The Bilingual Phonology Lab (BPL) was established in 2010 at the University of Arizona and transitioned to the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. The BPL aims to investigate health disparities by developing equitable assessment procedures for bilingual, Latinx preschoolers to increase access and reduce discrimination. 

Our research is framed by the Processing Rich Information from Multidimensional Representations (PRIMIR) model (Curtin, Byers-Heinlein, & Werker, 2011).  This model suggests that interaction between bilingual infants' speech perception and speech sound learning can result in differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in speech acquisition. The BPL is extending this model to account for speech production differences between monolingual and bilingual children (known as PRIMIR 2). There are two aims of the lab:

1. To validate the PRIMIR 2 model of speech sound production in bilinguals

2. To use Item Response and Classical Test Theory approaches to improve the assessment methods developed in prior research and measure its increased efficiency in the clinical context

The BPL also has a history in training future clinicians and researchers by providing an enriching experience. Members of the lab should expect to learn more about linguistics, communication science and disorders, social justice issues and build meaningful connections with other students and the community. 

The Bilingual Phonology Lab has been continually funded since 2015 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (R21 1R21HD081382-01A1, 2015-2018, Leah Fabiano-Smith, PI) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (5 R01 DC016624-05, Leah Fabiano-Smith, PI). Dr. Fabiano has also been the recipient of two awards from the National Institutes of Heath (NIH) Loan Repayment Program - Division of Health Disparities (L60-MD006256). 

In August 2025, Dr. Leah Fabiano, Professor and PhD Program Director, was awarded a $3.1 million R01 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) that will fund her research program over the next four years. Her project, Assessment of Speech Sound Disorders in Bilingual Latino Spanish-English Speaking Children: An Evidence-Based Procedure, will continue work initiated during her previous R01 focused on developing an assessment procedure for bilingual preschoolers. This study will help prevent misdiagnosis of speech sound impairments in bilingual children, who experience a disproportionate rate of both over- and under-diagnosis. The project will also develop a novel theoretical model that will predict speech sound productions in bilingual children to aid speech-language pathologists in identifying speech sound impairments in this pediatric population. This work will fund PhD students, a postdoctoral fellow, and multiple student workers in the department and engage the local Latinx community in scientific research. The Bilingual Phonology Lab will partner with Dr. Diego Chavés-Gnecco and Dr. Maya Ragavan at UPMC Clínica Pediatrics, local community health workers connected with the Latinx community, and Pittsburgh school districts, Head Starts, and preschools. Dr. Mark Zhang, Associate Professor in the CSD department, and Dr. Lauren Terhorst in the Pitt Data Center will provide statistical support on the project.