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, Lab Coordinator
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.
Pediatric Research SLP, Lab Coordinator
Sonia Patrizi (she/her) is an Italian pediatric speech-language pathologist, transitioned into a research SLP and lab coordinator. Her experience spans working with both monolingual and multilingual children with various developmental, language, and learning delays/disorders. She has collaborated in multidisciplinary teams and values building connections with families and schools to ensure comprehensive, holistic care. Sonia earned a Master of Arts in Linguistics from the University of Padova. She is very excited to work with the SPOG Team to gain further experience and contribute to research in the SPOG Projects! In her leisure time, she enjoys cooking and baking, playing board games, and engaging in physical activities such as 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 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 fourth-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 fourth-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.
Hello! My name is Katarina, or Kat for short. I am a fourth-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!
Noel (they/them) is a fourth-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 fourth year as a Linguistics and Philosophy major.
Hello! My name is Adeline, and I’m a fourth 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 3rd 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 third-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 fourth-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 fourth-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 4th 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 fourth-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-language pathologist!
Hi, I’m Kriti! I’m a 4th 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.
Hi, I’m Samantha, but most people call me Sam! I’m a first-year transfer student majoring in Psychology with a Statistics and Data Science minor. I am multilingual and can’t wait to learn more about language development. So excited to be a part of the SPOG Lab!
Thomas is a first-year transfer student completing his degree in Applied Linguistics and intends to pursue a master’s in Speech and Language Pathology. Thomas has a passion for language learning and speaks German, Italian, French, and Japanese at intermediate proficiency or above. He aims to utilize his foreign language skills throughout his career while dedicating himself to life-long learning. Thomas enjoys dancing, traveling with his family, meditating, and hiking with friends or his dog!
Allison is a first-year PhD student in linguistics, with research interests focusing on learning and representation of patterns in phonology. She has an MA in Computational Linguistics from Stony Brook University, and a BA in Linguistics from UCLA. She is excited to be a part of the SPOG Lab team and keep learning!
Hi, my name is Emma Gonzalez and I am a second year physiological sciences student from Glendale, CA. I am passionate about working with children and plan to pursue a career as a pediatric speech-language pathologist in the future!
Hello! I’m Celina, a third year Linguistics and Computer Science transfer student. I’m very interested in how we can use our ever-growing technology to help others, and I hope to dive deeper in that in my post education journey! When I’m not busy with studying, I love to go out with my friends, spend time with dogs, and discover new places to eat.
Hi! My name is Ellery and I’m a second year Linguistics and Psychology major. I enjoy working with children and during other times, I like to read, watch drama, or go hiking.
Hi! I’m Kali (she/her), and I’m a second year Linguistics and Psychology major with a minor in Spanish. I’m interested in childhood language acquisition and hope to become a pediatric speech-language pathologist. In my free time, I like running, crochet, and exploring local museums in LA.
Hi, my name is Ivy and I’m a third-year Applied Linguistics major. I have been working with children from Latin America to help them learn English. I’m excited to learn more about how children acquire language.
Hi! My name is Ariel and I am a second-year psychobiology and applied linguistics student from the Bay Area. I love working with kids and hope to pursue a career in pediatric speech-language pathology or psychology!
Hello! My name is Angelina and I’m a second year Applied Linguistics student with a hopeful minor in Applied Developmental Psychology. I’ve always enjoyed working with children and have been doing so for quite a few years now. Once I completed my undergraduate degree, I plan to go to grad school and become a speech-language pathologist!
Shen is a third-year Linguistics & CS major with European Studies minor coming from Canton, China. She loves doing Syntax and Phonology, and she is looking forward to starting a career in Education Technology and AI. In her free time, she loves learning different languages, exploring different coffee shops, and backpacking.
Hello, my name is Ree! I’m a first-year Statistics and Data Science major from New Jersey. I love literature/creative writing in my free time, and I’m exploring ways data can be used in a variety of fields such as linguistics!
Graduated Students
Issa is a Deaf student in Linguistics at UCLA with cochlear implants! 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!
Hi! I’m Madurya (she/her) and I’m a graduate in Linguistics & Computer Science from UCLA. I hope to pursue a career in a field that combines both Software Engineering and Linguistics/Cognitive Science.