People
Principal Investigator
Katie Schuler
Katie is an Assistant Professor in the Linguistics Department at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her B.A. in Brain and Cognitive Science at the University of Rochester and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Georgetown University. She is pictured here with her daughters Joan (5) and Dory (9 months).
Lab Manager
Madison Paron
Madison earned her B.A. in Cognitive Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania in 2019. She is interested in neurolingistics, specifically evaluating the processes underlying the acquisition of verbal and signed languages. Outside of research, Madison enjoys skiing and spending time with her family.
Graduate Students
Daoxin is a PhD student in the Department of Linguistics. Before coming to Penn, she earned her BA in English Language from Tsinghua University. She uses various methods to investigate the acquisition of linguistic generalizations: How do learners identify the regular rules in their language in the presence of irregular items? How do they make use of the input data available to them? Why do children seem to be better at learning the rules than adults?
Christine Soh Yue
Christine is a PhD student in the Department of Linguistics. Before coming to Penn, she graduated from MIT with a BS in Linguistics and Computer Science. She uses various methods including computational modeling and psycholinguistic experiments to investigate the process of how learners acquire linguistic generalizations. In her free time, Christine enjoys cooking, making things, and spending time with family and friends.
Mikaela Belle Martin
Mikaela Belle Martin is a PhD student in the Department of Linguistics. Before coming to Penn, they graduated from Harvard with a BA in Linguistics. She works primarily in both experimental semantics and experimental sociolinguistics to investigate how individuals make use their linguistic backgrounds to make sense of both linguistic expectations, as well as how language variation manifests in speakers of different dialects. Most of Mikaela's free time is spent with her 8 year-old dwarf rabbit, Frostbite.
Research Assistants
Milana Korobko
Milana graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2024. She is interested in language acquisition, autism spectrum disorder, and self-regulation in child development.
Izabela Baran
Izabela is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania studying Cognitive Science with a minor in Data Science. She is interested in sociolinguistics and computational cognition. In her free time, she enjoys thrifting and reading.
Insia Haque
Insia is a junior at Penn majoring in Cognitive Science and minoring in Linguistics, Psychology, and Design. She is interested in language acquisition, pidgins, and child development. In her free time, she enjoys creating art and crocheting and does graphic design and illustration for The Daily Pennsylvanian and 34th Street Magazine.
Melinda Amorosi
Melinda is a sophomore at Penn studying linguistics. She is interested in sociolinguistics, syntax, and language acquisition. She is involved in Penn's ZTA and rugby, and she runs Quake Magazine. In her free time she enjoys reading, creative writing, weightlifting, and playing piano.
Marissa Prager
Marissa is a sophomore at Penn studying Urban Studies and minoring in Lingustics. She is interested in urban education, child language acquisition, literacy studies. and linguistics. Outside of the lab, Marissa works at the Andrew Hamilton School, and she sing's with the Penn Glee Club!
Esther Werbach
Esther is a current junior at Penn studying Cognitive Science with minors in Psychology and French. She is particularly interested in child development and behavioral science. Outside of the lab, Esther enjoys watching reality TV, going to the gym, and thrifting.
Lab Alumni
Grad students
Research assistants
Zaid Tabaza
Mia Schwartzberg
Nina Wang
Abby Ray
Cynthia Gu
Tula Childs
Alessandra Pintado-Urbanc
Ariel Mathis
Lauren Kim
Amy Krimm
Katarina Siggelkow
Aja Altenhof
Anna Alberski
Iris Zhong
Annalise Kendrick
Stefan Pophristic
Madison Reasnor
Nathaniel Serio
Breasia Scott
Dorina Domi
Ayyah Alhuraibi
Jasmine Raj
Madison Connelly
Jessica Burke
Join our lab!
Interested in joining our lab? We'd love to have you!
Postdocs interested in joining the lab should email Katie to express interest and apply to the MindCORE postdoctoral research fellowship.
Prospective grad students should email Katie to express interest and apply to the Linguistics program at the University of Pennsylvania. Applications are due in early December.
Undergrads should fill out this application and email our lab manager at childlanglab@sas.upenn.edu. Undergrads can work in the lab for pay or credit (independent study or honors thesis). For more information about research opportunities at Penn, visit the Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships.
High school students can work in the lab through school internship programs (email our lab manager at childlanglab@sas.upenn.edu to discuss) or through the Penn LENS program.
To learn more about what it is like to work with us, see our Lab Handbook.