Bilingual Language Acquisition Brains (BLAB) Lab

The BLAB Lab aims to make speech-language pathology services accessible by identifying and reducing barriers for those with limited access, locally and internationally. Community partners include Austin Smiles and Instituto Salvadoreño Rehabilitación Integral (ISRI) [Salvadoran Integral Rehabilitation Institute]. Collaborators include faculty from the Ingram School of Engineering, Sociology, Biology, Modern Languages, and Counseling. Current research involves the development of a training program to train Salvadoran therapists to provide speech therapy to children post-cleft palate repair in their home country, development of an app for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, intentional focused recruitment of high school Latinas in STEM, translation guidelines for speech-language pathologists, narrative development in bilingual preschoolers, effectiveness of storybook translations from English into Spanish.

Ana Lucia Hernandez, a pre-CDIS major, will participate in the NSF REU Machine Learning Analytics Augmented Reality Smart and Connected Health during summer 2023. She will be collaborating with students from Engineering, Computer Science, Biology, and Psychology.

Ana Elisa Quinonez Camacho, a pre-CDIS student, will be participating in the NSF REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program, the Language of Science and the Science of Language at Ohio State University in summer 2023. This program is a hands-on program where students will conduct research with mentorship from OSU facutly members and learn how to communicate about research and language science with professionals and the public.