Publications

Recognition Memory as a Function of Word Slot and Contrastive Accenting in the Visual World Paradigm [in review; citation to come]

• This paper (a replication-extension of Fraundorf et al. 2010) establishes a link between pitch accenting, visual attention, and recognition memory in the VWP. We draw from previous theories regarding the processing of prosodic prominence and audiovisual stimuli to support a contrast-representation account of pitch accenting: contrastive-pitch accents divert limited working memory resources AWAY from non-accented contrastive alternatives, improving recognition memory for accented items.

Conferences

What Catches the Eye: Recognition Memory as a Function of Word Slot and Contrastive Accenting in the Visual World Paradigm (access slides from 03.2025 here!)

• 03.2025 - 38th Annual Conference on Human Sentence Processing (Talk)
• 11.2024 - 7th Annual California Meeting for Psycholinguistics (Talk)
• 06.2024 - Linguistics Undergraduate Research Showcase at UCSB (Talk)
• 05.2024 - Southern California Undergraduate Linguistics Conference (Talk)
• 05.2024 - Undergraduate Research Colloquium at UCSB (Talk, poster)

HSP 2025 @ UMD

Ongoing Projects

Predictive Preactivation and Cognitive Aging Across the Lifespan

NYU CSD Dept. - 09.2025-Present

• So far, I’ve compiled a literature review which delves into the concepts of cognitive aging, crystallized/fluid intelligence, and the recruitment of alternative neural mechanisms in later-life language processing. I’ve also developed the framework for an ongoing research program (see the home page!) which will evaluate language preduction in younger and older adults via eye-tracking, EEG/ERP, and computational modeling.

Bilingualism, Aging, and Lexical Access

CoMM Lab - 09.2025-Present

• In this project, I am conducting eye-tracking analyses on VWP data from older and younger Spanish-English bilinguals. Along with my team in the CoMM Lab, we’re using cognitive-behavioral measures to observe multimodal lexical access across both languages.

Pitch Accenting, Bilingualism, and Recognition Memory

UCSB Linguistics Dept. - 10.2024-Present

• Replication-extension of my undergraduate honors thesis in Cantonese-English bilinguals (collaboration with Lu Liu)
• Method - Praat for acoustics, EyeLink Duo in a VWP
• This project will use a model-fitting approach to pinpoint the acoustic qualities used when learning English prosody and remembering contrastively-accented items for L1 speakers of tonal languages. In particular, we are interested in whether an L1 transfer effect (if any are present) might impact visual attention to and memory for accented items.

Pitch Accenting and Recognition Memory

UCSB Linguistics Dept. - Undergraduate Honors Thesis - 08.2023-Present

• Replication-extension of Fraundorf et al. (2010) in a visual world paradigm
• Method - EyeLink Duo in a VWP
• In collaboration with Laurel Brehm (UCSB Linguistics) and Scott Fraundorf (Pitt Psychology), this project expands foundational pitch accenting literature into a visual world paradigm. We developed a set of visual stimuli to be used alongside the original audio and tracked participants’ eye movements while encoding and recalling contrastively and non-contrastively accented items from narratives. Analysis of this data establishes causal links between prosodic prominence, fixation-mediated attention, and recognition memory.

Past Lab Experience

UCSB Linguistics Dept.

Production and Perception of Language (PRPL) Lab - 08.2023-06.2025

• I coded and analyzed speech errors in a sentence-completion study, looking at sentence production differences and error types across monolingual and multilingual English speakers of various backgrounds.
• To increase SciComm (see my SciComm tab for more info!) and real-world observation of language production and processing, I recruited and ran studies with children and adults at a local science museum. Since portable and stationary eye-trackers were used here, I instructed undergraduate RAs on equipment use and calibration. I was an RA for three studies, and topics ranged from development of emotion-specific language across childhood to context-dependent learning of novel words to observation of child engagement with LLMs.
• Even after graduation, I attended various seminars from University of California researchers (which my P.I. helped organize) as part of a research initiative to enhance diversity in language science research through the use of LLMs.

UCSB Psychological and Brain Sciences Dept.

Mayer Lab - 04.2023-06.2024

• Partnering with native Mandarin speakers and trained opera singers, I served as the resident psycholinguist while our lab developed grading scales for musical pitch productions and second-language Mandarin utterances. These scales were used in scoring L2 Mandarin learners on pitch-accent replication and production of basic pitch contours, ultimately looking into the correlation between musical pitch proficiency and accuracy in Mandarin tone replication/production.

UCSB English Dept. (Literature and Mind Program)

Trauma-Informed Pedagogy Initiative - 07.2023-12.2023

• As an RA for the English Department’s Lit & Mind program, I assembled a review of previous literature summarizing the existing accounts of educational, political, and psychophysiological consequences of trigger warning implementation. My findings were complex and highly context/audience-dependent, but ultimately pointed AWAY from trigger warnings in the search for adequate means of addressing student trauma.
• I then proposed alternatives and opened the floor for audience input in a well-attended campus presentation/discussion panel through UCSB TIP (see slides here!).