Principal Investigator
Meg Cychosz (she/her) is an assistant professor of linguistics at UCLA where she directs the Speech and Cognitive Development Team. In her research, Dr. Cychosz studies how infants and children from a variety of backgrounds (children with and without hearing loss, multilingual children) develop speech and learn to produce and process sounds and words. To understand this, Dr. Cychosz has worked with children from all over the world (Bolivia, Mexico, France, Spain, the United States) in an interdisciplinary research program that combines techniques from linguistics, natural language processing, developmental psychology, and electrical engineering. Dr. Cychosz holds a Master 1 in Phonetics from Université Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3 and an M.A./Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley. She completed postdoctoral training at the University of Maryland Cochlear Implant Center for Excellence/Center for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology of Hearing.
Pediatric Research Audiologist
Amy Martinez, MA has been a research audiologist for over four decades. Her research journey began at UCLA assisting in the study of auditory perception and speech recognition in adults with hearing loss. She joined Dr. Laurie Eisenberg’s pediatric research lab at the House Research Institute and then the Keck School of Medicine, USC, assessing speech perception and spoken word recognition in children with assistive listening devices. She is excited to come full circle and return to UCLA! Outdoor activities are her passion, and has run 19 marathons (so far). In the recent past she started taking piano lessons from her college roommate via Facetime.
Speech Language Pathologist
Sonia Patrizi (she/her) is an Italian Speech Language Pathologist with pediatric specialization, experienced in monolingual and multilingual children with various developmental, language and learning delays/disorders. She has worked in multidisciplinary teams and values building connections with families and schools to ensure comprehensive and holistic care. She also earned a Master of Arts in Linguistics at the University of Padova. She is very excited to join the SPOG team to gain more experience and contribute to the research in the SPOG Project! In her leisure time, she enjoys cooking, playing board games, and practicing physical activities including hiking and bouldering.
Research Coordinator
Julianna Gross is the research coordinator on the east coast for the SPOG Team! She helps coordinate research activities and partnerships for the team in the DMV area and manages the website. She is a recently graduated Hearing and Speech Sciences major at University of Maryland, College Park and is interested in pursuing a career in pediatric speech-language pathology. When she’s not helping with the Learning to Listen Project, you might find her playing pickleball, reading, or watching pretty bad reality television.
Research Assistants
Hi, my name is Arjun [ˈʌɾd͡ʒʊn] and I’m a third-year student pursuing Computational Mathematics and Linguistics (as a minor). I’ve enjoyed taking classes in all things linguistics, CS, and Math so I’m definitely looking forward to gaining new insights through practical research at the SPOGLab!
Emma Montilla is a third year Applied Linguistics major and Asian Languages minor at UCLA. She is passionate about psycholinguistics and language development and hopes to pursue graduate school in linguistics. In her free time, she likes cooking, crocheting, and the outdoors.
Issa is a Deaf linguistics student with cochlear implants excited to be working in the lab! As a long time language learning enthusiast, he is looking forwards to learning as much as he can about how children with cochlear implants learn languages and how that differs from children with typical hearing!
Hello! My name is Katarina, or Kat for short. I am a third-year undergraduate student studying Linguistics and Psychology at UCLA. After I complete my undergraduate degree, I plan to go to grad school to become a Speech-Language Pathologist!
Hi! I’m Madurya (she/her) and I’m a 4th year Linguistics & Computer Science major. I’m currently working on applying to grad school for Computer Science, and I hope to pursue a career in a field that combines both Software Engineering and Linguistics/Cognitive Science. I’m excited about the rest of the year at the SPOG Lab!
Noel (they/them) is a third-year Linguistics & Psychology major with a minor in Education Studies at UCLA. They are passionate about psycholinguistics and speech development. In their free time, you can find them sketching illustrations or indulging in their favorite video games.
Hello! My name is Amanda, and I am a curious artist and mother excited to be studying at UCLA. I am a transfer student in my third year as a Linguistics and Philosophy major.
Hello! My name is Adeline, and I’m a third year Applied Linguistics major with an Education minor. I love working with children, and I’m hoping to be a future speech pathologist!
Hello! My name is Roxy and I’m a 2nd year Linguistics and Psychology Major. I am interested in gaining more research experience in speech development and language acquisition. After I finish my undergraduate degree, I plan to apply to grad school to become Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist.
Hey there! I’m Shiyu, a second-year CS major from Shanghai. When I’m not buried in code, you can usually find me with my head buried in a book or glued to the screen watching anime. My dream pet is a border collie.
Hi, I’m Paden! I am a third-year transfer student from Riverside, California majoring in Linguistics. I have a passion for Deaf culture and language access for Deaf and hard-of-hearing people!
Hi, I’m Monique! I am a third-year transfer student from Long Beach, California majoring in Linguistics and Psychology. I plan on pursuing a Masters in Speech Language Pathology and/or Communication Sciences and Disorders to become a certified Speech Language Pathologist! I am passionate about learning as much as I can and helping as many people as possible by doing this.
Hello! I’m Carissa (she/her). I’m a 3rd year Cognitive Science major and Data Science Engineering minor at UCLA excited to be a part of the SPOG Lab. After completing my undergraduate degree, I hope to go to graduate school to further explore linguistic applications of AI/ML and software engineering to create technology to help others!
Hi! My name is Daisy, and I’m a third year third-year transfer student majoring in Linguistics and Psychology with an Education Studies minor. I enjoy working with children and I’m hoping to be a Pediatric speech pathologist!
Hi, I’m Kriti! I’m a 3rd year Psychology and Linguistics double major. I love working with children and all things development (especially language!). In the future I hope to work with younger and neurodivergent populations in a clinical or educational setting.