Principal Investigator

Athena Vouloumanos

Is speech a special sound for humans? What is it about language (and humans) that makes language acquisition a uniquely human accomplishment? Dr. Vouloumanos's research addresses these broad questions by exploring the linguistic and cognitive abilities of adults and young infants, including newborns. Her findings have been published in journals such as Science, Cognition, Developmental Science, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Graduate Student

Madelaine Krehm

Madelaine is a fifth year doctoral student in the Cognition and Perception program. Her undergraduate degree is from McGill University in Montreal where she worked with Linda Polka and Karen Mattock on phonetic detail in word learning. Madelaine is interested in speech perception, language acquisition and the evolutionary origins of language. She also enjoys collaborating on crosswords with fellow labbies, riding with the NYU equestrian team, and squeezing in art gallery visits when she gets a chance.

Lab Manager

Peter Liebenson

Peter graduated from Swarthmore College with a double major in Psychology and Film & Media Studies. He has experience working in children's media, education, and psychology. He is interested in what children understand about media, along with how media can best speak to children at different stages of development. As lab manager, he loves interacting with parents and children while exploring what infants understand about various communicative acts. He is deeply fond of Japanese green tea, old-timey pirates, and long-form improv.

Project Manager

	Casey Pitts
	Casey has graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences with a double major in Chemistry and Psychology and is on the pre-med track. She plans to continue her studies into the field of Child Psychiatry. She likes to spend her weekends in Central Park and is a fan of movies and junk food.

Research Assistants

Christopher Cantwell

Chris is a senior in the College of Arts and Science majoring in Psychology and double minoring in Chemistry and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. He is on the pre-med track and plans on pursuing a career in medicine. Chris first became interested in Developmental Psychology after studying language acquisition in infants as part of a class on cognition. In his free time Chris loves baking, is an avid yogi, and has a self diagnosed addiction to the Food Network. Chris is very excited to continue working with Dr. Vouloumanos on his honors project and the rest of the NICCL staff.

	Elena Luchkina
	Elena is a first year Masters student. She is interested in research on speech, language and communication. Elena received her undergraduate degree from Moscow State University and was a graduate student at MIT. She hopes to get doctoral training and pursue a research career in psychology. In her free time Elena enjoys archery, roller-blading and watching documentaries with Brian Greene.

	Bethany Kette
	Bethany is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Science majoring in Psychology with a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. She is also on the pre-med track and is planning on going to medical school and becoming a child psychiatrist because she loves working with kids. She's from Reno, NV and loves traveling, dancing, watching TV, and dessert.

Dustin Paul Richard

Dustin is a Master's student of General Psychology. Before coming to New York he spent four years teaching English and learning Russian in Moscow where he discovered that he loved working with children, languages, and education. Once upon a time he was a music composition major and flamenco dance minor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque who played in rock bands all day. Though he still loves the arts he is now a science fanboy/skeptic who loves travel and learning how to sail with his wife. To make rents he proofreads and translates legal documents.

Jennifer Saad

Jennifer is a junior in the College of Arts and Science majoring in Psychology, with a minor in Chemistry. She is a pre-med student with hopes of becoming a pediatrician, although she believes pediatrics is one of medicine's most difficult fields. She finds working with children very enjoyable and is determined to better her understanding of children's communication. Born and raised in Queens, Jennifer is a fan of the NY Mets and loves to explore different cultural cuisines that New York has to offer.

Jacqueline Tin

Jackie has graduated from the College of Arts and Science with a double major in Psychology, Business. She's from Brooklyn, NY but loves to travel and learn different languages (Cantonese, Mandarin, and Spanish but definitely more in the future!). She hopes to become a physician and from her experiences in the lab, might eventually specialize in pediatric medicine. Her current interests in psychology include infant communication and the use of gestures. She will be completing an honors thesis on whether infants understand gestures to communicate goals/intentions. In her free time, she likes to catch up with old friends, play sports, listen to music, and read.

Katherine Silva

Kathey is a senior at CAS majoring in Psychology while minoring in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies and is also on the pre-health track. She hopes to go to medical school and pursue a career in either pediatrics or child psychiatry since she enjoys working with children. Currently, developmental psychology has been the most fascinating field of psychology for her since children are so difficult to 'figure out' and their abilities to understand the world are constantly surprising researchers. During time off from school she enjoys snowboarding, going to the beach, watching horror films, and eating food at different restaurant chains with her friends.

Cristina Tortarolo

Cristina is a Masters student studying psychology. She received her undergraduate degree in cognitive sciences from Rice University and has since worked as a research assistant in the Houston Medical Center and San Francisco VA Hospital. She is interested in getting more experience in cognition and perception research during her time at NYU and in her free time enjoys freelance graphic design, playing videogames and eating every single type of cheese.

Tina Thach

Tina Thach is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in psychology. She plans on pursuing a career in forensic psychology after applying to (and hopefully surviving) graduate school. After taking courses in cognitive neuroscience and developmental psychology, she is especially interested in perception and infant speech patterns. In her free time, she enjoys perfecting the art of the manicure, going to concerts of all genres (except country), and baking Nutella cakes.

Alums