People

Alexis K. Black

Principal Investigator

Dr. Black is interested in how babies see, hear, feel – and learn! – about their worlds. She received her Ph.D. in Linguistics and Cognitive Systems from the University of British Columbia in 2018, where she focused on auditory statistical learning across the lifespan. Alexis then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Haskins Laboratories, where she used a technique called neural decoding to study infant and adult EEG and hemodynamic brain signals. When she’s not in the lab, Alexis is probably either spending time outdoors, cuddling with her family, or reading (with a steaming cup of coffee!).

Martin Oberg

Lab Manager

Martin has undergraduate degrees from the University of Washington in Psychology and Linguistics where he studied visual perception with Geoffery Loftus. As a graduate student at UBC Martin studied conversational postural coordination with Eric Vatikiotis-Bateson.

Martin is interested in language acquisition and speech acoustics. When not in the lab, Martin is likely teaching his daughters how to solve a Rubik’s Cube.

Helen Shiyang Lu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Helen received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Southern California in 2024. Her research interests center around understanding the cognitive and perceptual mechanisms underlying language acquisition, particularly in infancy. Her projects now investigate how infants process and segment speech, comparing the developmental trajectories of mono- and multilingual learners. When not in the lab, Helen is likely at home cooking or enjoying the company of cats wherever she can find them, whether at shelters, sanctuaries, or cat cafés.

Ka Keung (Leon) Lee

PhD Student, Audiology and Speech Sciences

Leon is a PhD student in Audiology and Speech Sciences. He is interested in investigating the neural organization of language and how physiological differences in the brain give rise to diverse language development trajectories across the lifespan. Through this work, Leon hopes to contribute insights into the diagnosis and treatment of language disorders. Outside of research, Leon enjoys physical training, gaming, building plastic models, reading, and taking spontaneous photos of street cats.

Mandelena Chetty

Thesis Student, MSc Speech Language Pathology

Mandelena is an M.Sc. student in UBC’s Speech-Language Pathology program. Her research and clinical interests centre on infant and childhood development, with a focus on the intersection of speech with feeding and swallowing concerns. She is actively involved in primary education work abroad and hopes to integrate her current learning and future practice cross-culturally. Outside of school, she enjoys travelling, trying new workout classes, and checking out the latest coffee shops.

Thalia Hernandez-DePaoli

Thesis Student, MSc Audiology

Thalia is studying for her masters at the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences with a major in audiology. She hopes to become an audiologist in the greater Vancouver area after graduation. With her bachelors in neuroscience, she has a special interest in electroencephalography (EEG). She wishes to use EEG to look at language development processes in infants for her thesis. In her free time, Thalia enjoys dancing flamenco, hiking, and travelling.

Ashley Bae

Research Assistant

I am currently in my 3rd year of Honours Life Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. My professional goals are focused on a career in healthcare with a specialization in psychology. I’m interested in multilingual language acquisition, language processing, and the role of pragmatics on communication. Outside of school, I enjoy playing guitar and cooking!

Zoe Chung

Research Assistant, MSc Speech Language Pathology

Zoe is a speech-language pathology student and research assistant at the lab. She is interested in how babies demonstrate their language-learning abilities before they even begin to talk. Outside of the lab, Zoe enjoys reading, drawing, and going on walks. One of her first words was “wo-wo”, which she used to mean “flower”, “towel”, “yo-yo”, and “Zoe”!

Sonia Jafari

Research Assistant

Sonia is a fifth-year student at UBC, majoring in Cognitive Systems and minoring in Speech Sciences. She is interested in language acquisition and bilingualism, particularly how children learn and navigate multiple languages and how their unique language experiences shape their early development. Outside of lab and classes, she enjoys reading, knitting, and (re)organizing just about anything.

Jennifer Lin

Research Assistant, MSc Speech Language Pathology

Jennifer completed her undergraduate degree at UBC studying Speech Sciences and Special Education. She is starting her MSc. in Speech-Language Pathology in 2026 fall. She is interested in multilingual language acquisition in infants. Outside of the lab, Jennifer balances her time between dynamic karate sessions and quiet cat cuddles, with a permanent slot in her schedule reserved for exploring good food.

Sahara Majeed

Research Assistant

Sahara is a third year undergraduate student at UBC, majoring in Astronomy and Physics and minoring in Linguistics. Within the linguistics field, she is interested in computational linguistics and language development. She hopes to continue her studies in both Physics and Linguistics in the future. Outside of academics she enjoys reading, sewing, and spending time with friends and family.

Sevinch Miralimova

Research Assistant

Seva has an undergraduate degree in neuroscience from UBC. Her research interests include language acquisition, multilingualism, and language processing. In the lab, she assists with EEG-based projects. Her long-term goals are to work in healthcare, and this Fall’26, she will be starting her Master’s in Medical Technology. In her free time, Seva enjoys reading, painting, and exploring Vancouver’s food scene.

Seerat Sidhu

Research Assistant

Seerat recently completed her Bachelor of Science in Honours Pharmacology & Therapeutics at McGill University. She is passionate about healthcare and hopes to pursue a career in medicine. Seerat is currently assisting with data analysis for the EEG studies taking place in the lab. When she is not in the lab or studying, Seerat enjoys working out and spending time with her family and friends.

Tayo Steininger

Research Assistant

I’m a 3^rd year student in Behavioural & Cognitive Neuroscience! Especially interested in bilingualism/multilingualism and how that can present cognitive differences throughout development in children. Outside of my academics I love to ski, but not a fan of the cold at all!

Wilfred Tang

Research Assistant, MSc Speech Language Pathology

Wilfred holds a BA in Speech Sciences from UBC and is currently an MSc. student in Speech-Language Pathology at UBC’s School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. He is now a member of the Digital Literacy project, exploring children’s digital word-learning experiences.

Outside of work, he likes singing in the choir, swimming and exploring great food.

Emily Van

Research Assistant, MSc Speech Language Pathology

Emily is beginning her graduate studies at UBC as a Master’s of Science student in Speech-Language Pathology. With a B.A. in Speech Sciences, her interests include language acquisition and developmental psychology. Emily assists with infant studies in the lab, with a curiosity about how babies are drawn to sounds. Outside of academics, she enjoys crafts and making memories with friends and family!

Angelina Wong

Research Assistant

Angelina is a fifth year undergraduate student at UBC majoring in Biology and minoring in Linguistics. She is interested in language acquisition in children and multilingual language acquisition. Her goal is to become a speech language pathologist in the future.

In her spare time, she enjoys doing all sorts of crafts, going for walks, or watching shows.

Fiona Yang

Research Assistant

Fiona is going into her second year at UBC, where she is majoring in Food, Nutrition and Health. She hopes to become a pediatric physician and is interested in how language development and neuroscience research can improve children’s health and well-being. She loves spending time with children and enjoys seeing the world through their curiosity, creativity, and unique perspectives. Outside of school, Fiona enjoys playing basketball, hiking, camping, and volunteering in her community. She is always happiest when she can spend time outdoors with family and friends.

Ziyuan (Esme) Yang

Research Assistant

Hi, this is Esme! I recently graduated from UBC with a BA in Speech Sciences and a TESL certificate. This fall’26, I’ll be starting the MSc in Audiology program at HKU, with the goal of becoming a research audiologist in the future. As a multilingual speaker, I’m especially interested in speech perception, bilingualism and multilingualism, and hearing science. Outside of research, I enjoy playing badminton and brewing coffee. Fun fact about me is… I’m a huge IKEA shark lover and have 7 BLÅHAJs!

Menna Zanger

Research Assistant

Menna is going into her fourth year at UBC where she is studying psychology and speech sciences. Outside of the lab you might find her looking for worms with preschoolers, playing hair salon with third graders or researching what foods different dinosaurs eat to keep up with the endless questions kids tend to have. Safe to say she loves kids and hopes to eventually become a speech-language pathologist so that she can combine her passion for speech sciences and supporting child development!