Meet the Students from the Brain and Language Lab

* The Brain and Language Lab is a research lab

Meet the

at Gallaudet Unviersity led by Dr. Laura Ann Petitto (also the Science Director of VL2). Topics studied at the lab include the neural processing of ASL, how children learn to read, and the effects of early bilingual exposure on the developing brain and its functions.

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Students

Daniel Fisher What do you like to do on your free time?

I particularly enjoy cooking and traveling whenever I can.

What are you working on now?

I am currently conducting a small-scale cross-linguistic study of numerical incorporation in spatio-temporal relations in Italian Sign Language (LIS) based on previous ASL research.

What advice would you give to other undergraduate and graduate students interested in research?

Meet as many people as you can. Try to find people who might need a research assistant of some sort, even if they are not advertising it. Getting involved in a variety of projects also helps to realize your interests if you are not sure where you want to go with your research.

Can you tell us a little more about yourself and your research interests?

I am a fourth year undergraduate student at Gallaudet University studying ASL with a minor in Linguistics. As a hearing child of Deaf parents (CODA), I have used ASL my entire life. Although I am interested in a broad range of research topics, I often find myself coming back to Phonology and Morphology in particular.

Geo Kartheiser Can you tell us a little more about yourself and your research interests?

I am a M.A. candidate in linguistics at Gallaudet University. I received my B.S. in advertising and public relations from Rochester Institute of Technology.

What has been the best moment, so far, of your work with BL2?

There are framed child-like finger paintings on a wall in BL2. I always thought they were from children who came in for Dr. Laura-Ann Petitto’s language acquisition studies until one morning I noticed a name, Nim, scribbled on one of the corners. They were Nim Chimpsky’s artwork!

What research have you done in the past, and what are you working on now?

I have assisted research on a variety of topics that includes but are not limited to visual attention, brain plasticity, and signed language assessment tool.

My primary research interest is investigating the impact of signed language as a second language (L2) on cognition. I am also interested in exploring how scientists can improve their relationship with the public.

Krystal Johnson What has been the best moment, so far, of your work with BL2?

We have a meeting that happens every week on Tuesday where we all discuss what we have been working on for the past week. I am ecstatic about those meetings because all of us are given the opportunity to share opinions, ideas, feedback, and I am able to learn more about what research has been done.

What has been a challenge in your research? Â What keeps you motivated?

The MATLAB program is widely used in academic and research institutions. The program is extremely complex and is used for many reasons including automating many processes, allows us to analyze neuroimaging data, etc. It is a challenge to be working on such a complex program and to develop programming skills for this program, but I know that this is a very valuable skill to have for my professional development as a future researcher.

What do you feel is needed in research on visual languages and visual learning?

It seems that there is not enough research being done on visual language and how it is essential in every child’s early years.

Even though we are aware of the major benefits of visual languages and learning, there have been other research studies that suggest disadvantages of exposing sign language to deaf children.

It is our goal to eliminate that confusion so we can take long strides forward into improving education for deaf children.

Yashimarae Poindexter What do you like to do on your free time?

In my free time I enjoy reading, writing, traveling, cooking, volunteering, and playing video games.

What has been the best moment, so far, of your work with BL2?

My best moment so far with BL2 has been the lab meetings and just getting to be a part of the collaboration of ideas, presentations, and knowledge.

What has been a challenge in your research? What keeps you motivated?

My challenge has been developing new research skills and applying these to my knowledge, classroom education, and real life. My motivation comes from the joy my work gives me. I always enjoy learning and finding unknown answers.

Can you tell us a little more about yourself and your research interests?

I’m a second degree Deaf studies major. I was raised in Texas and I’m a University of Pittsburgh alumni.

My research interests include neurology, language acquisition, and audiology.

Erin Spurgeon What advice would you give to other undergraduate and graduate students interested in research?

Pick something that you are passionate about. Your best work will be done on a topic in which you have an inherent and sincere interest.

What do you feel is needed in research on visual languages and visual learning?

I feel that we need to make an effort to help connect our research with issues that affect deaf individuals. I believe that it is important to try to make our work beneficial for the subjects we study and keep them in mind when framing our research questions.

What do you like to do on your free time?

I play a lot of soccer, trail run and hike. I enjoy surfing, but don't have the opportunity pursue it here in DC. My friends and I tend to go backpacking and camping several times a year, which I really look forward to. I am also reading several books at any given time, and like to cook and bake whenever I can.

Can you tell us a little more about yourself and your research interests?

I am a first-year graduate student in the Interpretation program. I also am interested in research that examines Deaf cognition, and the influence of visual language on cognitive processing.

L-R: Provost Stephen Weiner, Dr. Laura Ann Petitto, Daniel Fisher, Krystal Johnson, George Kartheiser, Kristine Gauna, Yashimarae Poindexter, Erin Spurgeon, Song Hoa Choi, Kaja Jasinska, Dr. Thomas Allen, Clifton Langdon

“These are my new 2012-2013 Gallaudet Student Research Interns.

They are undergraduate and graduate students who are STUDYING THE BRAIN at Gallaudet University!! They are analyzing data, coding, learning neuroscience methods, questions, and techniques, the fNIRS technology, all in the exploration of the human brain, language, and the neural processing and representation of visual signed languages!"

-Laura Ann Petitto, PhD Co-PI of VL2 & Scientific Director of BL2 Credits: Design & Development: Erica Wilkins Development: Kristen Harmon, PhD Grant No.: SBE-1041725 NSF supported Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning