Jen joined the lab in Fall 2025. She earned a BA in English and Religious Studies from Concordia University Ann Arbor and an MA in Linguistics from Wayne State University. She is currently a PhD candidate in Linguistics at UB, where her research focuses on sociolinguistic variation and American dialectology. Before joining the lab, Jen worked in a variety of roles across higher education and the nonprofit sector, including program and grant management, informal science education and community outreach and engagement. She is passionate about science accessibility and bridging the gap between researchers and the public.

Franchesca Arecy

PhD Student Researcher

Franchesca joined the lab in 2023. A New York native from Queens, she attended the SUNY New Paltz to obtain a BA in Communication Disorders & Spanish with a minor in Deaf Studies. She completed her Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology at Howard University which was packed with research experience that propelled her into a doctoral program here at UB. Her interests include assessment & intervention for at-risk children, provision of services for culturally & linguistically diverse (CLD) families, and advocacy for individuals who may experience systematic racism and oppression. 

Sonia Islam Nisha

PhD Student Researcher

Nisha joined the lab in 2023. Born and raised in Bangladesh, she studied at the University of Dhaka in Linguistics. She completed her second Master of Science in Speech Difficulties at the University of Sheffield. Before starting her PhD, Nisha worked as a faculty member at Dhaka University in the Department of Communication Disorders. As a bilingual doctoral researcher, she aims to explore how children with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds learn language and literacy skills. Her research interests include developing assessment and intervention tools and using advanced AI technologies in speech and language services for individualized education for children. 

Helena Miller

Graduate Research Assistant

Helena joined the Language Learning Lab in Fall 2024 and is currently a second-year speech-language pathology master's student. She is from Buffalo and completed her Speech and Hearing Sciences B.A. at the University at Buffalo in December 2023. Helena's career goal is to work as an SLP for pediatric speech and language.

Briana Gentile

Graduate Research Assistant

Briana joined the lab in Fall 2025. She received her Bachelor's in Speech and Hearing Sciences at UB in May 2025. She is currently a first-year graduate student in the Master's program in Speech-Language Pathology at UB. She grew up in Amherst, NY, and plans to work in a school or home health care setting. In her free time she likes to go skiing, go to the gym and hang out with her family and friends. 

Erin Shin

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Erin joined the lab in Fall 2024. Erin is an undergraduate student majoring in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She would like to pursue a master's degree in Speech Language Pathology. She hopes to work as an SLP in both educational and health care settings, helping children. She wishes to especially work with bilingual children, as she is bilingual in English and Korean. In her free time, she likes to travel to new places, try new foods, go to the gym, watch movies, and hang out with friends.

Moriah Peoples

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Moriah joined the lab in Fall 2024 as an undergraduate student. She is currently pursuing a B.A. in Speech and Hearing Sciences, an M.A in Childhood Education and a minor in American Sign Language. Her diverse New York City background fuels her passion for advocating for equitable access to quality language learning services for underrepresented students and communities; she plans to further her commitment through ASL interpreting. When not busy with schoolwork, you can find her traveling, at the spa or hanging out family/friends.

Grace Stellrecht

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Grace joined the lab in Fall 2025. She is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She joined the lab as part of the Early Graduate Admissions Program and will continue at the University at Buffalo for her Master's in Speech-Language Pathology. She hopes to work as an early intervention SLP. Grace grew up in Buffalo, NY and loves to cheer on the Buffalo Bills. In her free time, Grace loves walking her dogs, going to spin classes, and grabbing a coffee with friends.

Laurel Cymerman

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Laurel joined the lab in Fall 2025 as part of UB’s early graduate admissions program for Communicative Disorders and Sciences majors. She is currently in her final year as an undergraduate student and is looking forward to starting graduate school next Fall. After she gets her master’s degree, she hopes to work as an SLP with a focus on children in either a school or private practice. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, friends, and pets, reading, watching movies, and baking.