Ph.D.
Li-Chuan “Matt” Ku received his Ph.D. in Psychology in May 2023, with a minor in Cognitive Science. His dissertation used EEG and behavioral measures to investigate the processing of emotional language in context in older adults. Additionally, he worked on non-literal language processing, including joke comprehension as well as metaphors for emotional memories. Matt is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, working on decoding brain signals and speech signals to answer questions about language and cognition.
Valeria Pfeifer received her Ph.D. in Psychology in May 2022, with a minor in Cognitive Science. Her dissertation used EEG and behavioral measures to investigate how irony impacts negative emotion. Additionally, she worked on the role of metaphor in the mental health of cancer patients, how emojis impact text processing, and irony in bilingual/bicultural populations. Valeria is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Matthias Mehl’s Naturalistic Observation of Social Interaction (NOSI) lab at the UArizona, working on language and social interaction in older adults.
Anna Kamenetski (Katikhina) completed her Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) in December 2021, with a minor in Cognitive Science. Her dissertation used EEG and behavioral measures to investigate event representations in speakers of languages that encode verbal aspect and those that don’t. Additionally, she worked on language effects on motion perception in bilinguals. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø.
Stanley Donahoo completed his Ph.D. in Linguistics (advisor Thomas G. Bever) in December 2021, with a minor in Cognitive Science. His dissertation used EEG and behavioral measures to investigate swear words (e.g., damn) with and without context. More generally, he is interested in experimental pragmatics and sentence processing in context. Stanley currently works as a scientific consultant at Brain Vision LLC.
Rachel Brown completed her Ph.D. in Linguistics (advisor Thomas G. Bever) in May 2020, with a minor in Cognitive Science. Her dissertation used EEG and behavioral measures to examines the processing of multiword expressions (e.g. tall wheat farmer, automatic copy machine) in sentences. More generally, she is interested the interaction between semantics and syntax, sentence processing, and user experience research. She is currently working as a UX researcher.
Xiaolong Lu received his PhD in the Second Language Acquisition Program (SLAT) in May 2023. His dissertation used a psycholinguistic approach to examine the processing of formulaic expressions in Chinese as a second language. He collaborated in the lab project on metaphors for emotion in Mandarin Chinese. He is currently a lecturer at the University of Texas Austin.
Postdoctoral researchers
Ekaterina (Katya) Delikishkina joined the lab as a postdoc from 2020-2021 after graduating from the International Doctorate in Experimental Approaches to Language and Brain (Universities of Trento and Groningen). Together with Vicky, Katya is working on an fMRI project focusing on the facilitation of concept learning through the use of metaphor. In her spare time, Katya reads non-fiction and explores the outdoors on foot and by bike. She is currently working as a postdoc in Chicago, in the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
Nyssa Bulkes was a post doc in the lab from 2017-2018. She worked on a number of projects, including on idioms, color associations, and metaphors. She moved on to a data science position in industry.
Undergraduate Students
Emma Armstrong was a part of the lab from 2016 until she graduated in 2019 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science and minors in Biochemistry and Linguistics. Throughout her time in the lab, she helped collect EEG data for several projects before working on and completing her honors thesis looking at the effect of emojis on the processing of emotional language. She is currently working as a full-time researcher in a clinical trials laboratory at the University of Arizona and completing a Master’s degree.
Aniha Kumar was part of the lab from 2017 and graduated in 2019 with a B.SC. in Psychology and a minor in Molecular Biology. Her contributions to the lab include collecting and processing EEG data for various projects. During her last semester, she took on the role of a lab manager, where she managed undergraduate researchers, multiple projects and the lab facility. She worked closely with Dr. Lai on a project investigating the effect of metaphorical language on the emotional state of an individual. She is currently a graduate student for the Psychology M.A. program at San Diego State University.
Colin Tidwell was an undergraduate student who graduated in Spring 2020 with a major in psychology and a minor in Spanish. His honors thesis in the lab tried to better understand the link between metaphor use and mental health outcomes. Currently, Colin is a PhD student in the clinical program at the UA. In his free time, Colin enjoys traveling, running, and doing mental health advocacy work.
Elizabeth Heidler was an undergraduate student in the lab and graduated in Fall 2019 with a BA in Psychology. She is interested in the psychology field, particularly in neuropsychology. Elizabeth worked a research assistant helping collect EEG data and analyze data and acted as undergraduate lab manager in Fall 2019. When she has spare time, Elizabeth loves to practice yoga, hike, drink tea, and spend time with friends.
Katie Sendek was an undergraduate studying Cognitive Neuroscience at the College of Wooster and visited the University of Arizona as a summer research assistant on APEX funding. She graduated in Spring 2020 from College of Wooster. Katie’s honors thesis looked at differences in the processing of taboo language in American and British English. She is currently a PhD student with Dr. Tamara Swaab at UC Davis. Outside of the lab, she likes to play rugby, hike, read, and watch movies.
Caleb Troncoso wrote his honors thesis in the lab and graduated in Spring 2018. His thesis looked at the learning of science concepts with metaphor. He is currently in a graduate program in Educational Psychology.
Shannon Macneil was an undergraduate student and graduated in Spring 2020 with a double major in Psychology and Education, and a minor in History. She worked as a research assistant in the lab, as well as being undergraduate lab manager in Spring 2020. Shannon is currently pursuing post-bachelor training at ASU to become a Speech-Language-Pathologist. Her favorite things to do outside of the lab are singing, playing guitar, hiking, spending time with friends, going on road trips, and learning new things!
Claudia Valenzuela graduated in Spring 2020 with a BS from NSCS: Neuroscience and Cognitive Science and a minor in Marketing. She is specifically interested in neuromarketing and understanding how certain words used in ad campaigns attract people with like interests. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading Sci-Fi novels, spending time with friends, traveling, and watching movies.
Nicole Werner is an undergraduate honors student majoring in psychology. She is interested in working with underrepresented populations in the field of psychology. She is a research assistant in the lab. She also assists in teaching English and computer skills to immigrants and refugees in the Tucson community. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, writing poetry, traveling, cooking, and playing board games and cards.
Daniela Georges was an undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science and graduated in Fall 2019. She is interested in language development, specifically bilingualism. Daniela worked on her honors thesis in the lab to better understand how perception of motion events may change for Polish-English bilinguals. She is now studying at the University of Southern California to receive her doctorate in physical therapy. Although now retired from competitive swimming, Daniela still enjoys swimming or teaching younger kids how to swim. In her free time, Daniela enjoys reading,
Vincent Severietti is an undergraduate student majoring in BS of Psychology. His goal is to become a Physical Therapist and own his own clinic. His favorite things to do outside of class are running, watching sports, seeing movies, and hanging out with friends.
Sophia Maytorena was an undergraduate student in the Honors College double majoring in Psychological Science and Spanish Linguistics, and graduated in Spring 2021. She is interested in psycholinguistics, particularly with language acquisition in bilinguals and understanding ironic processes. Sophia is a member in the Pride of Arizona marching band and enjoys running and traveling in her free time. Currently, she is in the Master’s program of Science in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at UA.
Finlay Parsons is an undergraduate student majoring in math, philosophy, and physics. He’s interested in cognitive neuroscience and cognitive psychology and is working the the lab as an undergraduate research assistant. In this free time, he enjoys reading, cooking, and drumming.
Alexa Garcia was an undergraduate honors student from San Diego, California. She graduated in Spring 2020 with a BS in Psychology. Her goal is to become a clinical Psychologist, as her interests are both in clinical and cognitive psychology. She hopes to use her time here in the lab to better her understanding of the cognitive effects language has on the brain. In her free time, she enjoys visiting family and walking her fluffy pup Buttercup.
Madison Officer is a junior in the Honors College majoring in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science. Some of her passions within neuroscience include CTE and Neurolaw, the junction between neuroscience and the criminal justice system. She is also a member of the UArizona equestrian team and enjoys reading and modeling in her free time.
Miranda Diaz was an undergraduate student majoring in Psychological Science and minoring in Family Studies and Human Development. She is interested in clinical psychology and she hopes to work primarily with children, adolescents, and their families in the future. In her free time, she enjoys having game nights with friends, watching movies, and taking care of her little sister. Currently, she is in the Master of Counseling, Rehabilitation and Mental Health Specialization program in the Education Department.
Luis Hernandez was an undergraduate student majoring in Psychological Science and minoring in Spanish. He also worked in Dr. Jessica Andrews-Hanna’s NET lab in the psychology department, and graduated in Spring 2021. He is interested in all aspects of psychology, but some of his favorites revolve around social psychology, for example theory of mind, self esteem, emotions, and memory. His ultimate goal is to become a clinical psychologist.
Rachael Ramirez is a junior majoring in BS of Psychology. She is interested in the field of clinical psychology and a research assistant in the lab. She also works in Dr. Mary-Frances-O’Connor’s GLASS lab. In her free time, Rachael enjoy reading mystery books, spending time with friends and family, and exploring nature.
Aidan Smith graduated in Spring 2022 with a major in psychological science and a minor in classics. His main interests lie in cross-cultural language development, and individual differences of language acquisition. His further research passions are in mental health, psychopathology, and disorders of all kinds. In his free time, Aidan loves to take runs, hike, skate, hangout with friends, and play video games.
Penelope Stuart is an Honors student, majoring in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, Linguistics, and Arabic, and minoring in Spanish and Art History. Her primary interests include first language acquisition, aphasia, syntactic processing, universal grammar, and consciousness. Penelope is also working as an intern for the Department of Mexican American Studies, assisting in phonological research and language revitalization projects, practicing folkorico dance, serving as a student ambassador for Social Behavioral Sciences, listening to minimalist opera, biking around Tucson, and striving to create the perfect espresso.
Ethan Bennett was a psychology major with a minor in biochemistry and graduated in Spring 2022. He is interested in language and empathy and how those two connect. Outside of the lab, he likes hockey and baseball a lot and likes to play videogames when his favorite teams aren’t playing. Ethan also like cats and has 6 of them back home.
Ivan Vanek is a junior majoring in Neuroscience, French, and Linguistics with a minor in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences. In his free time, he can be found skateboarding around campus or hosting Rubik’s Cube competitions around the state!
Tachelle Morez was an undergraduate student in the lab working on ERP data analysis, specifically on temporal duration features of events and objects. She also received funding from the Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities (WAESO) for her work on metaphors and learning together with Caleb Troncoso.
Ariel Rhine is a junior Honors student majoring in psychology, with a minor in ASL. She is interested in combining her two passions, psychology and ASL, by filling the gap of psychological research regarding the Deaf community. Outside of school, she spends her time working as a caregiver with older adults and those with disabilities. When Ariel isn’t at work, she enjoys reading poetry, traveling, and, most of all, sleeping.
Sharon Gutierrez is double majoring in Psychological Sciences and Neuroscience and Cognitive Science with an emphasis in Cognition. She is also volunteering and working in the Memory and Development Disorders Laboratory. She is interested in how language affects thought processing, especially in bilinguals, and also the connection between the mind and the physical brain in general. In her free time, Sharon enjoys spending time with her friends and family, having picnics, traveling, and watching shows.
Aurora Gabow is an Honors student majoring in Psychology and Criminal Justice Studies with minors in Spanish and Sociology. She is also working in the Temporal Interpersonal Emotion Systems Lab on campus. Aurora is interested in language processing and how this relates to the treatment and management of mental illness. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing poetry, spending time with friends and family, and trying to befriend her neighborhood’s stray cats.
Emily Abundis is a junior majoring in Biochemistry and Psychological Science with a minor in Latin. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, skateboarding, listening to music, reading and writing, and watching shows.
Mariam Terry is a senior majoring in Psychological Sciences with a pre-med emphasis. She is currently studying for the MCAT, and working on solidifying her application for medical school in May. She is also a lab assistant for research that is interested in how blinks in humans are correlated to Dopamine levels. She plans on joining the club volleyball team for U of A in her free time!
Toscya Williams is a fourth-year student majoring in Psychological Sciences. In addition to working in the CNoL lab, she is involved with the Alliance for Vaccine Literacy project, collecting data on vaccine hesitancy among asylum seekers. She also serves as the co-director for Kesem at the U of A, providing children impacted by a parent’s cancer journey with fun-filled programs and year-round support. Toscya spends most of her free time either hanging out with her siblings, watching movies, or upcycling thrifted clothing.
Naomi Aragon-Juarez is a junior Honors student majoring in Psychology Science and Spanish with a minor in Korean. She is interested in language processing and the bilingual brain. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, dancing and listening to Kpop, and trying to learn different languages.