ABOUT ME
The ultimate goal of my research program is to understand the underlying mechanism of how and when speaker characteristics are integrated into lexical representations, and the consequences of this integration on the organization of children’s emerging lexicon. My work, to date, has explored this through four related topics: (1) how non-auditory information, especially about speaker characteristics, affects infants’ speech perception; (2) how speaker characteristics affect children’s word learning strategies; (3) identifying the neural mechanisms for how non-auditory information is integrated with lexical representations; and (4) how speaker characteristics affect learning even beyond language processing.
As a Cognitive Scientist, I take a multidisciplinary approach to language research. In my work I recruit theories and methodological approaches from cognitive neuroscience, cognitive science, and developmental psychology to investigate the intersection of speech processing, linguistics, and social cognition. Additionally, I draw from both monolingual and bilingual populations to gain a more diverse understanding of first language acquisition.
TRAINING
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Developmental Sociolinguistics
How do infants deal with the variability in their linguistic and social environment?
2017 - Present
University of British Columbia
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Audiovisual Speech Perception
Can babies use information from the mouth to help the recognize and learn new words?
Word Learning and Retention
Does speaker identity influence how new words are interpreted, and how well they are retained?
Social Cognition
How does language influence what children think about the people in their world?
2012 - 2017
University of Waterloo
PhD in Developmental Psychology
2008 - 2012
Queen's University
Bachelor of Computing Honours,
Specialization: Cognitive Science
Cognitive Neuroscience
How is language acquisition reflected in the brain?
Awards and Scholarships
Artinis Win-a-Brite contest. Received Artinis NIRS system to complete proposed neuroimaging study on word learning
Nomination for the Alice Wilson Award – Royal Society of Canada ($1,000)
Nomination from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship ($81,000)
Competition Rank: 1
Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Student Travel Award ($300)
Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology ($15,000)
Psychonomic Society Graduate Travel Award ($1,000)
Ontario Graduate Scholarship ($15,000)
2018
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2018
2018-2020
2017
2016-2017
2016
2015-2016