Students
Our lab includes both undergraduate and graduate students working on various child language projects.
Vianne Basulto
Vianne is a first-year MA Linguistics Student at UNM and serves as a research assistant exploring bilingual demonstrative use at the LLALab after completing her BA in Linguistics at the University of Chicago. During her undergrad, Vianne's studies focused on the Nahuatl language, and she hopes to continue her research on Nahuatl and expand into the Uto-Aztecan language family during her time at UNM. More broadly, her linguistic interests include morphosyntax, valency change, language revitalization, and pedagogical research methods. Apart from her studies, Vianne loves drawing, reading about Catholic theology, studying geography, tending to her houseplants, and drinking matcha!
Madrid Castillo
Madrid Castillo is in her fourth year of her undergraduate, majoring in Linguistics and French. Looking ahead, she would like to pursue studies specializing in psycho/neurolinguistics in graduate school, as her interests lie in language acquisition, bilingualism, and conceptualization. She is working in both the LLA Lab and the Language Documentation Lab. These are new positions for her this semester, but she anticipates and looks forward to assisting with the organizing, processing, and analyzing of collected data. Outside of her studies, she thoroughly enjoys baking, crocheting, sewing, ice skating - anything that keeps her busy and feeds her creativity.
Sharmaine Chee
Sharmaine Chee is an undergraduate student majoring in Speech and Hearing Science with a minor in Navajo at the University of New Mexico. She is born for the Sleeping Rock People and for the Towering House People. Her maternal grandfather's clans are Meadow People, and her paternal grandfathers are Red Running into the Water People. She is originally from Pine Hill, New Mexico. She is overjoyed to work at the Indigenous Child Research Lab as a research assistant. She is interested in phonology and morphology in the Navajo language.
Adam Greenberg
La Ban Hendricks
Rochelle Herrera
Kendal Jacobson
Akasha Khalsa
Akasha Khalsa is a second-year MA linguistics student at UNM, with a focus on documentation and revitalization. This is her second semester as a Research Assistant for LLA, and she is excited to help increase community engagement and researcher collaboration through her work in this position.
Melanie Kirk
Isaiah Koiishe
Isaiah is in his Senior year at UNM, pursuing a degree in Linguistics with a minor in Spanish. At the LLALab, he serves as a Research Assistant in two teams; he studies and encourages multilingualism and language acquisition in children, as well as performing teacher outreaches and administering linguistic bias trainings. His academic interests include sociolinguistics and language reclamation, and his hobbies include playing music on his banjo or guitar, and anything outdoors, whether it be hiking or running!
Astrid Larson-Sherman
Astrid is in her Senior year at UNM pursuing a degree in Linguistics with a minor in Art. Astrid is an NSFREU recipient and is currently working as a Research Assistant at the LLA Lab, exploring Spanish bilingual demonstrative use as well as documentation and transcription work on data from the Ticuna language spoken in the Amazon. Astrid's linguistic interests include bilingualism, revitalization, and sociolinguistics, while her personal interests include printmaking, hiking, and biking - and just all things outdoors!
Kayleigh Russell
Kayleigh Russell is an undergraduate student in the Signed Language Interpreting program with a minor in Navajo at the University of New Mexico. She is grateful for the opportunity to work as a research assistant for the Indigenous Child Research Center and the Lobo Language Acquisition Lab. Her interests are in Indigenous forms of signing, specifically Hand Talk. Kayleigh grew up in Kayenta, AZ, and her clans are: Kinłichiinii nilį́, Bisaan éí yáshichíín, Tabąąhá éí dabicheii, Dideschiin éí dabinálí (she is Navajo and Chiricahua Apache).
Matteo Tugnoli
Originally from Lima, Peru, Matteo is a sophomore studying Speech and Hearing Sciences and Spanish at UNM. At the LLA Lab, Matteo studies bilingual demonstrative use in children and conducts task experiments with subjects. His interests include phonology, horror movies (his favorite is Incantation), and reading tarot cards!
Yilnazbah Wauneka-Yellowhorse
Luna Wheeler
Luna is a 3rd-year Sign Language Interpreting Student, double-majoring in Linguistics, who serves as the lab manager at the LLA Lab. Currently, she's working on the WHAT Project with Dr. Wilkinson, and her other linguistic interests include ASL phonetics and ASL storytelling. Aside from her studies, Luna enjoys yoga, gardening, and playing video games like Dead by Daylight and the Finals!
