Venkie Mo Feng
Hey everyone! I am Venkie, a Linguistics Master’s student from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. Ever since my childhood I have been exposed to a multicultural environment that led me to also experience a multilingual language acquisition, growing up with Cantonese, Spanish, and English across my life. Through this experience, I have been intrigued by examining the influence of multilinguistic exposure to the brain and cognitive mechanisms, investigating language processing in these individuals. I seek to contribute to the BMB Lab in research analyzing bilingual processing and learning more about behavioral and cognitive tasks employed for language studies.
Kailyn Lee
Hi! My name is Kailyn and I’m a second year Psychology major. I am also minoring in Linguistics and Hearing & Speech Sciences. From interning at a speech clinic to teaching at a Korean preschool and my Taekwondo center, I’ve spent years working with children in environments that entail multilingualism. I also grew up in a bilingual household, love learning new languages, and have had penpals from around the globe, so I’ve always been immersed in a multilingual culture. I’m fascinated by how different languages allow people to unlock different ways of thinking; as an aspiring child speech-language pathologist, I’m excited to learn more about how bilingualism impacts child cognition!
Alison Lin
Hi, my name is Alison Lin. I’m a third year Education science major. I grew up in a very mixed cultural environment. With continuously transforming between China and USA, I gain both of the culture and knowledge. Yet, astonished by the beauty of language. With the experience in BMB lab, I believe I can continue to explore relationship between human brain development and language.
Zitao Wang
Hi everyone! My name is Zitao Wang (Angelina), and I’m a second-year Psychological Science major with a minor in Statistics. I grew up speaking Mandarin and later learned English through studying. This experience made me curious about how people acquire and use multiple languages, especially how bilingual individuals switch between languages and adapt to different cultural contexts. I’m a friendly and observant person, and I try to stay open-minded. I have always been interested in how language shapes the way we think, communicate, and connect with others. I hope to learn more about the cognitive and neural processes involved in bilingualism. I am excited to be part of the lab and to develop stronger research skills with the team.
Eric Carcamo
Hello, my name is Eric Carcamo and I am a 4th year Psychological Sciences major. I grew up in a Spanish speaking household and navigating this exchange between my Spanish with my family and English everywhere else has shown me a unique perspective on how language can be used and perceived. By joining the BMB lab, I hope to contribute to important research that highlights the experiences of bilinguals and how to best understand their cognitive processes.
Sophia Cotton
Hello! My name is Sophia and I am a second year student at Irvine Valley College, planning to transfer for public health. As someone who grew up in an English-only household and only started learning a new language later in life, I am fascinated by adult language acquisition and the science behind it. Attempting to learn Spanish and French later in life has been such an enriching experience that has taught me to appreciate the unique communicative features of these languages and reexamine how I communicate in English. I look forward to learning more about language acquisition and differences in bilingual cognition!
Frida Ayala
Hello Everyone! My name is Frida Ayala and I am a 4th – year student majoring in Education Sciences and Chicano/Latino Studies. I like to read and learn about other cultures and languages. Growing up I lived in a predominantly Spanish speaking household, speaking in Spanish to my parents and English to my siblings. An experience that has pushed me to want to learn more about language acquisition and how we recognize what language to use at such a young age. My interest in learning more about my own bilingual experiences and others has pushed me towards the BMB lab. I am very excited to start this new journey and further learn about bilingualism.
Cari Chen
Hi! My name is Cari, and I’m a second-year Language Science major. I grew up in a bilingual household (Mandarin and English), so when I was in high school and learning a foreign language, I realized how different the learning process was when I didn’t grow up with it. This made me curious about the cognitive processes behind bilingualism and how different it is from learning a language later in life. From this lab, I hope to gain research experience while learning about something I’m genuinely curious about!
Bella Johnson
Hello everyone! My name is Isabella Johnson, and I am a 3rd-year Cognitive Science major on a pre-health track. I am bilingual in English and Spanish—growing up, my extended family spoke to me in Spanish, which led me to attend a Spanish immersion elementary school from kindergarten through 3rd grade. After that, I continued Spanish courses throughout middle and high school. I love learning about all aspects of the brain and am especially excited to gain hands-on experience while deepening my understanding of how language shapes cognition. I find it fascinating how language connotations can differ across cultures, shifting meaning and use depending on context.
Sharon J. Chang
Hi! My name is Sharon Chang and I am a third-year Education Sciences major with a minor in International Studies. Having grown up in a bilingual household, I had firsthand insight on code-switching between Mandarin and English. I have always been curious about how we learn and process various languages along with how our life experiences shape bilingualism. After discovering the EEG test, it just seemed cool to me that we have such a tool to help with bilingualism research and I wanted to see it in action. I am excited to work along with my team leader and other research assistants in my team, and I look forward to gaining hands-on experience that can solidify my future career path, help me develop stronger research skills, and deepen my understanding.
Sofia Poulis
Hello everyone, my name is Sofia Poulis and I’m a Social Ecology and Psychology major focused on a pre-health track! Growing up in a Greek household, I’ve always been fascinated by language, and I even remember my family joking that they’d send me to a village in Greece so I could finally master the language. As a kid, I didn’t understand why my parents would consider doing that, but now I’d take them up on their offer in a heartbeat. I’m entirely interested in how learning a language can impact our experiences and understanding of the world. I’m so excited to be a part of the BMB Lab and take this experience with me throughout the rest of my life!
Karen Peralta
Hello! My name is Karen Ortiz Peralta, and I’m a first-year Education Science major hoping to minor in Spanish/English Education. Being raised in a predominantly Spanish-speaking Hispanic household, I became my family’s language broker from a young age. Breaking down language barriers for others and helping my community is an important aspect of my life and a passion of mine. Furthermore, the brain’s ability to comprehend and articulate our thoughts in and through multiple languages is truly a fascinating topic for me that I would like to gain more knowledge on. Through the BMB Lab, I plan to further this interest of mine and gain knowledge of the brain, the effects of bilingualism, and acquire insights useful to my future career.
Valerie Siao
Hello, I’m Valerie Siao! I’m a first-year Psychology B.S. major at UCI, with a minor in Management. I’ve always been fascinated by language, especially in the context of growing up in a bilingual environment where I spoke both Mandarin and English. My curiosity about how languages work has led me to explore the field of language acquisition further. In my free time, I enjoy watching anime, which has inspired me to start learning Japanese. I’m excited to be part of this lab and eager to deepen my understanding of language acquisition!
Mia Scherrer
Hello! My name is Mia Scherrer, and I’m a second-year Psychology B.S. major with a minor in Accounting. Growing up in a multicultural household, I was particularly curious about how language shapes the brain, which drew me to the BMB lab. Recently taking a cognitive neuroscience course at UCI made me fascinated by different neuroimaging techniques, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to perform EEGs myself as part of this lab.
Taylor Pochron
Hello! My name is Taylor Pochron, I graduated from UCI in 2025 with a B.A. in Psychological Sciences. Growing up in a multicultural household, I have always been intrigued by how multilingualism and language brokering may affect cultural identity. While I grew up speaking Spanish, I did not have to translate for my parents the way many of my peers did, which made me wonder if language brokering influenced how strongly we identified with our Latino culture. This interest led me to the BMB lab, where I hope to further develop my understanding of bilingualism and identity through language processing.
Michelle Chan
Hello! My name is Michelle Chan, and I am a current post-bac student in the BMB Lab. I graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Linguistics and Psychology in 2023. Growing up in Hong Kong, I developed a keen interest in how multilingualism could affect individuals’ cognitive processing. This fascination has driven me to explore the cognitive differences that arise in diverse linguistic environments. I am particularly interested in investigating the relationship between bilingualism and cognitive flexibility.
Kylie Fitzpatrick
My name is Kylie Fitzpatrick and I am currently a third-year undergraduate student at UC Irvine pursuing a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Hearing and Speech Sciences. As someone who grew up in a bilingual environment with my Peruvian mother speaking both English and Spanish to our family, I am very curious to investigate the cognitive processes associated with this. After I graduate from college, I plan to continue working in the language science field by enrolling in a master’s program to earn a degree in Speech-Language Pathology (MS-SLP). In the end, I hope to open my own private practice and work with children who struggle to reach their language developmental milestones, just like I did as a child.
Dan Quoc Nguyen
Hi everyone! I am a recent graduate from UCI where I majored in Cognitive Sciences and Language Science. I joined the BMB Lab Spring of 2023 and I was interested in this lab because I wanted to better understand my own experience as a heritage speaker of Vietnamese and I thought that it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the complexity of bilingualism. I feel very supported by all the lab members so I definitely recommend joining if you’re interested!
Catherine Tarek Maximous
Hello! My name is Catherine and I graduated from UC Irvine in Summer 2025 with a double major in Psychology B.S. and Education Sciences B.A. I joined Judy’s team as a Research Assistant during the 2023 Spring quarter where I developed a lot of interest in Bilingualism and Cognition research. I am currently a PhD student at UC San Diego’s Cognitive Science Program working in Dr. Anne Beatty-Martínez’ Lab!
Yuxin Liu
Hello! My name is Yuxin Liu, and I’m a fourth-year student at UCI double majoring in Psychological Science and Criminology, Law and Society. I can speak both Mandarin and English. I’ve been working in BMB Lab since 2023, where I help with EEG and behavioral studies on bilingual language processing. Outside of research, I enjoy hiking, car racing, reading, and playing tennis. Fun fact about me is I have two cats and one dog. I’m really grateful to be part of such a supportive and inspiring lab community!
Remie Lou Geha
I graduated from the University of California, Irvine, in 2022 with a degree in Language Science, and I earned a Sign Language Certificate from El Camino Community College in 2024. Growing up in a multilingual household where Arabic, English, French, and ASL were spoken, I developed a deep curiosity about how languages work. My experiences with code-switching and code-blending sparked a fascination with linguistic diversity and the cultures tied to each language. I’m passionate about learning new languages and challenging the idea of a critical period for language acquisition. Through my research and work in language studies, I’m excited to continue exploring the complexities of language and communication.