{"id":226,"date":"2024-09-06T15:34:26","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T22:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/?page_id=226"},"modified":"2026-04-24T22:37:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:37:35","slug":"meet-the-team","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n \n \n
\n\n \n

Principle Investigator<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sandy LaTourrette\"\"<\/h3>\n

Dr. LaTourrette is a cognitive scientist studying the development of language, cognition, and their interaction across the lifespan. He received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology at Northwestern University, examining how labeling objects changes the way infants remember and categorize objects. He then completed a NRSA post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, studying mechanisms of word learning in children and adults. Finally, Dr. LaTourrette served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Haverford College, teaching courses like Cognition, Communicating Psychology, and Language & Thought. See Sandy’s website<\/a> and Google Scholar<\/a> for further details, or visit the Publications<\/strong> tab to access Sandy’s full list of articles!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n \n \n
\n\n \n

Postdoctoral Researcher<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Wani Qiu\"\"<\/h3>\n

Wani is a postdoctoral researcher studying children\u2019s social cognitive development and how they understand bidirectional processes like teaching and learning. She received her M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Southern California, where she was advised by Dr. Henrike Moll. Wani\u2019s work examines questions such as:
1) What factors guide young children\u2019s decisions about what and how to teach others?
2) In what ways do children benefit from different forms of pedagogy?
3) How do children learn object categories in semi-supervised contexts?
See Wani\u2019s website (fanxiaowaniqiu.com<\/a>) for more details!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n \n \n
\n\n \n

Lab Manager<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sonia Singh\"\"<\/h3>\n

Originally from the Bay Area, Sonia recently graduated from Haverford College with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Latin. During her time there, she published a paper on using computational modeling to simulate social category learning, and she completed a thesis investigating children\u2019s trait-based colorist biases. Her research interests span how children use prior knowledge to infer the meaning of new words and how children form social categories. She\u2019s excited to visit LA\u2019s cafes, galleries, and gardens!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n \n \n
\n\n \n

Graduate Students<\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Idella Smolyar<\/h3>\n

Area: Developmental \"\"<\/p>\n

First Year PhD Student<\/p>\n

Idella graduated with highest honors in Psychology from UCLA in 2024. There, she worked as part of the Language and Cognitive Development lab, and completed an award-winning honors thesis examining how labels and prosody interact in children\u2019s emotion categorization. Before joining as a PhD student, she was also the CHILD Lab’s first lab manager! Her research interests are in understanding children\u2019s language development skills, such as how children form their concepts of emotions from the language they use and hear. She is also interested in how children learn new words from context clues, understand words with multiple meanings, and bilingual language learners.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Victoria Chang<\/h3>\n

Area: Developmental<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h3>\n

Second Year PhD Student<\/p>\n

Victoria is a PhD student in Developmental Psychology. She graduated from College of William and Mary with a major in psychology and minor in data science. After that, she earned her master\u2019s degree in developmental psychology at Columbia University. Her research focuses on child language development and its synergy with the development of other cognitive skills, such as conceptual representations and theory of mind. She is particularly interested in word learning, syntax, and cross-linguistic comparisons. Victoria is advised by Dr. Toby Mintz and co-advised by Dr. Sandy LaTourrette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n \n \n
\n\n \n

Research Assistants<\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mysha Amir \"\"<\/h3>\n

Major: Psychology (B.A.); Master’s in Addiction Science (PDP)<\/span><\/p>\n

Graduation Year: 2027<\/p>\n

Growing up bilingual, Mysha’s interest in language acquisition and child development stems from her childhood quest to learn more languages, raising questions of what aids children in speech comprehension–especially when encountering unfamiliar-accented speech. In her free time, Mysha loves spending time with friends and family, reading a book, or going out for a run on the windy roads of San Fernando Valley.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Iris Zheng \"\"<\/h3>\n

Major: Cognitive Science<\/p>\n

Graduation Year: 2026<\/p>\n

Iris has been passionate about exploring language acquisition from her exposures to different languages at a young age and how that impacted her current fluency in Cantonese and Mandarin. Growing up in the Bay Area, she\u2019s also excited to explore all that LA has to offer! In her free time, Iris enjoys visiting art museums, exploring cafes, and crocheting\/knitting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Alex Battcher<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/h3>\n

Major: Psychology<\/p>\n

Graduation Year: 2026<\/p>\n

Alex\u2019s passion for child cognitive development grew through hands-on experience working with children as a character performer at Walt Disney World and volunteering with community-based programs like USC\u2019s Joint Educational Project. Originally from Reno\/Tahoe, she has always hoped to attend USC and is pleased to be part of the university\u2019s academic and research community. Outside of the lab, she loves to practice yoga, travel to new places, and explore the amazing food that Los Angeles has to offer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Orr Barr-Yossef \"\"<\/h3>\n

Major: Psychology<\/p>\n

Graduation Year: 2027<\/p>\n

Orr\u2019s interest in language acquisition and child development cultivated from her experiences working with kids of all ages, including teaching English at a Korean-speaking preschool. Originally from the Bay Area, Orr loves to explore all of the beautiful places California has to offer. She loves to hike, try new restaurants, and spend time at the beach.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Agustin Montes-Tacuba\"\"<\/h3>\n

Major: Cognitive Science<\/p>\n

Graduation Year: 2026<\/p>\n

Agustin\u2019s love for child development stems from the differences in Spanish language acquisition between his siblings who all grew up with differences in immersion schools, consistency of speaking, and necessity for speaking. <\/span>He is an active tutor at 32nd Street elementary school for first graders. Outside of lab, he enjoys running around LA, hiking around SoCal, and finding the best matcha.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chenye (Mary) Wang \"\"<\/h3>\n

Psychology (B.A.) from UCI; Teaching English as a Second Language (M.A.) from UPenn<\/p>\n

Mary has been fascinated by language from a young age, having grown up speaking both Mandarin and English, while also exposed to three distinct Chinese dialects from different towns. Throughout her childhood, she often found herself helping those around her translate between languages, which sparked her deep interest in how people communicate across linguistic boundaries. In her daily life, she enjoys spending time with animals, and her favorite singer is JJ Lin!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Valentina Bellagamba<\/h3>\n

Major: Psychology\"\"<\/p>\n

Graduation Year: 2028<\/p>\n

Valentina\u2019s curiosity in child development is grounded in her experiences mentoring young learners, including coaching youth tennis and teaching preschool at Guidepost Montessori. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Valentina enjoys exploring Los Angeles, playing tennis, spending time with friends and families, and looking for new opportunities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Morgan Nguyen\"\"<\/h3>\n

Majors: Cognitive Science, Linguistics<\/p>\n

Graduation Year: 2028<\/p>\n

Morgan developed a deep interest in language acquisition and child development through personal experiences of navigating communication by growing up bilingual in Vietnamese and English. Originally from Vietnam and raised in Houston, Morgan\u2019s background has shaped a curiosity about how children learn and adapt linguistically in diverse environments. Outside of academics, Morgan enjoys embroidery, dance, and exploring new restaurants and cafes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lilith Yan<\/h3>\n

Major: Psychology<\/p>\n

Minor: The Dynamics of Early Childhood (Rossier)<\/p>\n

Graduation Year: 2028<\/p>\n

\"\"Lilith\u2019s interest in early emotional development stems from her lifelong compassion and love for working with children. Growing up with two sisters\u2014including one who is nineteen years younger\u2014gave her firsthand insight into early developmental milestones and sibling dynamics. Her experiences attending a boarding high school in upstate New York sparked a curiosity about how environment shapes adolescent social and emotional growth. She is excited to explore how early emotional experiences influence later developmental outcomes through research. Outside of the lab, Lilith loves to dance, shop, and explore all the amazing food that Los Angeles, and the world, has to offer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nicole McKeever<\/h3>\n

Major: Psychology<\/p>\n

Minor: Occupational Science<\/p>\n

Graduation Year: 2027\"\"<\/p>\n

Nicole\u2019s interest in psychology and youth development has grown through years of hands-on experience working with children in both educational and community settings. She has worked as a direct service provider in applied behavior analysis (ABA), volunteered extensively with the Friendship Foundation supporting children with Down syndrome, and served as a camp counselor, including providing one-on-one support to campers. Growing up in Manhattan Beach and being consistently immersed in child-centered environments has shaped her passion for understanding developmental, emotional, and behavioral processes. She is especially excited to engage in research at USC and to explore how early experiences influence long-term outcomes for children. Outside of academics and the lab, Nicole enjoys hiking, spending time at the beach, listening to music, and thrift shopping.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Owen Jones<\/h3>\n

Major: Psychology\"\"<\/p>\n

Minor: Statistics<\/p>\n

Graduation Year: 2029<\/p>\n

Owen’s interest in child development originated in his high school years, when he mentored young runners at a local track club and worked as a summer camp counselor in his rural Connecticut hometown. The contrast between his hometown environment and cities such as Los Angeles has fostered his interest in the influence of environment on the way that children perceive and interact with the world. In his free time, Owen enjoys running, attending USC sporting events, and going to the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":852,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-226","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Team - Child Learning and Development Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the Team - Child Learning and Development Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Child Learning and Development Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T05:37:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CHILDLabUSC\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/\",\"name\":\"Meet the Team - Child Learning and Development Lab\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-06T22:34:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-25T05:37:35+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meet the Team\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/\",\"name\":\"Child Learning and Development Lab\",\"description\":\"USC Dornsife\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Child Learning and Development Lab\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/462\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-15-at-3.46.20-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/462\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-15-at-3.46.20-PM.png\",\"width\":874,\"height\":834,\"caption\":\"Child Learning and Development Lab\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/CHILDLabUSC\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/childlab_usc\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet the Team - Child Learning and Development Lab","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet the Team - Child Learning and Development Lab","og_url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/","og_site_name":"Child Learning and Development Lab","article_modified_time":"2026-04-25T05:37:35+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@CHILDLabUSC","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/","name":"Meet the Team - Child Learning and Development Lab","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-09-06T22:34:26+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-25T05:37:35+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/meet-the-team\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meet the Team"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/","name":"Child Learning and Development Lab","description":"USC Dornsife","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#organization","name":"Child Learning and Development Lab","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/462\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-15-at-3.46.20-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/462\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-15-at-3.46.20-PM.png","width":874,"height":834,"caption":"Child Learning and Development Lab"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/CHILDLabUSC","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/childlab_usc\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/852"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226"}],"version-history":[{"count":79,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":681,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/226\/revisions\/681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/childlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}