Perfetti Lab
Meet the former members of our lab! Click on each picture for more information.
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Dr. Adeetee Bhide Adeetee BhideFormer graduate student (2012-2017), now Post-doctoral Fellow at the National University of SingaporeI research the development of reading skills, in both first and second language settings. I am interested in academic positions, educational non-profits, and careers which disseminate the findings from cognitive psychology to educators and the general public. |
Dr. Wendy Chang Wendy ChangFormer graduate student (2010-2015), now post-doc at National Taiwan Normal UniversityI completed my B.Ed. in 2008 and M.Ed. in 2010 in Educational Psychology and Counseling at National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan. My research focuses on the cognitive mechanisms related to second language acquisition, especially in word-level processing. I am interested in how the similarities and differences in different writing systems (e.g., English and Chinese) affect the learning processes involving in the reading of adult learners. The methodologies I use to address these issues are electrophysiology (ERPs), connectionist modeling, and corpus-linguistics methods. My current project is using ERPs to look at the second language learning process and effect of dynamic versus static encoding methods on the orthography- semantics mapping of Chinese characters. |
Dr. Susan Dunlap Dr. Susan DunlapFormer graduate student, now...I earned my Bachelor of Arts (summa cum laude) in psychology from the University of Denver in 2002. There, I received the Shaklee-Trowill Research Award for Outstanding Thesis for my cross-linguistic investigation of phonological processing in English and Chinese. In my ongoing graduate training at the University of Pittsburgh, I have used a combination of behavioral and electrophysiological methods to investigate phonological and orthographic processing in different writing systems (English and Chinese). I am co-author on one book chapter and six peer-reviewed journal articles. Additionally, I have taught several college-level courses in human cognitive psychology and in research methods in psychology. I earned my Master of Science in cognitive psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2006. My dissertation research, funded by an award from the National Science Foundation to the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center’s English LearnLab, focuses on the quality of orthographic representations in adult learners of English as a second language. |
Dr. Mary Lou Vercelotti Dr. Mary Lou VercelottiFormer graduate student, now...I am interested in second language development as measured by language performance. As a graduate student researcher in the English Language Institute with the LearnLab, I began working with second language learners and analyzing their language performance. This work inspired my dissertation studying the development of the subsystems of complexity, accuracy, fluency and lexis in the complexity of language performance, language development, and language teaching. I continue to work on projects investigating the effect of self-noticing of errors in language performance, the effect of prompts in language research, and the effect of fluency training (specifically repetition) in language development. In addition to an overall interest in pedagogy and linguistics, I am interested in American Sign Language. |
Dr. Polina Yankyukav Dr. Polina YankyukavFormer graduate student, now...My primary research interests are in visual and language processing. In order to address the "big" questions, I investigate how cognitive faculties like memory and attention interact with the visual system during reading and visual search tasks. I am interested in continued development of computational models that would describe this interplay. For conducting this research I employ eye-tracking, computational modeling, and ERPs. |
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Carrie Demmans-Epp Carrie Demmans-EppFormer post-doc, now at AlbertaI am an educational technology researcher who enjoys exploring how we can support language learning through the use of technology. My interest in language learning comes from my experiences as a language learner (French and Russian) and teacher (English). I have combined these experiences with my background in computer science so that I can design and build new technologies that support learner needs. For my MSc (University of Saskatchewan), I developed an adaptive pronunciation tutor for learners of Russian as a foreign language, and my PhD (University of Toronto) involved the development of an adaptive mobile application that supported the vocabulary learning and communication of English language learners. Since joining the Perfetti lab, I have started working on the development of a mobile tool that aims to support low-literacy adults’ reading abilities. |
Elizabeth Hirshorn Elizabeth HirshornFormer post-doc, nowAfter majoring in Cognitive Science and Spanish at Wellesley College, I did research at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania working with Dr. Sharon Thompson-Schill, where I studied executive functioning on semantic and language processing. In graduate school at the University of Rochester I worked with Dr. Daphne Bavelier on research involving the effects of language experience and deafness on reading and memory. I am now a postdoctoral researcher in both the Fiez and Perfetti labs, working on projects exploring alternate routes to literacy. |
Dr. Nora Presson Dr. Nora PressonFormer post-doc, now...I received my PhD in Cognitive Psychology and the Program in Interdisciplinary Education Research from Carnegie Mellon University and my BA in Psychology and Spanish from Carleton College. The goal of my research is to understand the mechanisms underlying adult second language acquisition, particularly grammar learning. I use a training intervention approach to test theoretical questions of models of second language learning and develop usable materials for learners to improve their own performance. |
Dr. Zhan (Jan) Wang Dr. Zhan (Jan) WangFormer post-doc, now...Jan is a post-doctoral fellow in the Learning Research and Development Center. She completed her Master's degree at King’s College, University of London and her PhD at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her doctoral research investigated the influence of different task and planning conditions for L2 speech performance. She is currently working on a project supported by the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center (PSLC) on the fluency training of L2 English speaking. She is also working with colleagues in the Reading and Language group to investigate lexis, reading and language processes of learning Chinese as a second language. |
Dr. Juan Zhang Dr. Juan ZhangFormer post-doc, now...I received my Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2011, with a focus on modeling of auditory sensitivity, speech perception, L1 Chinese and L2 English reading in Hong Kong Chinese children. I started as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Charles Perfetti in October 2011, mainly focusing on learning Chinese as a second language. My research interests include: auditory/speech perception, language and literacy development, dyslexia, reading comprehension disability, bilingualism, category/concept learning. |
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Lin Chen Lin ChenFormer collaborative Research Associate, now ...I am Lin Chen, working for School of Chinese as a Second Language, Sun Yat-sen University, China. My main research focuses on Chinese reading involving behavior and ERP techniques, and how learning a new language changes our brain network. My goal is to understand how language is represented in the brain. I like hiking and playing badminton in my spare time. |
Wenguang He Wenguang HeFormer visiting scholarI am a visiting scholar in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh. My primary research interests are the neurocognitive mechanism in sentence processing and bilingual advantage. I am also interested in the role of bilingual experience in delaying cognition aging, as well as the embody effect in language comprehension. In my free time I love to travel, play badminton, swim, run, and bike. |
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Jennifer Dandy Jennifer DandyFormer post-bac researcher, now...I graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. in Psychology and Religious Studies. In my four wonderful years working in the Perfetti Lab, I have had the pleasure to work alongside many talented researchers, including Gwen Frishcoff, Suzanne Adlof, and Joseph Stafura. |
Adrian Maries Adrian MariesFormer research programmer (2013-2016), now graduate student/research fellow at Harvard University |
Benjamin Rickles Benjamin RicklesFormer staff member, now graduate student at Georgia State UniversityI have been a research assistant in the Perfetti lab since 2009, where I was introduced to ERP by Dr. Gwen Frishkoff. Since then I have been a part of multiple projects investigating either vocabulary acquisition or discourse in both native and non-native english speakers. I have recently begun looking at frequencies of native and non-native speakers' EEG as they read sentences, and comparing these with individual language scores in order to investigate neural correlates of fluent reading. My hope is to be able to generalize our understanding of how we read to how we perceive the world. I also like tennis. |
Jon-Michel Seman Jon-Michel SemanFormer lab manager, now...I received my BA in Linguistics and Slavic Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. As an undergraduate, I annotated digital versions of Russian fairy tale texts, and worked on creating a digital edition of a passage from a medieval Old Church Slavonic manuscript with funding from the Honors College. I am currently pursuing a masters degree in Information Science. I am interested in computational and corpus linguistics, and humanities computing. |
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Claire Chu Shalaka FadnisFormer research assistantI am an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in Chemistry and Psychology with a minor in Chinese; these fields reflect my interest in the brain processes behind higher-level human cognitive functions. I started working with Dr. Marta Ortega-Llebaria in the spring of 2015 and with the Perfetti lab the following fall. I also like crafting and pigs! |
Shalaka Fadnis Shalaka FadnisFormer first-year researcher (2016), now ... |
Nicholas Fuller Nicholas FullerFormer first-year researcher (2016), now ... |
Wendy Guo Wendy GuoFormer undergraduate directed researcher (2014-5), now ... |
Madeline Kulp Madeline KulpFormer first-year researcher (2016), now ...My name is Madeline Kulp and I am excited to be joining the Perfetti Lab as a First Experiences in Research student this semester! I am currently a freshman at Pitt and I am studying linguistics and Spanish. I love to cook, play the drums, and find new and interesting places to study and read. This summer I hope to study abroad in Bolivia to participate in a program exploring bilingualism among indigenous people groups. |
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Joe Maurizi Jordan MealyFormer directed research studentI am a Psychology and Japanese major with an Asian Studies Certificate. I am a slated to be the first person at the University of Pittsburgh to complete all three of these programs together. I'm interested in psycholinguistics as well as other types of Cognitive Psychology. I have also worked for Dr. Shaw's SKY study and Early Steps study. I am interested in comparing and contrasting collectivist cultures and individualistic cultures, as well as their over all approach to psychology. |
Zachary Picciarelli Zachary PicciarelliFormer first-year researcher (2015-6), now ...I am a freshman with an intended major in Neuroscience on the Pre-Medicine track. When it comes to science, I am very fascinated with the human body—more specifically, the brain. I applied to be a part of this lab to get my foot in the door of research and expose myself to studying the brain. Outside of class, I am a huge movie buff. I love Quentin Tarantino movies the most, but I’ll watch just about anything. I am unhealthily obsessed with Batman, and I love Italian food. That’s about all there is to me. |
Andrew Rosse Andrew RosseFormer undergraduate directed researcher (2015-6), now ...I am a senior Psychology major and Economics Minor at Pitt. My research interests include cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience focusing on language acquisition and processing. This is my first semester working with Dr. Perfetti and I am excited to working with everyone! |
Goda Tarcijonas Goda TarcijonasFormer undergraduate research assistant (2014-5), now ...Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ex hinc tractatos principes sed, viris oratio his ei, molestiae referrentur vim in. Ne aeque putant inimicus nam, qui ut voluptaria definitionem. Eirmod saperet adversarium est ad, et nec ceteros insolens cotidieque. Eum no tollit nominavi sententiae, nonumy impetus ut per. Ut wisi alterum mei, viris doming nominavi mea ei, et laoreet impedit usu. Mel liber audiam an. No eum nulla postulant appellantur. |
Marianne Vu Marianne VuFormer undergraduate research assistant, now...I earned my undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Psychology from Pitt. In the Fall of 2007, I was introduced to the LRDC and joined the Perfetti Lab as a directed research student. I was given the opportunity to work with eye-tracking, ERP, and fMRI, and inadvertently increased my vocabulary at the same time. As my projects wrapped up, I transitioned to the position of Communications Assistant at the LRDC, but still remain a member of the lab in spirit. Currently, I am a student in the Pharm.D. program at Duquesne University and will graduate in 2015. |
