Michelle is a fourth year student at the University of Toronto, majoring in Statistics and Cognitive Science with a minor in Computer Science. In the BAM Lab, she is assisting with a scoping review on community-based participatory research involving bilingual populations in the language and cognition aspect. In terms of research, Michelle has investigated how semantic network changes with age, using semantic network metrics and machine learning techniques. Born and raised in a multilingual city, Michelle is particularly interested in learning new languages. She is fluent in Cantonese, English, and Mandarin, and is currently also studying Japanese and French. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, listening to J-pop, and drinking matcha.

Faith Young is a research assistant (or volunteer; you can choose my title) at the BAM! Lab at the University of Toronto. She is a first-year student in the MHSc in Speech-Language Pathology program at UofT. She holds an HBSc at UofT Mississauga, having majored in Psychology and Biology for Health Sciences. Faith has a broad range of academic interests pertaining to SLPs including multilingual language development and assessment, and clinical practice. She has previous experience as a research assistant in the Child Language and Speech Studies (CLASS) Lab at UTM under the supervision of Dr. Elizabeth Johnson, having explored the role of multilingualism in the comprehension of non-local speech. Fluent in English, and a beginner at French and Cantonese, Faith has noticed the diverse and changing linguistic landscape of the GTA and hopes to aid the BAM! lab in creating clinical tools that are equitable, diverse, and that properly reflect the population in Ontario and Canada. Following her studies and completion of the CETP examination, she aspires to practice as an SLP. Outside of school, you can catch her singing, cuddling with her dogs, and solving jigsaw puzzles! 

Haifa Khan is a Research Assistant at the Bilingual and Multilingual Development Lab at the University of Toronto. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from the University of Guelph. Haifa’s research interests include the impact of multilingualism on social and cognitive development. Fluent in both English and Urdu, she contributes to projects like the Urdu and English Child Literacy Project and the Wordle Study, assisting with data collection, analysis, and participant testing. Haifa hopes to pursue a career in healthcare, where she aims to bridge communication gaps and ensure her patients feel heard and understood. Outside of her academic pursuits, Haifa enjoys baking, swimming, and spending time outdoors.

Jazmaine is a volunteer at the Bilingual and Multilingual Development Lab (BAM!To) at the University of Toronto and an incoming clinical student in the University of Toronto's Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program. She holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Waterloo, with double minors in Psychology and Applied Language Studies. Jazmaine's academic interests encompass all areas of SLP from clinical research, practice, to advocacy. She is also working as a research assistant at the Oral Dynamics Lab at the University of Toronto, where she assists with research on oral motor control. She is also an active volunteer in her local Aphasia and Communication Disabilities program.Growing up in a multilingual household, Jazmaine is fluent in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and basic Tagalog. She has also taken beginner courses in French, Japanese, Dutch, and Korean through school and immersion programs. In her current role, Jazmaine assists with data collection and analysis for various ongoing projects, but her greatest source of fulfillment as a research assistant comes from being part of this supportive and inspiring lab :) In the future, Jazmaine hopes to make significant contributions to the field of SLP and inspire future SLPs just as her mentors have inspired her. Jazmaine aspires to be a trilingual SLP who embraces diverse cultural values, and practices with love and care! In her free time, she enjoys continuing education in SLP, hiking, singing to youtube karaokes, and spending time with friends. 

Maripaz González Pieschacón is a Research Assistant at the BAM! lab, responsible for coordinating Knowledge Mobilization/Translation efforts. She attends the University of Toronto Mississauga, pursuing a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Psychology and Biology for Health Sciences, with a minor in Art History. Her coursework includes PSY401: Knowledge Translation, sparking her interest in delivering scientific discoveries to real-world settings. Maripaz's research focuses on bilingual development, stemming from her own experience of arriving in Canada as a baby and learning English in kindergarten. She is passionate about Dr. Molnar’s work on making research accessible and is interested in literacy, having volunteered as a tutor for United for Literacy. Previously, she worked as a research assistant in the Child Language and Speech Studies Lab with Dr. Elizabeth Johnson, where she developed a model for engaging both children and adults in scientific learning. Fluent in Spanish and English, Maripaz is helping our lab create outreach tools to share our research with the public. Her long-term goal is to work in knowledge translation within medicine, aspiring to become a nurse who empowers patients by helping them understand their health. Outside of her academic life, Maripaz enjoys photography, writing, and sharing her latest lessons with friends and family.

Sarmitha Sivakumaran is a Research Assistant at the Bilingual and Multilingual Development Lab. She recently received her Honours Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences from the University of Toronto. Her research interests include speech and language development in children with developmental disorders, as well as the cognitive development of multilingual children. She is fluent in English and Tamil. In her current role, Sarmitha assists with conducting literature reviews. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys playing basketball and spending time with family and friends!

Tristan McKnight is a Research Assistant at the Bilingual and Multilingual Development Lab at the University of Toronto. She is currently in her first year of the MHSc in Speech-Language Pathology program, having completed a B.A. Specialist in Linguistics at UofT Scarborough. Tristan’s research interests focus on equitable assessment and intervention for bilingual and multilingual children. She brings prior experience as the Lab Manager for the Eyelands Lab under Dr. Dave Kush, and as a Research Assistant for Dr. Atiqa Hachimi and Dr. Safieh Moghaddam, all at UofT Scarborough. Fluent in English and at an intermediate level at French, Tristan currently assists with the development of a clinically informed, quasi-linguistically universal dynamic assessment of early word reading skills for bilingual kindergarten students. Looking ahead, she hopes to practice as an SLP upon graduation and the completion of the CETP exam. Outside of her academic work, Tristan enjoys camping and cooking.

Tosin is a Research Assistant at the Bilingual and Multilingual Development Lab(Bam!To) assisting with social media outreach and knowledge translation efforts! Tosin is in the fourth year of his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto and is pursuing a double major in Human Biology and Psychology along with a minor in english. As someone who grew up in a household, that spoke English, Igbo, and Yoruba, Tosin always wondered about cognitive and social aspects of multilingualism. Particularly how early language exposure influences social development in children. After completing his undergraduate degree, Tosin hopes to pursue a career in psychiatry and to further understand how individual differences such as race, ethnicity, language, poverty, immigration and exposure to adverse events impact children and their developement. Outside of academic and lab work, you may find Tosin on Tiktok, drawing, practicing his Igbo or enjoying walks with his dog!

Victoria Gotcheva is a Research Assistant at the BAM! Lab and is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto. She is enrolled in the linguistics specialist program and is working towards an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree. Victoria’s interest in speech and language development in bilingual and multilingual populations stems from her background speaking and learning many languages; Victoria was raised in an English-Bulgarian household, gained fluency in French through the French Immersion program, and received additional formal instruction in German and Russian. At the lab, Victoria is currently assisting with data management for the Wordle study and participant recruitment for the bilingual language history tool project. She is also on the team for the scoping review of community-based participatory research with bilingual populations. Previously, Victoria helped out with testing adult participants for a pupillometric study of attentional effort during linguistic and nonlinguistic processing in monolinguals and bilinguals and with extracting data for a narrative review on language and cognition in atypically-developing bilingual children. Beyond her academic pursuits, Victoria enjoys playing the piano and singing.