William Quackenbush

My name is Will Quackenbush, and I am a second-year Ph.D. student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program. I received my B.S. in Neuroscience with a Cellular and Developmental concentration and Minor in Violin Performance from Michigan State University. My many friendships across the autism spectrum have inspired me to pursue research and advocacy across the neurodiversity community. Particularly, I am interested in understanding the differences in unisensory and multisensory integration in autism, and how these differences map on to perception of simple and complex common objects. I am especially interested in elucidating the neural and physiological correlates of more sensory-driven (local) and context-dependent, holistic, (global) processing modes. Overall, my research aims to isolate (neuro)physiological factors influencing flexibility between global and local perception states, highlighting potential external factors (i.e., stimming). Outside of the lab, I am an avid fan of listening, playing, and dancing to music. You can find me enjoying a concert at the local symphony, playing the violin as a part of the Vanderbilt Commodore Orchestra, or dancing in the Vandy Ballroom club.