Principal Investigator

Duane is from Las Vegas, NV. He is interested in the cognitive processes that underlie language production, comprehension, and reading

Lab Manager

Doriana received her B.A. in Psychology and Cognitive Science from Rutgers University in 2023. Her previous research in Theory of Mind and language acquisition led to a broad interest in how one produces and comprehends language. She plans to attend graduate school in the future to further her studies in Psychology and Human Development.

Post-Doctoral Researcher

Michelle was born in Queens, NY to immigrant parents. In 2017, she completed her linguistics PhD work with Dr. Edith Kaan at the University of Florida. Michelle’s current research interests include eliciting spontaneous and naturalistic prosody in a lab setting, characterizing website texts using NLP tools, and examining the impact of digital reading exposure on grammatical processing and language choices. Her work is inspired by her experiences in linguistically diverse environments as a language learner, a heritage speaker, and an English instructor. Michelle also serves as a Language Teaching Specialist at the Vanderbilt English Language Center.

Post-Doctoral Researcher

Van's home base is St. Louis, MO but he grew up in the Philippines. He got his PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His interests include formalizing the nature of individual differences in word recognition and reading using computational models and behavioral studies; the interaction of language experience, oculomotor constraints, and cognitive processes in reading; methodology and measurement in psycholinguistics; and extending research on reading in psycholinguistics to research on reading in education.

Post-Doctoral Researcher

Delin received her first Ph.D. degree in Anthropology from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in France in 2021. Later, she got her second Ph.D. degree in Linguistics from the University of Florida in 2023. Her research focuses on the correlation between prosody and pragmatic functions conveyed by discourse markers (DMs). Her research employs both observational and sociolinguistic interview data. By using computational modeling and corpus data, she investigates how both linguistic environments and social factors contribute to the use of sociopragmatic variables (DMs) by both L1 and L2 speakers of French and English.

PhD Student and Researcher

Ebony received her B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Tennessee. Her previous research involved neuropsychological assessment and human neuroimaging methods (fMRI) to investigate the role of traumatic brain injury in reward processing and decision-making. She is broadly interested in cognitive mechanisms involved in language production and comprehension and memory impairment.

Graduate Research Assistant

Yunqing received her B.A. in TESOL in 2017. Before joining in Vanderbilt, she taught English and Chinese in K-12 Schools in China for a few years. She is currently a second-year graduate student in Multilingual Learner Education program. She is interested in the language growth of Dual Language Learners. She plans to either continue her teaching journey or do more research in multilingual learner education after graduation.

Graduate Research Assistant

Skyler received her B.S. in psychology from The University of Alabama in 2022. She is currently a first-year graduate student in the Child Studies program at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.

Graduate Research Assistant

Jiaheng received his degree in English Language and Literature from Northern Arizona University in 2022. He studied international Education Policy and management at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College. He is interested in research on multilingual policy, English education and more.

Graduate Research Assistant

Andy received his B.S. in computational linguistics from Wuhan University in China. He is interested in how languages are naturally processed in human brains and the mystery of multilingualism. Personally he is excited to learn new languages. He plans to pursue a further study in Psycholinguistics in the future.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Monica is a senior pursuing a double major in Child Development and Cognitive Studies, with minors in Biological Sciences and Medicine, Health & Society. With a diverse linguistic background, Monica grew up speaking Mandarin Chinese and later embarked on the journey of learning English and Japanese as her second languages. Monica's research interests revolve around language development and bilingualism, especially the complex interplay between language and cognition.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Mikaya is a senior majoring in Computer Science. He is interested in language processing and computational linguistics.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Jahnai is a senior (co 2024) studying HOD and Language Sciences. She is interested in researching language variation, specifically when it comes to bilingualism and dialect differences. She is especially interested in studying the way people process the dialect of African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Jahnai hopes to attend grad school and become a professor in psycholinguistics. Outside of the lab, Jahnai loves to dance/choreograph as well as create new recipes on her coffee Instagram.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Alex is a senior undergraduate student with a double major in cognitive studies & psychology, with a minor in chemistry. His research interests include language development, second language acquisition, and individual differences in processing. He also enjoys photography and playing piano.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Sophia is a senior from Jackson, MS double majoring in Cognitive Studies and Neuroscience. She is interested in reading and dyslexia, bilingualism, and computational linguistics. Outside of the lab, she enjoys crocheting and climbing.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Sandra is a senior double majoring in Cognitive Studies and Communication of Science and Technology, minoring in Data Science. She is currently completing her honors thesis which explores the influence from social factors on speech convergence. Her research interests include computational linguistics, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and bilingualism. Outside of the lab, Sandra enjoys drawing and hopes to pursue a career in UI/UX design

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Olivia is an undergraduate student (graduating in 2025) studying Gender & Sexuality Studies and Psychology. She loves research, social work, and art, and plans to go to medical school after graduating.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Jordan is a Sophomore majoring in Cognitive Studies and a minor in Cinema and Media Arts. She is passionate about understanding the human mind as it relates to the intricate world of film and media. She hopes to pursue a career in Entertainment law, where she can seamlessly blend her cognitive science expertise with a keen eye for dissecting the filmic apparatus and shaping impactful policies around film.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Larissa is a Freshman pursuing a double major in Political Science and Medicine, Health and Society, with a minor in Law, History and Society. Her research interest focuses on the best methods for second language acquisition and speech emergence, with a specific emphasis on enhancing resources for low-income ESOL speakers to access English learning tools freely. Outside of the lab, Larissa finds joy in reading horror novels (The Silence of the Lambs is her favorite), ceramics, and exploring new campus dining halls.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Naomi is an undergraduate student (BA ’27) double majoring in Medicine, Health, and Society and Cognitive Studies with a minor in Business. Her research interests focus on how language development and production influence dialogue and critical thinking. In her free time, Naomi enjoys playing guitar, traveling, and over-consuming coffee.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Arnav is a freshman pursuing a double major in cognitive studies and neuroscience with a minor in history. He is interested in language processing and sensory memory in the brain. Outside of that he loves a good movie and board game.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Kunaal is a junior from Nashville, TN majoring in Economics with minors in Data Science and Business. He is interested in researching the intricacies of human communication and decision making, specifically their applications in analyzing consumer behavior. Outside of the lab, Kunaal loves playing chess, basketball, and is pursuing a career in behavioral economics.

Graduate Research Assistant

Gio received his B.S. in Psychology from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and will graduate in 2024 with an M.S. in Cognitive Psychology. Originally from NY, NY, he has a passion for music and is interested in finding the ways in which song lyrics impact listeners.

High School Intern

Antoinette is a current high school senior at Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School (MLK) and at the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV). Antoinette’s love for neuroscience grew during her sophomore year while working with planarians and comparing and contrasting different addictive substances to humans’ reactions. She currently works on the PinMerge Project beside Ebony Pearson. She wants to attend a four-year institution and wants to major in biology, neuroscience, or psychology.

Ansley Potter is starting an exciting career in industry.

Ariel is now an assistant professor at Macalester College.

Brett is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Wei Lai is now starting her career with Amazon.

Sarah is now an NRC Research Associate at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Want to know more about the work she’s doing and her dog? Visit https://my.vanderbilt.edu/sabibyk/.

Jenna is now a psychology Ph.D. graduate student at the University of California - Davis.

Andres Buxo-Lugo is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland.

Siva is now a student in the Stanford Linguistics Graduate Program.