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Stephen Levinson is a Professor of Comparative Linguistics at Radboud University Nijmegen (since 1995) and has served as Director of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics since 1994. Previously, he was a Reader at the University of Cambridge's Department of Linguistics until 1994 and held leadership roles in Max Planck Research Groups in Berlin and Nijmegen. University of Cambridge (BA Social Anthropology, 1967-70) University of California, Berkeley (MA 1973, Doctorate 1977) His research focuses on interactional sociolinguistics, linguistic pragmatics, cognitive anthropology, and the relationship between spatial language and cognition. He has pioneered cross-linguistic studies on how language shapes cognitive processes. Levinson has received numerous accolades including the Stirling Prize (1992), Hale Professorship (2009), and fellowships from the British Academy and Academia Europaea. He has held visiting positions at Stanford and Australian National University.

• Interactional sociolinguistics
• Linguistic pragmatics
• Cognitive anthropology
• +3 more

James McQueen is a Professor at Radboud University, Netherlands, currently holding the position of Professor of Speech and Learning in the School of Psychology and Artificial Intelligence. He previously served as Professor of Learning and Plasticity in the School of Educational Sciences (2009–2015). His academic journey includes roles at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and the MRC Applied Psychology Unit in Cambridge. Education: B.A. (Honours, 2.1; Distinction in Prelims) in Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford (1987) Ph.D. in Psycholinguistics, University of Cambridge (1992) Research Interests: McQueen’s work focuses on speech perception, spoken-word recognition, second language acquisition, and perceptual learning in speech. His research explores how listeners adapt to phonological reduction and the neural mechanisms underlying word learning. He has led major grants including the NWO Gravitation Consortium “Language in Interaction” (€27.6M) and projects on auditory category learning and language processing. Awards: 2016: Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science 2014: Fellow of the Psychonomic Society 1997: Cognitive Psychology Award, British Psychological Society Advising & Grants: McQueen has supervised over 30 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. His grants include ESRC, DFG, and NWO-funded projects on topics ranging from sign language segmentation to neural correlates of lexical learning. He has coordinated major initiatives like the “Decoding Continuous Speech” project at MPI. Institutional Roles: He has held leadership roles such as Chairing PhD defenses (since 2017), Speaker for the Language and Communication Research Theme at the Donders Institute (2010–2016), and editorial board memberships for journals like Cognition and Journal of Memory and Language . Labs & Teams: McQueen is affiliated with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and contributed to the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, focusing on interdisciplinary research in language and cognition.

• Speech Perception
• Second Language Acquisition
• Speech Processing
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Ryan Ka Yau Lai is a PhD candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara (expected Spring 2025), and will join the University of Georgia as an Assistant Professor in their Department of Linguistics starting Fall 2025. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in General Linguistics and Statistics from the University of Hong Kong, where he contributed to psycholinguistics and phonology research at the Language Development Lab. His research focuses on the intersections of grammar, discourse, and prosody, employing computational and corpus-based methods alongside theoretical frameworks such as dialogic syntax, construction grammar, and Columbia School linguistics. Key research areas include Tibetan light verb constructions, Cantonese causative-resultative structures, and historical analyses of Literary Chinese. He emphasizes integrating quantitative methods, including latent class analysis, information theory, and algorithmic techniques like clustering, while advocating for interdisciplinary approaches to linguistics. His work bridges functionalist traditions with experimental and corpus-driven methodologies. Ryan has received a Humanities and Social Science Dissertation Grant (2024) and actively presents at conferences, including the Society for the Study of Indigenous Languages of the Americas and the Linguistic Society of America. He co-developed the rezonateR R package for discourse analysis. His future projects aim to advance model-based approaches in syntax and refine quantitative methods for linguistic data operationalization.

• Linguistics
• Syntax
• Prosody
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Anita Szakay is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University, affiliated with the Centre for Language Sciences (CLaS) and the Hearing Research Centre. Her research focuses on experimental sociophonetics, psycholinguistics, and sociophonetic effects on bilingual speech perception. She holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia (2013) and prior degrees from the University of Canterbury, including a BA (2004), Honours (2005), and MA (2007). Her work examines second dialect acquisition in L2 speakers, code-switching phonetics, and prosodic variation across ethnic varieties of English. Key projects include the Visualising Voice and Speech (VisVoiS) initiative and studies on Australian English dialect features like creaky voice prevalence and glottalisation patterns. She has supervised multiple research projects on bilingualism, perceptual cues, and neuro-dynamics of language switching. Her research outputs span 2006–2024, with notable contributions to phonetic perception, sociolinguistic variation, and neurolinguistic studies. Collaborations include work on Māori English, Pasifika English in Western Sydney drill rap culture, and acoustic analysis of ethnolects in London and New Zealand.

• Experimental Sociophonetics
• Psycholinguistics
• Second Dialect Acquisition
• +4 more

James Magnuson is a Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Connecticut, where he leads the Computational Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Lab (CCNLL). He serves as Principal Investigator for multiple NSF-funded initiatives, including the Neurobiology of Language graduate training program and the Science of Learning and Art of Communication research training program, and co-directs the Cognitive Science Shared Electrophysiology Resource Lab (CSSERL). His research investigates the neurobiological and psychological foundations of language processing, development, and disorders using computational modeling, eye-tracking, and neuroimaging techniques. Key interests include neural-network models of spoken word recognition (e.g., EARSHOT and TISK frameworks), real-time language processing across the lifespan, prosody in Specific Language Impairment, phonological competition dynamics, and cross-modal integration of linguistic information. Educational background includes a Ph.D. in Brain & Cognitive Sciences from the University of Rochester (2001). Current teaching responsibilities include undergraduate Cognitive Psychology (PSYC 2501) and graduate seminars on language plasticity and time-course methodologies (EEG, eye-tracking). Magnuson actively advises doctoral students in projects spanning computational modeling of speech recognition, neural bases of language processing, and individual differences in language acquisition. He has secured significant NSF funding for interdisciplinary training programs bridging cognitive science, neuroscience, and genetics.

• Neurobiology of Language
• Spoken Word Recognition
• Computational Modeling
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Lalitha Balachandran is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz, affiliated with the FUTURE in Biology team (NSF #2329523). Her work bridges field-based education research, cognitive science, and linguistics, focusing on how students learn through experiential and online modalities. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from UC Santa Cruz, advised by Matt Wagers, with a dissertation on memory mechanisms in language comprehension. Her research also explores pedagogy equity, formal semantics, and the neurogenetics of vocal communication in birds. Education : Ph.D. in Linguistics (UC Santa Cruz, 2024), B.A. in Linguistics with Computing specialization (UCLA) Research Themes : Field-based learning outcomes, memory and syntax, online education equity, reciprocal ellipsis Teaching roles include leading courses in psycholinguistics and pedagogy, with certifications in equity-minded mentoring. Collaborations span linguistics labs (e.g., Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Lab, birdsong lab) and interdisciplinary education projects. Future work continues exploring cognitive mechanisms underlying learning across disciplinary contexts.

• Pedagogy
• Psycholinguistics
• Cognitive Science
• +4 more

Asifa Majid is a Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Oxford's Department of Experimental Psychology. She holds affiliated positions at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour. Her research focuses on language, cognition, and cross-cultural variation in semantic categories. Majid has held senior roles at the University of York and Radboud University Nijmegen. Education: PhD in Psychology (2001), University of Glasgow MSc in Cognitive Science and Natural Language (1997), University of Edinburgh MA (Hons) First Class in Psychology with Philosophy (1996), University of Glasgow Research Interests: Majid investigates how language shapes thought, with particular attention to cross-linguistic comparisons of semantic categories (e.g., color, olfaction, action verbs). Her work combines experimental psychology, field linguistics, and anthropological methods to explore cognitive diversity across cultures. She has conducted extensive fieldwork with Jahai (Malaysia) and Punjabi (Pakistan) communities. Awards & Grants: NWO Vici (2012–2017): €1.5M for innovative research leadership NWO Gravitation Program (2013–2023): €27.6M national consortium PI Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study Fellowship (2012) Professional Activities: She has held visiting roles at institutions including Columbia University, University of Massachusetts, and Max Planck Institutes. Her lab collaborates internationally on projects like the Hunter-Gatherers and Semantic Categories workshop (2010).

• Cognitive Science
• Linguistics
• Cross-cultural comparison
• +5 more

James McQueen is a Professor at the School of Psychology and Artificial Intelligence, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. He has held academic positions since 1990, including Professor of Speech and Learning (2015–present) and Professor of Learning and Plasticity (2009–2015), and has been a member of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics since 1993. Education : BA in Experimental Psychology (1987, University of Oxford), Ph.D. in Psycholinguistics (1992, University of Cambridge). McQueen specializes in spoken-word recognition , speech perception , and second language acquisition . His research explores perceptual learning in speech, memory consolidation for word learning, and brain-computer interfaces for auditory category learning. Current projects include individual differences in second-language acquisition and the lexical interface in spoken language processing. Scientific Awards : Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (2016) Fellow of the Psychonomic Society (2014) The Cognitive Psychology Award, British Psychological Society (1997) MRC Studentship (1987) Exhibition, Corpus Christi College, Oxford (1985) He has supervised over 30 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, including Attila Andics, Frank Eisner, and Atsuko Takashima. His leadership roles include chairing PhD defenses (2017–), coordinating institute projects at the Max Planck Institute, and serving on advisory boards for cognitive neuroscience and psycholinguistics programs.

• Spoken-word recognition
• Learning words in spoken language
• Second language acquisition
• +3 more

Giulia Bovolenta is a Lecturer at the School of Arts, Culture and Language, Bangor University. Her research focuses on cognitive mechanisms underlying adult second language learning, particularly how individual differences and input properties affect language processing and encoding. She is PI of the 2023-2025 project 'Investigating the nature of difficulty in language learning with EEG' and has received the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (2022) and the 2024 Learned Society of Wales Best Poster Prize. Her work explores memory utilization in L2 morphology learning, declarative memory's role in generalization, and prediction errors' impact on syntactic acquisition. She has published widely on topics like verb surprisal effects, artificial language learning, and vocabulary assessment methodologies. Bovolenta actively engages in public outreach, including talks at the Hidden Worlds Science Festival and academic poster presentations. Current research investigates declarative memory's role in explicit vs. item-based learning through pilot studies and EEG-based experiments. She collaborates with institutions like the Learned Society of Wales and mentors PhD students in psycholinguistics and language acquisition.

• Language Learning
• Cognitive Psychology
• Second Language Acquisition
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Sammy Floyd is a psychologist at Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) since 2023, with a focus on child development, linguistics, neurodiversity, and computational methods. Holding a PhD from Princeton University and a postdoctoral fellowship from MIT, they explore language acquisition through interdisciplinary approaches including eye-tracking and machine learning. BA, Smith College PhD, Princeton University Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Their research spans pragmatic language abilities, lexical ambiguity, and neurodiverse learning patterns, with recent work analyzing communication in autistic youth and historical language change. They teach undergraduate and graduate courses such as Advanced Research Methods, Cognitive Science, and Child Development. Recent publications highlight intersections between human cognition and machine language models, emphasizing polysemous word processing, pragmatic reasoning, and social convention comprehension. Key methodologies include computational analysis, comparative studies, and eye-tracking.

• Child Development
• Psycholinguistics
• Computational Linguistics
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Giulia Bencini is an Adjunct Professor at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, affiliated with the Interdepartmental School of Economics, Languages and Entrepreneurship. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Bembolab Laboratory. Her research focuses on language sciences, particularly psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics, with emphasis on language disorders and cognitive mechanisms underlying linguistic processing. She actively participates in projects like ADAPT (2013-2015) and a cognitive stimulation initiative for elderly individuals with cognitive decline (2016). Her publications address universal design principles in communication rights and neurocognitive aspects of language rehabilitation. Teaching responsibilities include courses such as Early Language Development and Psycholinguistics at the master's level, alongside English language instruction across undergraduate programs. She maintains office hours Tuesdays 2:15–4:15 PM CET via预约. Key research areas include the intersection of language structure and cognitive processes, applied linguistics for clinical contexts, and inclusive design methodologies. She collaborates with interdisciplinary teams and contributes to both theoretical and applied linguistic research.

• Language Sciences
• Psycholinguistics
• Neurolinguistics
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Prof. Theodoros Marinis is a Professor of Multilingualism at the University of Konstanz's Department of Linguistics. He directs the Center for Multilingualism and leads the EU 'MultiMind' project training early-stage researchers in multilingualism. His research focuses on language acquisition and processing in typically/atypically developing bilinguals, funded by DFG, ESRC, NWO, and others. He co-developed the LITMUS Sentence Repetition Tasks for multilingual children and serves on editorial boards of journals like Journal of Child Language and Applied Psycholinguistics . Research interests include bilingual syntax, heritage language maintenance, figurative language processing in ASD, and multilingual literacy. He investigates cross-linguistic effects in grammatical morphemes, rhetorical questions, and code-switching impacts on cognitive control. His work bridges psycholinguistics with education policy, addressing multilingualism benefits in diverse populations. Grants: DFG (Non-Canonical Questions in Bilingual Acquisition), ESRC (SLI in Bilingual Children), NWO (L2 Children vs. SLI) Projects: COST Action IS0804, EU MultiMind (2024), India literacy studies (2020) Labs/Teams: Center for Multilingualism (Konstanz), LITMUS Task Development Consortium Publications examine metaphor comprehension in ASD, attention networks in stuttering multilinguals, and longitudinal literacy development. He advocates for evidence-based multilingual education policies and has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles since 2017.

• Multilingualism
• Language Acquisition
• Bilingualism
• +5 more

Desmond Odugu is an Associate Professor of Education at Lake Forest College, specializing in Comparative and International Education with a focus on multilingualism, language policy, and equity issues. His academic career includes roles at Loyola University Chicago and global institutions. He holds advanced degrees from Loyola University Chicago (PhD, MEd), Nnamdi Azikiwe University (MA Philosophy), University of Ibadan (BA Philosophy), and Pontifical Urbaniana University (BPhil Philosophy). Research interests include colonial education historiography, language policy in multilingual societies, and the intersection of education with race and place. He has published extensively on topics like transitional multilingual policies in Africa, linguistic diversity, and the historiography of colonial education systems. His work frequently critiques development discourses and explores decolonial praxis in education. Key research areas: Language policy, comparative education, African educational history, and equity/social justice in education. Recent articles focus on African education historiography, translanguaging practices, and decolonial methodologies. Presented at global conferences including CIES, AERA, and AFRISCON, addressing topics like linguistic renaissance in Nigeria and racial covenants in Chicago housing. Odugu has received prestigious awards including the Language Issues SIG Best Dissertation Award (2013) and multiple academic fellowships. His teaching portfolio includes courses on equity in education, comparative education, and the philosophy of education.

• Comparative and International Education
• Multilingualism and Bi-/Multilingual Education
• Social Foundations of Education
• +7 more

Gale Stam, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at National Louis University in Chicago, Illinois. Her primary research focuses on psycholinguistics, gesture studies, and second language acquisition. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Chicago, an M.A. in Linguistics from Northeastern Illinois University, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Stam’s research emphasizes the interplay between gesture, language, and cognition, particularly in L1 and L2 acquisition. She has conducted longitudinal studies on conceptual shifts in thinking-for-speaking across languages and collaborated internationally, including with institutions in France, South Africa, and Sweden. Her work appears in journals like Gesture and Modern Language Journal , and she co-edited influential volumes such as Gesture: Second Language Acquisition and Classroom Research . Stam serves on editorial boards for Language and Sociocultural Theory and previously for Gesture . Her teaching spans B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. programs in Psychology and includes courses like Psychology of Artistic Expression and Advanced Cross-Cultural Communication . She has presented globally, including at conferences in Finland, Portugal, and South Africa. Outside academia, Stam writes fiction, including the short story Andrei's Chance and the fairy tale In Ten Days , both available on Amazon Kindle.

• Psycholinguistics
• Gesture Studies
• Second Language Acquisition
• +5 more

Ludovica Serratrice is a Professor of Bi-Multilingualism at the University of Reading, UK, and affiliated with UiT The Arctic University of Norway. She leads the Research Division and teaches in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences. Her work focuses on bilingualism, multilingualism, and language development in children, with particular attention to crosslinguistic influence and pragmatic skills. Education: PhD in Linguistics (University of Edinburgh, 2000), MA in Language Acquisition (University of Essex, 1995), Laurea in Linguistics (Istituto Universitario Lingue Moderne Milano, 1994), and Diploma in Conference Interpreting (Scuola Superiore Interpreti e Traduttori Milano, 1990). Research interests include language representations in bilingual speakers, multilingual children’s comprehension, and practical tools like the Q-BEx questionnaire. She develops training materials for professionals via FutureLearn and contributes to initiatives like the ESRC LuCiD Centre. Recent publications (2020–2024) address structural priming, crosslinguistic influence, screen time effects, and deaf children’s multilingualism. Collaborations span international teams and focus on child language development, pragmatics, and educational applications. Professional roles include editorial work for journals, organizing symposiums, and advocating for multilingualism in clinical and educational settings. She actively engages in public outreach through social media and community projects.

• Bilingualism
• Multilingualism
• Language Development
• +3 more