Congratulations to Nicole Richard Williams

Congratulations to Nicole Richard Williams for completing her PhD in Music and Health Sciences with a Collaborative Specialization in Neuroscience in spring of 2024. Her research investigated the impact of neurologic music therapy on motor skills in autistic individuals, as well as on music-based therapists’ use of telehealth with autistic individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. During her PhD, Nicole co-authored seven publications, with five as first author. These articles can be found in journals including Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, Frontiers in Pediatric Psychology, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, NeuroRehabilitation, and the Journal of Music Therapy. Nicole has presented on her research at conferences such as the World Congress of Neurorehabilitation (Vienna, Austria), the World Congress of Music Therapy (Vancouver, BC), the Nordic Music Therapy Conference (online), and the Society for Music Perception and Cognition (New York, NY), among others. Nicole received several grants and awards during her time at the University of Toronto including several conference travel grants, two successive Ontario Graduate Student awards, the Elaine Keillor Music and Health Research Fellowship, and a COVID-19 Student Engagement Award. In 2021, Nicole was hired as tenure-track faculty at Belmont University in Nashville, TN, where she continues to work as an Assistant Professor of Music Therapy.