Lab Members

Personnel

Dr. Karen Emmorey Dr. Karen Emmorey is a Professor in the School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at San Diego State University and Director of the Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Neuroscience. full bio
Lucinda Batch I am a mother of two teenage sons. I enjoy being a mom and love watching them playing high school football, soccer, wrestling, and track n' field. I enjoy outdoor activities, reading, traveling, and family quality time. I have been involved in sign language for over 13 years and am currently a Research Assistant at LLCN. I look forward to meeting you when you visit our lab.
Dr. Shannon Casey Shannon Casey received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California, San Diego and is a part-time lecturer in the Human Development Program there. Casey's research focuses on relationships among gestures, signed languages, and spoken languages, particularly through analyses of gestural productions by hearing non-signers, hearing native ASL signers, hearing novice signers, and deaf children acquiring ASL as a native language. In this vein, she has studied the possible gestural origins of verb agreement morphology in signed languages and the influence of ASL acquisition on co-speech gesture.
Melissa Herzig Melissa Herzig is a Deaf graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in Deaf Education at UCSD. She has worked on the nature of ASL classifier constructions and is interested in how signing space can be best used to facilitate understanding in educational settings. She is developing an ASL assessment scale for use with K-12 students.
Amy L. Hubbard web site: http://amylynnhubbard.googlepages.com Amy Hubbard received her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2009. While at UCLA, Dr. Hubbard was a member of Mirella Dapretto's fMRI laboratory and a visiting scholar in Daniel Callan's laboratory at ATR International in Kyoto, where she investigated how the brain processes speech-accompanying beat gesture. She has used functional neuroimaging to research the integration of gesture and speech in both first and second language English speakers as well as in children with autism and typically-developing children. Dr. Hubbard received her M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language from The Pennsylvania State University. Prior to that, she completed a B.A. in East Asian Studies at Washington and Lee University and worked as a Japanese-English interpreter in Japan and New York City.
Heather Larrabee Heather Larrabee received her Bachelor's degree in Linguistics-Cognition and Language from UCSD in June 2008. She took her first ASL class in 2002 and joined Karen's lab in June of 2004 as a Research Assistant. After traveling around the country for both the humanitarian aide organization, Invisible Children, and Roadtrip Nation Productions, she realized she wants to do as much traveling in her life as possible. She hopes to somehow incorporate her background in neuroscience, ASL, and advocacy into one awesome profession. When she grows up she wants to change the world.
Dr. Stephen McCullough Stephen McCullough is a Research Scientist in LLCN. He uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural systems that underlie sign language and the cognitive systems that support sign language processing (e.g., face recognition, motion perception).
Dr. Brenda Nicodemus Brenda Nicodemus received a Ph.D. in Educational Linguistics from the University of New Mexico. She has researched gender variation in interpretation, repetition in ASL discourse, categorical perception of signed languages, ASL narrative, and interpretation of ASL metaphor. Her dissertation, "The Use of Prosodic Markers to Indicate Utterance Boundaries in ASL Interpretation," was awarded a Pass With Distinction. Brenda has been a signed language interpreter since 1989 and holds the CI, CT and NIC-Advanced from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Brenda has taught at various postsecondary institutions, and, in 2003, was selected as the UNM Teaching Assistant of the Year.
Dr. Jennifer Petrich Jennifer Petrich received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 2004. Dr. Petrich's previous research focused on visual motion processing and attentional processing differences between normal and dyslexia readers and between deaf signers and hearing non-signers. Currently, Dr. Petrich's interests lie in studying the neural mechanisms that underlie language and motion processing in deaf signers.
Dr. Jill Weisberg Jill Weisberg received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Georgetown University, where she used functional brain imaging to examine spatial processing and object recognition in deaf and hearing populations. Since 1993, she has also been a member of the Laboratory of Brain and Cognition at NIMH, focusing on various aspects of learning and memory. Those studies explored how concepts are represented in the brain (e.g. objects concepts, social interaction) using functional brain imaging. Prior to that, Jill completed a B.A in French and an M.A. in Experimental Neuropsychology at George Mason University.

Students

Christiana David Christiana David is a graduate student in San Diego State University's Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences M.A. program. She received her BA in Communicative Disorders with a minor in Psychology from SDSU in 2009. As an undergraduate she completed a Senior Honors Thesis titled, "Disfluencies in American Sign Language and English: What "UMs" and "uhs" Tell us About Language Production. Christiana is currently continuing her work on the Disfluencies project and studying to become a Speech-Language Pathologist.
Tanya Denmark Tanya Denmark is a graduate student studying for her Ph.D. at the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre at University College London. Tanya's Ph.D. focuses on the communication of deaf children with autism, she is specifically looking at the production and comprehension of affective and linguistic facial expressions in British Sign Language. She has been awarded a Bogue Fellowship Award from UCL to study at LLCN during part of the fall semester.
Ashley Engle Ashley is currently a SLHS major at SDSU. Ashley moved down from Orange County to go to SDSU especially for the SLHS program. She is studying to become a teacher at a Deaf institute. Ashley fell in love with ASL during her first course and decided that she wanted to fit sign language into her career. She has always been interested in researching and was grateful that she could help with bilingual researching. She is excited to learn as much as she possibly can about ASL and Deaf culture.
Cierra Gordon Cierra Gordon is a SLHS student at SDSU, who is very interested in SLHS research and loves exploring the many different fields of speech pathology. Her plan for the future is to simply make a positive difference is as many people's lives as she can…whether that be in research, speech pathology, or something all together different, she is not yet sure. She fell in love with Deaf culture and sign language while taking Dr. Emmorey's SLHS 150 class and she now aspires to become fluent in ASL and conversational in Spanish. She is incredibly enthusiastic about being able to work in the lab and help discover "the many incredible mysteries that lay waiting inside our minds."
Mandy Lenham Mandy Lenham is a 4th year premedical student at SDSU majoring in Mathematics and minoring in Women's Studies. She is very interested in deaf culture because she was raised by deaf parents and has been surrounded by the culture all her life. Working in the LLCN is a perfect opportunity to gain valuable research experience in a subject she thoroughly enjoys. Mandy hopes to attend medical school one day and become a doctor in the field of women's health.
Elisabeth Lottman Elisabeth is currently a first year graduate student in SDSU's Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences M.A. program. She decided to pursue this degree to become a speech language pathologist after developing a passion for American Sign Language. She has completed ASL coursework in high school, as well as obtaining an ASL certificate at the University of Central Florida during her undergraduate education. Elisabeth hopes that by gaining experience in the LLCN that she will be able to improve her signing skills and have more opportunities to participate in Deaf events.
Danielle Lucien Danielle Lucien is currently in her last year of the Speech Language Pathology Masters program at San Diego State University. She's currently doing her externship at La Jolla Elementary and Marcy Day High School. Next semester she will be working in a hospital or rehab and finally will be graduating in May 2010. She has taken 3 semesters of American Sign Language but would love to continue practicing and taking classes as soon as her busy schedule permits. She joined the lab in Fall of 2006 and has done most of her work on bilingual projects in the lab.
Isidore Niyongabo Isidore Niyongabo was born and grew up in Burundi. He was born hearing and became deaf at age 10 due to Spinal Meningitis. In 2005 he moved to Fremont, California and attended Ohlone College where he obtained his Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and Social Studies. Isidore is currently an undergraduate Psychology major at San Diego State University. Isidore is fluent in three spoken languages and three signed languages. He is excited to be involved in the lab where he is hoping to incorporate his language skills and interests in studying cognitive neuroscience. He is hoping to go on to graduate school in Behavioral and Neuroscience Medicine. His dream is to help deaf and hard of hearing people in third world countries within the social and psychological arena.
Adam Stone Adam Stone is a second-year Deaf M.A. student in Teaching & Learning: ASL-English Bilingual Education at UCSD. A San Diego native, he has lived in many places including Sri Lanka, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. He received a B.S. in Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology. At UCSD, he is interested in studying and discovering best practices for teaching ASL, English, and math literacy to primary-age Deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Adam is really excited to work at LLCN this summer.
Jonathan Udoff Jonathan Udoff is a PhD student in the UCSD/SDSU Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders. He received his BA in Cognitive Science and Hispanic Studies from Brown University in 2007. At Brown, Jonathan became involved in ASL classes and the ASL club, leading him to spearhead Brown's "Save ASL" campaign in the spring of 2005. Jonathan's research focuses on the psycholinguistics of sign languages and of bilingualism. He is particularly interested in how bimodal bilingualism differs from mono-modal bilingualism. In addition to ASL, Jonathan speaks Spanish and Catalan.

Previous Students

Cristina Baus Cristina Baus is a PhD student from the University of la Laguna (Spain). She is working at the moment on the role of the phonological parameters on signed language production. She plans to do a short stage in Dr. Karen Emmorey's lab, during three months this summer.
Meghan Corcoran I am currently a senior at San Diego State University. In December of 2006 I will receive my degree in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, with an emphasis in Deaf Education. I enjoy studying American Sign Language and learning about the deaf culture. I am currently trying to decide if I want to focus my career on working with the deaf community in terms of research, counseling and/or teaching. I love working with the children at my church and getting to know the families they grow up in. On the rare occasion I'm not at school or working you could probably find me out with my friends shopping, wakeboarding, watching the game or playing cards.
Alisha Dixon I am currently a senior at SDSU majoring in Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences. I plan on attending graduate school this next fall and hope to become a Speech-Language Pathologist. I have taken three semesters of ASL and I plan on taking a fourth. I want to learn as much as possible about what is universal about language, whether it be signed or spoken. I hope to someday work with Deaf children, possibly in the education field.
Jordan Fenlon Jordan Fenlon is a Deaf graduate student studying for his Ph.D. at the University College London. His Ph.D. focuses on prosody in British Sign Language and examines whether brow movement in questioning can be analysed as prosodic (as opposed to syntactic). He has been awarded a Bogue Fellowship Award from UCL to study at LLCN during the fall semester.
Marcel Giezen Marcel Giezen is a PhD Student at the Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication in The Netherlands. He earned his MA in Linguistics from the University of Amsterdam in 2007, with a focus on language development and disorders, and sign linguistics. Currently, he is involved in a research project on speech perception and sign perception in deaf children with a cochlear implant. In this project, one of the major questions concerns the role of bimodal input in lexical learning. He has received a Fulbright grant to spend four months at the LLCN as a visiting scholar.
Ashley Jung Ashley Jung is a undergraduate student in the Speech Language and Hearing Sciences and Graphic Design departments at San Diego State University. Having to choose which degree to pursue, she decided to study both because she enjoys both the creative arts and the study of speech pathology. Ashley has taken American Sign Language courses and is interested in the studies pertaining and involving the psycholinguistics of sign language production. She is eager to see how Deaf studies and ASL will have an influence on her continuing education in graduate school.
Barbara Malone I am a graduate student in the Speech-Language Pathology program at San Diego State University. I received my BA in Communication Disorders from San Diego State University. I became interested in Deaf culture after taking American Sign Language courses and attending several community events during my undergraduate program. I anticipate learning more sign and gaining additional information pertaining to the realities of research projects. I hope to benefit from this experience later in my profession, and I plan to work with children who utilize augmentative and alternative communication techniques.
Renece McMorris Renece McMorris is a San Diego native pursuing a degree in Speech and Language Pathology at San Diego Sate University. She hopes to one-day work with the older populations to make a difference in their lives. In the mean time Renece participates in a club called Best Buddies. On her free time she likes to travel and shop.
Lindsay Nemeth Lindsay is a San Diego State University senior due to receive her degree in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences in Fall 2007. Lindsay has taken four years of American Sign Language at SDSU and Grossmont College. In the future, she hopes to acquire an AuD, Doctorate in Audiology, and plans to continue her studies after receiving her bachelor's. Lindsay interest in American Sign Language began when she was a child. Working in the lab will help her gain more experience in the use of this language.
Wanda Riddle I just received my B.A. in American Sign Language Studies from Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C. I am currently becoming an intern for several months. After interning, I am expected to return to D.C. and be a graduate student at Gallaudet University, studying either Lingusitics or Deaf Studies. I love teaching American Sign Language and work with deafblind people, interpreting. On my days off, I play disc golf, read novels, enjoy hiking/camping.
Natalie Sciortino Natalie Sciortino is currently a senior at San Diego State University studying Speech and Hearing Sciences. Juggling school and working at In-N-Out Burger Natalie remains passionate about her future and the lives she hopes to affect. She has taken three semesters of ASL and plans to pursue a career as a Speech-Language Pathologist.
Kristen Stebbens Kristen Stebbens is a "super senior" undergraduate at UCSD earning her B.S. in Psychology this June 2006. She is currently working with Dr. Jennie Pyers on spatial cognition and the use of space in ASL and in Nicaraguan Sign Language. After graduating, she plans to pursue a possible career as a Criminal Psychologist. When she is not going to school, working at the lab, studying, or being a nanny, she enjoys working out or watching re-runs of "Law and Order" and "CSI." Upon working at LLCN, she has found an extreme interest in ASL and is eager to begin taking classes.
Vanessa Tugade Vanessa is currently a senior at SDSU majoring in Speech-Language Pathology. Taking 3 semesters of ASL has sparked her interest in Deaf culture and she looks forward to learning more through this lab. She plans to attend graduate school this upcoming fall and is working hard towards accomplishing her goals.
Cherie Woodward I am a senior at UCSD, majoring in Psychology. So far I have taken four quarters of American Sign Language and currently work with Deaf teenagers who are foster kids and have severe behavior disorders. In the future, I plan to attend graduate school to get my Masters in Social Work, and possibly continue my work with the Deaf community.
Sarah Wylly Sarah Wylly is a graduate student at SDSU in the speech-language pathology program. She received her BA in Communication Sciences and Disorders from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Sarah has spent time working with the Deaf in Mexico and researching the dynamics of deafness within Hispanic families. She is excited to be working in the lab with the hopes of practicing sign and getting a taste of all the research projects currently underway.