Andrew Perfors is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Melbourne, leading the Computational Cognitive Science Lab and directing the Complex Human Data Hub. His research focuses on quantitative approaches to higher-order cognition, including concepts, language, decision-making, and misinformation dynamics. He holds a PhD from MIT and degrees from Stanford University. Education: PhD in Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2008) MA in Linguistics, Stanford University (2000) Bachelor of Science in Symbolic Systems, Stanford University (1999) Research Interests: He investigates computational models of cognition, cultural and social evolution, and the spread of misinformation. Recent work emphasizes the cognitive mechanisms underlying inductive reasoning, sampling assumptions, and trust in information. Key Projects: Understanding Information and Trust: From the Individual to the Population (2018–2025) Bridging the Meaning Gap: Computational Approach to Semantic Variation (2023–2027) Awards: Recipient of multiple best paper awards for contributions to cognitive science and computational linguistics. Labs & Groups: Leads the Complex Human Data Hub and co-leads the Computational Cognitive Science Lab, focusing on interdisciplinary research in human behavior and data science.
Dr. Lauren Emberson (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Arts. She directs the Baby Learning Lab, which is part of UBC's Early Development Research Group, a consortium focused on infant and child development. Prior to her position at UBC, Dr. Emberson was an Assistant Professor at Princeton University where she co-founded and co-directed the Princeton Baby and Princeton Kid Labs. Education: Postdoctoral Associate, University of Rochester (PI Aslin) Ph.D, Cornell University (PIs Amso, Goldstein, Spivey) B.Sc, University of British Columbia Dr. Emberson's research focuses on learning, perception (audition, vision, crossmodal or multisensory), language development, face/object perception, and attention in infants. She investigates these capacities using behavioral and neuroimaging techniques, particularly fNIRS (functional near infrared spectroscopy), working primarily with very young infants (birth through 1 year) and preterm/premature infants. Her work examines how infants' learning capacities contribute to rapid development of perception in ecological contexts, with implications for understanding how early life experiences affect later outcomes. Analysis of Dr. Emberson's recent publications reveals a consistent focus on infant perception, learning mechanisms, and neuroimaging methodology. Her work increasingly incorporates advanced fNIRS techniques while maintaining focus on fundamental questions about how infants learn from their environment. There's a growing emphasis on individual differences, cross-cultural comparisons, and applications to infants facing developmental challenges. Dr. Emberson serves on the editorial board of Infancy (journal of the International Congress of Infancy Studies) and is a consulting editor for the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience . Her research has been published in top journals including PNAS, Current Biology, Psychological Science, Cognition, Developmental Science, and the Journal of Neuroscience. Dr. Emberson has secured significant research funding from prestigious organizations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, James S. McDonnell Foundation, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She collaborates with clinicians at BC Women's and Children's Hospitals to understand how different early life experiences impact learning and brain development. Dr. Emberson is currently accepting graduate students into her research program. The Baby Learning Lab, under Dr. Emberson's direction, is part of UBC's Early Developmental Research Group and collaborates with multiple institutions. The lab strives to provide interactive research experiences for infants and families while advancing scientific understanding of early cognitive development. The lab acknowledges that it operates on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.
Dr. Eunice Eunhee Jang is a Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. Her research focuses on synergistic learner modeling, dynamic assessment systems, and the intersection of language testing with educational measurement. PhD with specializations in language testing, educational measurement, and program evaluation Develops interactive digital assessment interfaces for struggling readers Author of "Focus on Assessment" (2014) and co-author of OECD Reviews on Evaluation and Assessment in Education Research Interests Dr. Jang's work explores prismatic assessment analytics to understand learner potential and predict learning pathways. She integrates natural language processing and machine learning to create diagnostic feedback systems that support cognitive, metacognitive, and affective growth in technology-rich classrooms. Scientific Awards Jacqueline Ross TOEFL Dissertation Award Caroline Clapham IELTS Master’s Award Tatsuoka Measurement Award Professional Contributions She has served on major advisory boards including EQAO provincial assessments and TOEFL Committees of Examiners. Currently, she is an elected board member for the International Language Testing Association and contributes to the Broader Measures of Success Advisory Committee for People for Education.
Louis Collins is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University, with associate membership at the Center for Intelligent Machines. His work focuses on advanced medical imaging techniques for neurological applications. Key Expertise: Non-linear image registration, model-based segmentation, neuroimaging, MRI analysis Applications: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, schizophrenia Methodology: Development of computer vision algorithms for image-guided neurosurgery (IGNS), automated atlasing, and biomarker quantification Collins' research combines computational neuroanatomy with clinical translation, particularly in: Quantifying brain atrophy and anatomical variability across populations Optimizing MRI templates for improved diagnostic accuracy Developing tools like SEEGAtlas for surgical electrode classification Exploring neurophysiological fingerprints of neurodegenerative diseases His lab (NIST-Lab) actively pursues CIHR-funded projects on ultrasound-based image-guided neurosurgery and machine learning applications in clinical trials.
Kristine H. Onishi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at McGill University. Her research focuses on cognitive development and language acquisition in infants and adults, including studies on phonotactic learning and infants' understanding of social communication. She is affiliated with the McGill Infant Development Centre. Research interests include: Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental Science, Language Acquisition, Infant Cognition, Phonotactic Learning, and Social Cognition. Her work examines how infants learn sound structures and evaluate others' linguistic capabilities. Selected publications highlight investigations into multilingualism perception in infants, the role of talker variation in phonetic learning, and the abstract understanding of speech communication in early childhood. No scientific awards or grants are explicitly listed in the provided text.
Drew Weatherhead is an Assistant Professor (part-time) in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University, affiliated with the Faculty of Science. His research focuses on early language acquisition, sociolinguistic development, and how infants and children process accented speech and speaker characteristics such as race. Education : COGS-P-BCH, Queen’s University PhD, University of Waterloo Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF), University of British Columbia Research Interests : Dr. Weatherhead investigates mechanisms of language acquisition in infants and young children, using methods like eye-tracking and fNIRS. His lab explores how social factors (e.g., race, accent) influence linguistic perception and learning. Key areas include sociolinguistic variation, race-based expectations in word learning, and bilingualism. Publications : His work emphasizes the intersection of social cognition and language development, with recent studies on accent processing, speaker race, and contextual influences on word generalization. Outputs span journals like Developmental Science , Cognition , and Journal of Experimental Psychology . Advising & Labs : Dr. Weatherhead is currently not accepting new Clinical PhD, Honours, or Directed Research students (2026-2027). He leads the Cognition and Language Learning Research Group, focusing on experimental methods to decode early language mechanisms.
Larissa Samuelson is a Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of East Anglia, specializing in developmental cognitive science with a focus on early word and category learning. She holds administrative roles including Director of Research (2018–present). Her research integrates neural network models with empirical studies to understand how children process information and learn language. Education: BS (Honors) in Psychology, Indiana University (1993) PhD in Psychology & Cognitive Science, Indiana University (2000) Research Interests: Cognitive development in early childhood Word learning mechanisms and neural models Executive function development Cross-cultural language processing Awards: American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award (2010) European Research Council Grant (2025–2031) Recipient of Leverhulme Trust funding (2025–2029) Projects: System of shape representations in cognition Neural process theory of vocabulary variability Language processing in deaf individuals Lab & Teams: Leads the Developmental Dynamics Laboratory , focusing on precision science of word learning and ensuring equitable early language potential for toddlers.
Professor Zanna Clay is a leading comparative and developmental psychologist at Durham University, specializing in primate behavior and human evolutionary origins. She holds a joint appointment as an Associate Fellow in the Institute of Advanced Study. Her work bridges primatology, developmental psychology, and conservation, focusing on empathy, communication, and social learning in great apes and humans. Clay completed her doctoral work at the University of St Andrews, followed by postdoctoral research at Emory University and the University of Neuchatel. She has extensive field experience studying bonobos in the wild and captivity, including roles at the Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary. Her research explores the evolutionary roots of human social cognition through comparative studies of bonobos, chimpanzees, and human infants. Key research interests include empathy development, language evolution, primate vocal communication, and the role of gesture in early human communication. She leads projects on cross-cultural empathy in infants (UK and Uganda) and has pioneered studies on emotion contagion using thermal imaging. Her work also addresses conservation challenges for bonobos through behavioral insights. Clay supervises PhD students investigating primate behavior, socio-emotional development, and conservation. She collaborates globally, including with the MPI-EVA in Congo and Birmingham University. Notable publications include studies on bonobo empathy, primate vocal flexibility, and the evolutionary origins of imitation.
Prof. Anna Franklin is a Professor of Visual Perception and Cognition at the University of Sussex's School of Psychology. She leads the Sussex Colour Group and Sussex Baby Lab , focusing on human color perception, development, and neural representation. Her research combines cognitive psychology, developmental science, and neuroscience to explore how color perception develops, influences aesthetics, and relates to conditions like autism. Key projects include ERC-funded initiatives studying environmental impact on color perception and developing the ColourSpot diagnostic app for childhood color vision deficiency. She also serves as Deputy Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange for the School of Psychology. Education includes a BA from the University of Nottingham and a PhD from the University of Surrey, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship. Her work spans 107+ publications, emphasizing interdisciplinary methods like hyperspectral imaging and fMRI. Collaborations include industry partnerships with ETTA LOVES and COSATTO to apply infant visual preference research in product design. Research grants include European Research Council awards (Starting Grant 2012-2017, Consolidator Grant 2018-2025) and a Proof of Concept grant for ColourSpot . Her labs investigate cross-cultural color categorization, infant aesthetics, and neural correlates of color processing. Future work focuses on calibrating visual systems to environmental statistics and improving early childhood color vision screening.
Qijia Shao is an Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), specializing in Mobile Computing, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and Ubiquitous Computing. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia University (2024), advised by Prof. Xia Zhou and Prof. Fred Jiang, with prior degrees from Dartmouth College (M.Sc.) and UESTC (B.Sc.). His research focuses on developing unobtrusive systems for human physical/physiological signal sensing, integrating machine learning, signal processing, and hardware design to address societal challenges in healthcare, education, and human-computer interaction. Educational Background: Ph.D., Computer Science, Columbia University (2024) M.Sc., Dartmouth College B.Sc., UESTC Visiting Student, National Chiao Tung University (EECS) Research Assistant, Missouri S&T Research Interests: Deployable systems for human state analysis via physical/physiological signals (e.g., ECG, movement) Generalizable AI algorithms for low-overhead data interpretation Hardware-software co-design for imperceptible sensing Applications in healthcare (e.g., Kangaroo Mother Care monitoring), education, and consumer electronics Awards & Recognition: MobiSys 2024 Best Paper and Demo Awards NSF Funding & Rising Stars Honors ACM UbiComp Gaetano Borriello Award Finalist Editorial Board Member (ACM IMWUT, since 2024) Lab & Collaborations: Director of the Ubiquitous X Lab at HKUST Industry partnerships with Samsung, Snap, and Philips Research International conference TPC roles (MobiSys, SenSys) and keynote speaking engagements
Margaret G.K. Parker, MD, MPH is a Professor at UMass Chan Medical School in the Department of Pediatrics and also holds a position in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. She practices at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she focuses on neonatal care, breastfeeding support, and addressing health disparities among vulnerable populations. Dr. Parker received her BS in Biochemistry & Cell Biology from the University of San Diego, her MPH from Harvard University School of Public Health, and her MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her educational background has prepared her for a career focused on the intersection of clinical care, public health, and health equity. Dr. Parker's research primarily focuses on neonatal care, breastfeeding practices, health disparities, and social determinants of health. She has conducted extensive research on racial and ethnic disparities in mother's milk provision among mothers of preterm infants, communication practices for non-English speaking families in neonatal care units, and interventions to support vulnerable populations including low-income mothers and those with opioid use disorder. Her work often examines how social factors impact infant health outcomes and how healthcare systems can better address these challenges through quality improvement initiatives and policy changes. Her publication trends reveal a consistent focus on health equity in neonatal care, with growing emphasis on social determinants of health screening and intervention in the NICU setting. Recent work shows increased attention to financial support programs for low-income families, communication barriers for non-English speakers, and specialized care approaches for infants exposed to substances prenatally. Dr. Parker has been involved in numerous interdisciplinary research collaborations across pediatrics, public health, and social services to address complex challenges in infant care. Her work has been cited extensively, demonstrating significant impact in her field, particularly in the areas of breastfeeding disparities and safe sleep practices. She leads research teams focused on quality improvement in neonatal care, with particular attention to equity and addressing disparities. Her recent projects include evaluating the CuddleCard protocol for financial support to low-income mothers of preterm infants and developing communication strategies for non-English speaking families in the NICU.
John M. Henderson is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Davis , affiliated with the Visual Cognition Lab . He holds additional roles at the Center for Mind and Brain , Center for Vision Science , Center for Neuroscience , and Plasticity and Memory Program . As an editor for Collabra: Psychology and associate editor for Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , he contributes to open science and cognitive research dissemination. Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (1988) M.S. in Cognitive Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (1986) B.S. in Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (1983) Professor Henderson’s research investigates how visual information is acquired, recognized, and integrated into cognitive systems to guide behavior. His work combines scene perception , reading processes , and visual memory using eye tracking , fMRI , brain stimulation , and computational modeling . Recent studies explore semantic guidance of attention in natural scenes, neural correlates of fixation duration, and developmental attentional patterns. His 15 most recent publications (2023-2025) reflect a focus on semantic processing in visual cognition , scene perception , and computational modeling of attention . Topics include meaning-based attentional guidance, deep learning applications in scene analysis, and neural mechanisms of memory-guided eye movements. Collaborations span cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, and AI-driven scene understanding. Scientific honors include: Google Scholar Classics recognition (2017) for groundbreaking 2006 paper Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, American Psychological Association, and Psychonomic Society Grants from the National Eye Institute and National Institute on Aging support his work on visual cognition and aging. His lab trains students in cognitive methods and interdisciplinary research, bridging psychology, neuroscience, and computational modeling.
Dr. Catherine Crockford is Research Professor and Director of the Ape Social Mind Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, affiliated with the Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture. She co-directs the Tai Chimpanzee Project in Ivory Coast, studying habituated chimpanzee groups and sooty mangabeys. Her research examines primate social cognition, communication evolution, and neuroethology through behavioral observations, hormone sampling, and neuroimaging. Key interests include: Evolution of social bonding and cooperation mechanisms Maternal effects on offspring development Vocal communication and combinatorial signaling Neurobiological bases of social behavior Her publications demonstrate consistent focus on chimpanzee vocal combinatorics, stress physiology, social learning, and comparative neuroanatomy, often integrating field data with endocrine and imaging methodologies. She leads an ERC project investigating early-life influences on social skills and supervises 8 PhD students researching primate communication, social dynamics, and energetics. Laboratory infrastructure supports field endocrinology and collaborative neuroimaging studies.
Beth Smith, PT, DPT, PhD is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California. She directs the Infant Neuromotor Control Laboratory, where she leads research on neural control of movement during infancy and develops interventions for infants with or at risk for developmental delay. Dr. Smith's research focuses on several critical areas in pediatric development: Neural mechanisms underlying infant motor development Application of wearable sensor technology for objective movement measurement Early identification of developmental delays through quantitative analysis Evaluation of intervention effectiveness for at-risk infants Cross-cultural studies of infant development in diverse settings including rural Guatemala Her work demonstrates a strong integration of technology and clinical practice, with recent publications highlighting innovative approaches to measuring infant movement in natural environments. Dr. Smith's research on algorithmic detection of developmental disabilities using wearable sensors represents a significant advancement in early identification methods. Her studies on telehealth administration of developmental assessments have gained particular relevance following the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially expanding access to early intervention services globally. As director of the Infant Neuromotor Control Laboratory, Dr. Smith oversees a research program that bridges neuroscience, engineering, and clinical practice to improve outcomes for infants with developmental challenges. Her work has important implications for developing evidence-based interventions that can be implemented across diverse healthcare settings.
Paul L. Harris is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. He holds a D.Phil. from Oxford University (1971) and specializes in cognitive, emotional, and imaginative development in children. His research examines how children evaluate testimony about domains like history, science, and religion, focusing on their trust in others' claims versus firsthand observation. Key publications include *Trusting What You're Told: How Children Learn from Others* (2012, Harvard UP), exploring children's reliance on testimony. His work spans developmental psychology, epistemology, and cultural learning. He has served on editorial boards for journals like *Child Development* and is a Fellow of the British Academy. Notable awards include the 2017 APS Mentor Award and the 2009 William Thierry Preyer Award. He is affiliated with the British Academy, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and the Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie. Currently retired from advising doctoral students, he remains active in research and publishing. Education: D.Phil. in Psychology, Oxford University (1971) Research Themes: Testimonial learning, imagination's role in cognition, moral development, cross-cultural emotional understanding Recent Work: Investigating children's skepticism of adult claims, the impact of religion on belief systems, and the development of empirical reasoning Grants & Fellowships: Recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship (2005) and Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (1992). Collaborates with institutions like the Living Laboratory® for museum-based research.
