studied psychology for three semesters in Iran. Currently, alongside her major in Contemporary Writing and Production, she is pursuing a minor in Psychology. Monicki is passionate about exploring the connection between music and the human mind.
Amber Sang – Research Assistant
Amber Sang is an undergraduate pipa player at Berklee College of Music, majoring in Music Therapy. She is particularly interested in neurologic music therapy and hopes to pursue a future career at the intersection of music, neuroscience, and medicine. Amber is also passionate about exploring how music-based interventions can support individuals with neurological conditions and how technology may be incorporated into clinical practice and research. In her free time, Amber enjoys playing games, journaling, and traveling.
Kyla Jayapurna – Research Assistant
Kyla Jayapurna is a music therapy student and vocalist at Berklee College of Music, raised in Bangkok, Thailand but originally from Indonesia. She is particularly interested in Neurologic Music Therapy, music used in rehabilitation, and fascinated by research on how music affects the brain. She has always been fascinated by the psychology of music and its effect on human cognition, and is interested in pursuing further research in an adjacent field. Outside of science, she loves going on long runs, performing at nursing homes, reading novels, and morning visits to new bakeries.
Interested in joining the team? Please contact Dr. Erica Knowles (eknowles@berklee.edu). You must be a registered Berklee (Boston – BCM or BCB) undergraduate student to participate in the lab. The lab functions as a “capstone” incubator for students who are looking to gain research experience in the area of music perception and cognition.
Lab Alumni
- Ethan Bessette
- Matt Issa-Abbas
- Ella Shalev
- Mi-Lan Hoang
- Logan Bautista
- Noah Solomon
- Bethanie Liu
- Rose Koo
- Mateo Larrea
- Sheena Odabashian
- Holly Jurca
- Claire Zhang
- Alexandra Grace
- Sierra Coe-Frisco
- Andrew Levine
