Current Lab Members

Dr. Dam graduated from the Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego. Her research interests include bilingual language development in typically developing children and children with speech and language impairments. Dr. Dam also completed a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She worked as a bilingual Vietnamese-English speech-language pathologist in Boston, MA before pursuing her PhD.

Ngoc is a full-time research specialist in the BDC lab. As one of Ngoc’s hobbies, she loves to host social and cultural events with the job of being the master of ceremonies (MC) where she could speak in her Hanoi accent. This was also the reason she first joined the lab in Summer 2016 as a volunteer to record research material in Vietnamese for a research project based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Little did she know, this volunteer project led her to the opportunity of being a research assistant at the BDC lab later in 2017 and now a full-time researcher in 2021. Ngoc always finds the fulfilling feeling of giving back and contributing to society unparalleled. Thus, she is grateful for the opportunity to rejoin the lab and be involved in many great research projects benefiting the society. She is excited to unveil what the future holds for her and how she can better contribute and serve the society as a researcher.

Danaee is a bilingual clinical supervisor/lecturer with more than 30 years of experience. After moving from her native country, Venezuela, in 1993, Danaee has focused on bilingual language development and disorders among bilingual children, speech/language evaluations within the bilingual population, speech disorders and reading development in bilingual population, as well as multicultural influences on language development. Her research interests include bilingual language development in typical developing children and children with speech and language impairments.

Alicia is a 4th year PhD student in the Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communication Disorders at San Diego State University and UC San Diego. Her research focuses on typical and atypical language development in bilingual children. She is committed to improving assessment and treatment outcomes for young bilingual children of all cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Jide began his career as a speech therapist in 2012, working in healthcare and school settings in the Bay Area and southern Arizona. He transitioned to the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders in 2022. His interests focus on increasing equity in early intervention access and bilingual language development.

Sophie is a Ph.D student in the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders. Her fascination with bilingualism stems from over a decade of studying Spanish in an academic context, as well as from her experience as a native speaker of Hebrew. She is interested in researching the language development and cognitive processes of bilingual speakers from diverse language learning backgrounds.

Chris is a M.A candidate in the Speech-Language Pathology program at SDSU. Being raised in a diverse context and community in San Diego, he is passionate about studying bilingualism in child language development. He hopes to foster and incorporate his Vietnamese knowledge in his current research and future career as an SLP. In his work, he aspires to tie together community, culture, and critical issues of today in order to provide the most well-rounded approach possible. He additionally works as the lab’s publicity coordinator.

Grace is in the Master’s program in Speech-Language Pathology at SDSU. She grew up in a predominantly Vietnamese community and participated in many community activities where she could continue practicing Vietnamese. Her goal is to become a bilingual Vietnamese clinician to increase accessibility in services and advocate for speech therapy in minority communities.

Khanh is in the Master’s program in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) at SDSU. She grew up in Vietnam and went into the field of SLP with a mission to raise awareness about speech-language impairments in Vietnam and advocate for the people who have it. She also enjoys working with people who have a linguistically and culturally diverse background. Khanh’s goal is to become a Vietnamese-English bilingual speech-language pathologist.

Lena is a student in the Master’s Program in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) at SDSU. She is interested in developing resources for bilingual assessment and treatment of Vietnamese-speaking children. She grew up in a culturally Vietnamese American household and hopes to grow in her multicultural identity and gain skills in supporting and advocating for bilingual children within the field of SLP.

Mikayla is pursuing a Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences degree at SDSU. For the past three years, she has been involved with Latinx Student Union, an organization for Latinx-identifying students. She is passionate about connecting students with their roots and hopes to translate this into her work with bilingual children. She is bilingual in Spanish and English and is looking forward to continuing to serve underrepresented communities.

Melissa is a 3rd year Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences major. Coming from a hispanic household and community, Melissa has always been immersed in the Spanish language. She wants to pursue a career as a bilingual SLP interacting with Spanish-English speaking children. She wants to provide services to her community, yet also hopes to learn a little more about herself in regards to how bilingual children interact between languages, just as she did growing up.

Julianne is studying Spanish and Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at SDSU. Additionally, she is pursuing an Honors Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies. Julianne is dedicated to becoming fluent in Spanish and has developed a great interest in bilingualism after her semester abroad in Spain. In joining the BDC Lab, Julianne hopes to learn more about how being bilingual affects one’s speech and comprehension in both languages. She hopes to use the knowledge gained from her participation in Lab in her future work as a bilingual SLP to Spanish-English speaking children.

Leslie is a recent transfer student from Los Angeles studying Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at SDSU. She grew up in a predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhood, where she felt a big sense of community. That molded her into being proud of her roots and culture, which she hopes to incorporate into her future work as a Spanish-English SLP. Her goal is to better support bilingual children and their families by providing accessible services and information.

Mia Mangney is an undergraduate student studying Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and minoring in Spanish. She was inspired by her Dutch grandparents to learn a second language. Her goal is to eventually become a Bilingual Speech Pathologist with Spanish as her second language.

Jaclyn is pursuing a degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at SDSU. She is fascinated with languages and cultural backgrounds. She grew up bilingual speaking Spanish and English at home, and hopes to use this skill in her future career. Working with children as a babysitter since she was 16, Jaclyn has made it her goal to become a bilingual pediatric speech pathologist and continue the trend of working and helping children. She is driven by her passion to help kids build their confidence through their voice and speech. She is excited to be a part of the BDC lab and hopes to take all the knowledge and experience she gains with her into her future occupation.

Kaitlan is pursuing a degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at SDSU. As an undergraduate student exploring possible career endeavors, joining the BDC Lab highlights the possibility of specializing in research. While working in the lab, she hopes to expand her knowledge on bilingualism and its role in child development. In addition to this, she hopes for more exposure to the SLHS field, and to discover the most interesting aspects of it!

Catarina is acquiring a Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences degree at SDSU.
Previously, she studied Child Development where she had the pleasure of working
with Various communities to foster safe and educational environments for children
in the SanDiego area. As a bilingual child herself, she is eager to learn and research
multiple aspects of language development in children, and how that knowledge can
be applied to better help and understand young individuals. She looks forward to
continuing her journey in the SLHS field and all it has to offer!

Melanie is an undergraduate student studying Speech Language and Hearing Sciences at SDSU along with a minor in Child and Family Development. She grew up in a predominantly Latinx community where she was a dual language learner, learning Spanish and English. She looks forward to helping bilingual children connect with their roots through language and supporting families of bilingual children.