The Team

Dr. Rhiannon Luyster
B.A. Wesleyan University
M.Ed. Boston College
Ph.D. University of Michigan

Dr. Rhiannon Luyster is the director of the LI+TLE Lab at Emerson College. She is a developmental psychologist who studies social communication and language in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She is interested in identifying early features of ASD using standardized behavioral measures as well as exploratory methods like infra-red eye tracking and electrophysiology. Her research focuses on language and nonverbal communication in toddlers with ASD, and patterns of early development.

Dr. Sudha Arunachalam
B.A. University of Southern California
M.A. University of Pennsylvania
Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Sudha Arunachalam is the director at the Language Experience and Acquisition Research at NYU Lab. She is an Associate Professor of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, and studies language development in young children ages 0 to 5 years. In her research program, she examines how infants, toddlers, and preschoolers acquire their native language. She studies children who are developing typically, children with autism spectrum disorder, and children with language delay. She is particularly interested in the learning mechanisms underlying language acquisition and in how caregiver-child interactions support learning.

Dr. Catherine Sancimino
Clinical Psychologist
B.A. University of San Diego
Psy.D. California Institute of Integral Studies

Dr. Catherine Sancimino is an Instructor within the Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in comprehensive assessment to determine the presence of autism spectrum disorder. She has provided psychological services in diverse settings, including pediatric primary care, outpatient psychiatry, public schools, and research labs. Dr. Sancimino is interested in learning how multisensory processing and adaptive skills develop in children with ASD.

Thuy Buonocore
Project Assistant, LI+TLE Lab
B.A. University of California, Los Angeles
M.A. New York University

Thuy Buonocore has extensive experience in patient care coordination in clinical settings through her work at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and South Shore Hospital. She is passionate about bringing people together and building community, especially for families with young children.

She is excited to join Dr. Rhiannon Luyster’s LI+TLE Lab to facilitate the current research study on language learning in young children.

Kelly is a pediatric speech-language pathologist with experience in educational, clinical, and research environments. She has worked with young children and their families in a variety of settings including Early Intervention, pediatric private practice, preschools, daycare centers, Head Start classrooms, and home-based programs while collaborating with public school systems.  Kelly previously served as a Clinical Research Coordinator for several autism research studies at Massachusetts General Hospital.  She values the importance of participating in clinical research to contribute to the field on a broader scale.

Mitchell Chan
Research Associate, LI+TLE Lab
B.A. University of California, Berkeley

Mitchell earned his B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. He previously worked as a research assistant for the Language and Cognitive Development Lab and the Moore Accuracy Lab within Haas School of Business. He additionally has experience within the early childhood education setting, and in his free time he loves to learn languages and explore new things.

Monica is in her third year of undergraduate education at Emerson College, where she is double majoring in Communication Disorders and Musical Theatre. She has prior clinical experience working with children with autism spectrum disorder at the University of Washington’s Autism Center, where she was an EDI Counselor for their Apex Summer Camp program. Monica is greatly appreciative of the opportunity to take on a more investigative approach to related research though her work at the LI+TLE Lab.   

Megan Marr-ONeil
Research Assistant, LI+TLE Lab
Student at Emerson College

Megan is in her 3rd year at Emerson College. She is majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders and triple minoring in Hearing & Deafness, Psychology, and Health & Society History. She joins the lab with extensive professional experience having worked in the field of Early Childhood Education as a teacher for over 16 years. Megan is very excited to be a part of the LIT+LE Lab family!

Julianna Tague
Research Assistant, LI+TLE Lab
Student at Emerson College

Jules is pursuing her B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Emerson. She has previously engaged in health policy research through programming at Brandeis University and maintains particular interests in bilingual language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and pragmatics in women with ASD. Jules is delighted to be a Research Assistant at the LI+TLE lab. 

Mia DiGiorgio
Research Assistant, LI+TLE Lab
Student at Emerson College

Mia is a second-year CSD student at Emerson College. She is passionate for the field of Speech-Language Pathology and is commited to enhancing the lives of individuals with communication disorders. She is eager to learn from experienced individuals in the field and make contributions towards a meaningful impact.