People

Naomi Caselli 

Naomi Caselli is an Assistant Professor in the Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Programs at Boston University, and runs the LEX Lab.  She studies how the sign language lexicon is structured, and how people learn, perceive, and produce signs. She develops technology, datasets, and resources for sign language research. She runs an NIH funded project documenting how early language experiences shape how children learn and grow. She developed ASL-LEX and the SIGN-LEX ecosystem of sign language databases. nkc@bu.edu

Amy Lieberman 

Amy Lieberman is an Associate Professor in the Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Programs at Boston University, and runs the Language Acquisition and Visual  Attention lab (LAVA lab). She studies child language development, with a particular interest in how deaf children learn to manage their eye gaze to perceive sign language and the surrounding world.   alieber@bu.edu

Andrew Bottoms

Andrew R. Bottoms was born and raised in a Deaf family from North Carolina. American Sign Language (ASL) is his native language. Bottoms graduated from Gallaudet University with two bachelor degrees, one in American Sign Language (ASL) and the other in Deaf Studies. He also has a Masters in Sign Language Teaching from Gallaudet University. Bottoms is driven by his passion and fervor toward teaching ASL and his values in the sharing of the language and culture embodied by ASL. His specialization lies is ASL Literature.  anbo@bu.edu

Emily Glenn-Smith 

Emily Glenn-Smith is a seasoned instructor and presenter with nearly two decades as an educator in the field of American Sign Language. She earned a master’s degree in Sign Language Education from Gallaudet University. Prior to teaching at both Boston University and Harvard University, Glenn-Smith was the ASL Program Director for 15 years at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her experience spans from teaching introductory ASL to a variety of advanced ASL level courses and workshops in the field of ASL interpreting. In addition to teaching ASL, she has developed various curricula to suit the needs of specialized programs.  emilygs@bu.edu

Franklin Jones Jr.

Franklin Jones Jr. studies the disparity between the number of Black Deaf students who graduate high school and the number who go on to pursue higher education. His lived experience as a Black multi-generational Deaf gay man has fueled his passion for delving deeper into BASL (Black American Sign Language) in hopes of uncovering historical roots and linguistic and cultural content. fjonesjr@bu.edu

Todd Czubek

Todd Czubek studies discourse proficiencies in American Sign Language and their implications for academic success and second language development. Exploring how the modality of ASL and ASL Literacy can contribute to rethinking texts, composition, genre and academic programming for Deaf children. taczubek@bu.edu

Data Scientists

Emily Kubicek, PhD is a Data Scientist. She earned a PhD in Educational Neuroscience from Gallaudet University, where she studied the relationship between spatial cognition and sign language use. Emily combines her interests of being an advocate for diversity in STEM and coding to support various organizations both in academia and industry.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Amelia Becker, PhD is a postdoctoral researcher. She earned her PhD in linguistics at Georgetown University. Her focus is on the interplay between iconicity and phonology in shaping how people learn and process signs.

Tory Sampson, PhD is a postdoctoral researcher. She earned her PhD in linguistics at Georgetown University. Her focus is on the interplay between iconicity and phonology in shaping how people learn and process signs.

PhD Students

Anna Lim Franck, MA is a student in the Doctor of Education in Language and Literacy Education: ASL/Deaf Education program at Boston University. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Linguistics from Gallaudet University.  She is interested in research on L2 pedagogy/acquisition of Deaf learners and educational issues in bilingualism in Deaf classrooms.

Michael Higgins, MA is a PhD student in the Department of Education at Boston University. He graduated with a degree in Bilingual Teaching from the University of California, San Diego and has 5 years of experience teaching early childhood and high school. Michael’s research interest in language development and predictive abilities in young children. He is currently examining the impact of ASL rhythms and rhymes on deaf children.

Elana Pontecorvo, EdM is a PhD student in the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences PhD program. She holds an EdM in Deaf Education from Boston University. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she was the lab manager for the Lex Lab and Dr. Amy Lieberman’s LAVA Lab. She is interested in how deaf children with hearing families acquire sign language as a first language. She strives to conduct research which can be applied to ensure early language access for deaf and hard of hearing children.

Paris Gappmayr is a third-year student in the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences PhD program. She received her B.A. from the University of British Columbia. She is interested in learning how children acquire sign languages, and how Deaf individuals learn to read. Her broad goal is to investigate common features between spoken & signed modalities, and to advocate for ASL access for Deaf children..

Erin Finton, MA is a doctoral student in the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. She earned an Ed.M. in Adult Education from the University of Toronto and teaches English to Deaf students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. She studies language deprivation and second language acquisition in Deaf adults.

Masters Students

Ruth Ferster, BA

Connor Baer, BA

Adele Daniels, BA 

Robert Hoffmeister (Emeritus)

Research Interests
Dr. Hoffmeister has focused his research on five principal areas: the acquisition of American Sign Language (ASL) by Deaf children; Deaf people as a bilingual/bicultural minority group; problems in the education of Deaf children; the effects of implementing public laws on Deaf children; and the improvement of interactions between hearing parents and their Deaf children. rhoff@bu.edu