People

Lab Director

Amy Lieberman, Ph.D.
Amy Lieberman is an Assistant Professor in the Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Programs at Boston University. 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. Prior to joining the BU Faculty, Amy worked as a Research Scientist in the Mayberry Lab for Multimodal Language Development at UCSD and as an Early Childhood Teacher at Kendall School at Gallaudet University.

Post Doctoral Researchers

	Tory Sampson, PhD Tory Sampson is currently a postdoctoral scholar in the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences NIDCD training grant program. She earned her doctoral degree in Linguistics and Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego, where her research focused on historical grammaticalization and nonverbal predication in American Sign Language (ASL). Beyond these areas of study, she is investigating reduplication in lexical signs and its potential impact on predicational strategies within ASL and other sign languages. Tory’s research focuses on language change and grammaticalization in sign languages.
	Erin Campbell, PhD Erin Campbell is a postdoctoral researcher in the Lex and LAVA labs at Boston University. She earned her MA and PhD in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University with Dr. Elika Bergelson, investigating vocabulary acquisition in children born deaf or blind. Her research centers on how young children integrate multiple sources of input (including language input and input from the senses) to learn words.
	Amelia Becker, PhD Amelia Becker, PhD is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the LAVA and Lex Labs at Boston University. She graduated with an MA in Linguistics from Gallaudet University and earned her PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University. Her research focuses on phonology and iconicity in American Sign Language and the interplay between the two. Along with Drs. Naomi Caselli, Amy Lieberman, and Jennie Pyers, she is currently investigating the mechanisms of lexical acquisition in Deaf children with hearing caregivers. Her work also aims to develop resources for studying signed languages and examines the extent to which traditional linguistic research methods are useful for studying signed languages.

Doctoral Student Researchers

	Michael Higgins, MA Mike Higgins 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. Mike holds an interest in language development and predictive abilities in young children. Tangentially, he is currently examining the impact of ASL rhythms and rhymes on deaf children.
	Paris Gappmayr, BA Paris Gappmayr is a PhD student in the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences program. She received her B.A. from the University of British Columbia, where she worked on Dr. Kathleen Currie Hall’s SLPAA (Sign Language Phonetic Annotation & Analysis System) project, and in Dr. Darko Odic’s Centre for Cognitive Development. 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..
	Elana Pontecorvo, EdM Elana Pontecorvo is a PhD student in the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences PhD program. She holds an EdM in Deaf Education from Boston University. She joined the LAVA Lab to pursue her interest in sign language acquisition, and was the lab manager for the LAVA Lab and Dr. Naomi Caselli’s Lex Lab before beginning her doctoral studies. 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.

Lab Manager

Jessica Neri, BS
Jessica Neri is a graduate student pursuing a Master’s in Language & Literacy Education with a specialization in ASL and Deaf Studies at Boston University. She is currently the Lab Manager for the LAVA and Lex Labs. Jessica received her bachelor’s degree from Boston University with a major in Deaf Studies and a minor in Education, where she also found an interest in ASL research. Jessica is interested in the language acquisition of Deaf children and hopes to pursue a career in education research.

Graduate Student Researchers

	Marshall Hurst, MBA Marshall Hurst is a graduate student pursuing a Master’s in Deaf Education at Boston University. Marshall is originally from Vineland Station, Ontario, Canada. Marshall received his bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Rochester Institute of Technology, where he worked as an ASL Consultant Manager for the Department of Access Services. Marshall strives to promote bilingual education as a priority for Deaf children and is interested in sign language acquisition and language deprivation of Deaf children. Marshall wants to pursue a career in teaching and research, finding ways to strengthen bilingual education for Deaf children worldwide.
	Abigail Laughman, BA Abigail Laughman is a first year graduate student in the Deaf Education Master program Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. She graduated with a B.A. in ASL Interpreting from Georgia State University and has three years of educational interpreting experience. Abigail works as a research assistant with Erin Campbell studying DeafBlind student’s language acquisition. Abigail is pursuing a master’s at BU because she wants to work alongside others as agents of positive change in the world of educational interpreting and Deaf education in her home state of Georgia.
	Dorothy Steinle, BA Dorothy Steinle is a graduate student pursuing a Master’s in Deaf Education with a specialization in Early Childhood Deaf Education at Boston University. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Dorothy got her BA in Psychology and a Certificate in Children & Society from The University of Texas at Austin. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Dorothy worked at Extend-A-Care YMCA as a Youth Developmental Leader, as a First-Grade Teacher at Austin Discovery School, volunteered at Texas School for the Deaf’s summer camps, and was a volunteer Co-Navigator at DeafBlind Camp of Texas. Dorothy is passionate about educational reform, language acquisition, and language deprivation. She is working towards becoming a teacher in Deaf schools and hopes to someday establish, with a community of Deaf educators, alternative, teacher-led schools.

Alumni

	Alexandria Strata, EdM Alexandria Strata graduated from Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development in 2024 with a Masters in Deaf Education and a specialization in Teaching Deaf Disabled students. She graduated with a B.S. in Deaf Education from Kent State University and is a licensed Teacher of the Deaf and Hearing Impaired. After completing her Masters, Alexandria plans to teach Deaf+ students, specifically Deaf students with autism spectrum disorders and intensive behavioral needs. She strives to conduct research studying language acquisition and application of functional communication using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in Deaf children with disabilities.
	Anna Lim, PhD Anna Lim received her Master’s degree in Linguistics from Gallaudet University. She earned her PhD in Language and Literacy Education, with a specialization in ASL/Deaf Education at Boston University. She has worked on Haskins Laboratory’s ASL SLAAASh (Sign Language Acquisition, Annotation, Archiving and Sharing) project for linguists Drs. Diane Lillo-Martin and Julie Hochgesang. She is interested in research on L2 pedagogy/acquisition of Deaf learners and educational issues in bilingualism in Deaf classrooms. Anna earned her PhD in Language and Literacy Education, with a specialization in ASL/Deaf Education at Boston University.
	Sarah Cocroft, BA Sarah Cocroft graduated from Boston University in 2022 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and minors in Chemistry and Deaf Studies. She is interested in the intersection between cognitive sciences and sign language shown through language acquisition. She is now Research Fellow for the STEPP Lab at Boston University.
	Elizabeth “Lilly” Heller, EdM Lilly Heller graduated Deaf Education masters program at Boston University. Previously, she graduated with a degree in Social Work from Gallaudet University and has two and a half years of experience working with deaf elementary students in Kansas School for the Deaf. Lilly is interested in studying sign language acquisition and strives to promote American Sign Language and Bilingual Education for all deaf children. She now teaches at Kansas School for the Deaf.
	Abigail Thornsberry, EdM Abigail Thornsberry graduated from the Language and Literacy Education program at BU, specializing in Deaf Education. She graduated from Towson University with her bachelor’s in Deaf Studies and Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. She is interested in sign language acquisition and endeavors to support deaf children who have experienced language deprivation or delay in overcoming those barriers.
	Julia Leary, BS Julia Leary graduated from BU’s Sargent College in 2021, majoring in Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences and minoring in Deaf Studies. She is interested in learning more about how Deaf children acquire sign language and communication skills and is now pursuing a masters in Speech Language Pathology at Emerson College.
	Erin Spurgeon, MAI Erin Spurgeon received her Masters in Interpretation from Gallaudet University and is working interpreter for the Deaf in Boston, Massachusetts. She has worked within a variety of laboratories studying ASL acquisition and psycholinguistic research across the country.
	Allison Fitch, PhD Allison Fitch is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in both the Deaf Studies program and the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences program at Boston University. She received her PhD in Developmental & Brain Sciences from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her research addresses the interaction between word learning and extra-linguistic factors, such as visual attention, in both signed and spoken language.
	Carey M. Ballard, EdM Carey M. Ballard is a graduate of the Deaf Education program at Boston University. He formerly served as a Research Lab Coordinator for Dr. Ben Bahan & Dr. Marlon Kuntze’s Gesture Literacy research laboratory at Gallaudet. He was also previously involved in linguistics research projects at Gallaudet University and Georgetown University. He strives to promote American Sign Language, Bilingual Education and the way being of Deaf as a basic right for all Deaf children.
	Anne Wienholz, PhD Anne Wienholz is an Acting Professor of Sign Language Linguistics at the University of Hamburg and previously a postdoctoral associate in the Deaf Studies Program at Boston University. She investigates various factors affecting signers‘ perception and language processing. She received her PhD in linguistics from the University of Goettingen, Germany, where she investigated language processing in signers of German Sign Language (DGS).
	Keri Chamberlain, EdM Keri Chamberlain is a graduate of the Deaf Education program at Boston University. She is passionate about providing Deaf students with educational equity through language access using a bilingual approach.
	Eric Setzer, EdM Eric Setzer is a graduate of the Deaf Education program at Boston University. He is passionate about making sure that not all Deaf children are left behind in both home and school by providing them with opportunities to explore something new about themselves. In the future, Eric would love to work as a Teacher of the Deaf and soccer coach for the Deaf youth.
	Lily Feinberg, MS Lily Feinberg graduate of the speech-language pathology program. She studied applied psychology and human development and worked in a language acquisition lab throughout her undergraduate years at Boston College, and is interested in transitioning into research that explores this topic within the Deaf population.
	Louloua Almohanna Louloua Almohanna is an undergraduate student in CAS majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Deaf Studies. She is interested in the attentional mechanisms underlying language acquisition in Deaf children to help minimize language deprivation in infancy. She is also interested in signed languages across different cultures and countries and plans to learn British Sign Language in the near future.
	Nikki Pire, BA Nikki Pire received her Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from Northeastern University in 2018. In addition to her position at the LAVA Lab, Nikki has worked as a research assistant in the Psycholinguistics lab at the University of Kaiserslautern and The Center of Research and Training at The Learning Center for the Deaf.
	Raven Pentz, EdM Raven Pentz is a graduate of the Deaf Education program at Boston University. She is passionate about supporting the identity development of Deaf children. Raven’s long-term goal is to open a training facility that provides access to Deaf youth that are looking to build their skills in basketball.
	Lillian Brown, MS Lillian Brown received her MS in Speech-Language Pathology at Boston University in 2019. She is interested in how both signed and spoken languages are acquired and used in children. She previously worked as a research assistant in the Child Language and Literacy Lab at Vanderbilt University. Lillian will be working at The Learning Center starting Fall 2019.
	Justin Bergeron, EdM Justin Bergeron is a graduate of the Deaf Education at Boston University. Before BU, he had an opportunity to travel around the world during his gap year to explore a bit more about himself and he has been to more than fifty countries in total. As a result, his travels led him to pursue a Master’s degree in Deaf Education and he hopes to somehow combine his passion of traveling and Deaf Education in his future endeavors.
	Julie Behar, BS Julie Behar graduated from Sargent College in 2019 majoring in Speech, Hearing, and Language Sciences and minoring in Deaf Studies. Julie is interested in learning about how to help ensure all deaf children have constant accessibility to language, and about signed language acquisition in adulthood. Julie is starting a doctorate in Audiology at the University of Texas in Fall, 2019.
	Adrienne Sheh, BS Adrienne Sheh graduated from BU in 2019 majoring in Psychology and minoring in Deaf Studies and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. She is interested in learning more about the acquisition of ASL to hopefully help further the research behind the linguistics of American Sign Language and to ensure that deaf children have early access to language. Adrienne is starting a Masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology at San Diego State University in Fall, 2019.
	Zoe Fieldsteel, EdM Zoe Fieldsteel received her Master of Arts in Education of the Deaf from Boston University in 2017. She was a high school English language arts instructor at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind in Colorado Springs, and now works at The Learning Center for the Deaf in Framingham, Massachusetts.
	Aiken Bottoms, EdM Aiken Bottoms received their Master of Arts in Education of the Deaf from Boston University in 2018. They have worked as a volunteer teacher in the Marshall Islands and is a full time instructor at The Learning Center for the Deaf.
	Deanna Gagne, PhD Deanna Gagne completed a Postdoctoral Associate in the Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Programs at Boston University. She studies how children acquire, create, and change language in various atypical environments. She received her PhD at the University of Connecticut where she worked with homesigners, Nicaraguan Sign Language signers and hearing children of deaf adults in Nicaragua. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Linguistics Department at Gallaudet University
	Brittany Farr, EdM Brittany Farr graduated from the Deaf Education program at Boston University in 2019. She is passionate about transforming the English curriculum for the Deaf programs by having the English curriculum tailor to learning approaches that are relevant to Deaf students and their native language, ASL.
	Conrad Baer, EdM Conrad Baer graduated from the Deaf Education program at Boston University in 2019. He is passionate about improving Deaf Education by using a bilingual approach to instruct Deaf students.