People

Hannah majored in linguistics at Harvard College and received an MPhil degree at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. As a heritage Cantonese and Mandarin speaker growing up in the multicultural melting pot of Guam, her passion about childhood bilingualism and bilingualism across the lifetime motivated her to pursue PhD studies under Dr. Johanne Paradis. She is currently a part of the Syrian Refugee Children: Language, Literacy and Wellbeing and the Bilingual Development in Children with Special Education Needs projects. For her dissertation project, Hannah is interested in nominal argument processing in bilingual adults and children. In her spare time, she enjoys going on long walks whilst listening to podcasts at double-speed (favorites include 99% Invisible, Stuff You Should Know, and Revisionist History).

Ali is a PhD student in Linguistics and he works under the supervision of Dr. Johanne Paradis. He has an MA in Linguistics from Allameh Tabataba'i University in Tehran, Iran. In his master's thesis, he conducted research on the relationship between some various components of macro- and micro-structure in narratives produced by four-year-old Persian-speaking children. He has also collaborated in the construction of the Persian versions of two instruments from the LITMUS battery tools, MAIN and CLTs. He is interested in studying characteristics of heritage and second language development in children who speak Persian as one of their languages. He would like to collaborate on current BALA research projects.

Fun fact: There are more than 30 local languages ​​spoken in Iran and most Iranians are bilingual (speak a local language in addition to Persian). Although interested in researching bilingualism, Ali speaks just the only official Iranian language: Persian (Farsi).

Vera holds a BA from McGill University (2018) and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge (2019). She joined the University of Alberta as a PhD student in 2021, focusing on structural priming as a form of implicit learning in Mandarin-English heritage speakers and late bilinguals. She has also worked on intervention effects in the processing of relative clauses by ESL speakers, as well as the acquisition of wh-questions by Mandarin heritage speaker children. Outside of linguistics, Vera enjoys art, cooking, history, and classics.

Ashley has recently completed her Bachelor of Science degree in June 2023 and joined the Bilingual Acquisition Lab of Alberta as a Research Assistant in November 2023. Her favourite aspects of the lab are working with children, working with a kind and supportive team, and engaging in meaningful research! In addition to her lab responsibilities, Ashley volunteers with the Communication Health Therapy Society and serves on the Student Library Advisory Committee. She is currently taking Anatomy 200 to help prepare for grad school. In her spare time, she loves to unwind with her three cats, explore nature through walks, and enjoy swimming. Looking ahead, Ashley aspires to become a Speech-Language Pathologist!

Tori is currently completing a Bachelor of Science with a major in Psychology and joined the lab as a research assistant in February 2024. In this role, she has focused primarily on data collection and analysis for the BilSEN project, enhancing her understanding of language development in bilingual children. Tori particularly values her interactions with children and parents during data collection, as these experiences provide unique insights into the challenges and strategies involved in raising a bilingual child with special needs. In her spare time, she enjoys taking long walks, making coffee, playing board games, and reading. Tori intends to pursue a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology in the future.

Sapphira is currently working on her Bachelor of Arts, with a double major in psychology and linguistics. She joined the BALA Lab in 2025 to work on the BilSEN project. She loves working with kids as it makes every workday interesting and she is proud to contribute to meaningful research. In addition to the BALA Lab, she works with children and adults with disabilities in the community, researches child cognitive development and volunteers with the Undergraduate Research Initiative at U of A. In her spare time, she likes to crochet, bake, read and make homemade toys for her cat. She is hoping to become a Speech Language Pathologist in the future and wants to work with children with complex communication needs.

Liam completed his BA (hon.) in Psychology at the University of Alberta in animal cognition, in 2022. After supporting adults and children with disabilities, Liam has spent his following years branching into the field of neurodiversity research. Personal to his diagnosis, he is passionate about shifting perspectives on disability and interventions. He joined the lab, in October 2024, as a Research Assistant. In this role, he's collected data by assessing the bilingual language development of autistic children in schools. He’s valued learning about language acquisition, especially in verbally limited individuals, and current limitations in the field. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, camping, and soccer. Liam aspires to become a practitioner in special education and provide interventions for the transition of youth out of school. 

Norah is currently completing a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Psychology and Biology. Prior to joining the BALA lab in March 2025 as a research assistant, Norah has volunteered with a number of organizations that support growth and opportunities for children and youth with developmental disorders. She is excited to be a part of the BilSEN project where she gets to work with kids, and learn more about bilingual development in children, as well as getting the opportunity to work with an amazing team. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, taking her dog for walks, and making pottery. Norah is working towards pursuing a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology or Occupational Therapy.

Adriana is currently an assistant professor at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She completed her BA in English philology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and her specialization in Linguistics at University of California Los Angeles. She completed her PhD in Hispanic Linguistics at Western University (aka. University of Western Ontario). She was a postdoctoral researcher and the coordinator of the Bilingual Acquisition Lab of Alberta from 2018 to 2021, and loved every single minute of it. Her research focuses on individual differences in bilingual development in childhood, especially in the area of morphosyntax.

Tamara is a BALA alumna (BA ’06, MSc ’10, PhD ’17), who is currently collaborating with the lab on the Bilingual Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder for Newcomer Project. She is an assistant professor in the School of Linguistics and Language Studies at Carleton University. Her research investigates language and literacy development in diverse populations. To date, this work has included children from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, children with developmental language disorder and children with autism spectrum disorder. You can find out more about her research here. 

Krithika joined the Bilingual Acquisition Lab of Alberta in 2014. She completed her PhD, with her research focusing on bilingual development in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, children with Developmental Language Disorder, and children with Typical Development.  More specifically, she examined narrative production. During her time in the lab, she has worked on the Bilingual Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder for Newcomer Project. Working in this lab has given her the opportunity to develop skills as a researcher, become more effective in analyzing data and in communicating research findings to the larger community. What she has gained from her experiences in this lab cannot be encapsulated in a single word. When she is not in the lab or at home, she is usually on a trail in the River Valley.

林悠然 (Youran Lin) is a postdoctoral fellow at the BALA Lab between 2023 and 2024 and an assistant professor in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, starting from 2025. A graduate of the Combined MScSLP/PhD program at the University of Alberta, Youran’s research interests include speech and language development in bilingual children and second language learners and the workforce diversity in the field of speech-language pathology. Outside of research, Youran enjoys cooking, crocheting, and singing.