Vibhuti is the Project Coordinator for the TOHOL team. She is an enthusiastic learner who has a special interest in understanding the role language and literacy play in children’s mental health. Vibhuti first joined the TOHOL team in June 2020 to strengthen both her clinical and research skills. Currently, as Project Coordinator, she supports many aspects of the TOHOL project including test development, study recruitment and data management. Outside of her work with the TOHOL team, Vibhuti is a speech-language pathologist at York Hills Centre for Children, Youth and Families. She completed her M.H.Sc. in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto in 2015.
Alisa is completing her B.Sc. in psychology and is enrolled in the M.Sc. in the Developmental Psychology program under the supervision of Dr. Nancie Im-Bolter at Trent University. She thoroughly enjoys her work as a research assistant and psychometrist in the Language and Cognition Lab at Trent University. Alisa has a broad range of interests in psychology, and is most interested in learning more about atypical development and psychopathology. Alisa also has a passion for mentoring students and hopes to continue her studies at a doctoral level upon the completion of her M.Sc.
Amy is a Master of Education student in Developmental Psychology and Education. Prior to her graduate studies at OISE, she completed a Communicative Disorders Assistant Graduate Certificate at Durham College, a Bachelor of Arts (Specialized Honours in Linguistics), and a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at York University. She joined the TOHOL Lab team as a research practicum student in September 2021, where she assists with the development of the Test of Higher Order Language (TOHOL). The TOHOL Test is a standardized, interoperable, and developmentally sensitive measure of higher order language that will allow reliable assessment of markers of HOL comprehension among typically developing children and adolescents, second language learners, and those who may have a learning disability or language impairment. Currently working in the field of communication disorders and behavioral science at a special needs learning center, her research interests include typical and atypical language acquisition and development, literacy education, and supporting learners with various learning needs. Committed to providing evidence-based practice as an early intervention therapy provider, she is excited to collaborate with her team members and further her knowledge of higher order language development and intervention, and the test development process.
Natasha is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto in the Neuroscience program. She joined the lab as a work-study student in 2022, after which she received a University of Toronto Excellence Award for more extensive work in the lab. She enjoys working on data entry, booklet items, as well as other aspects of the project.
Hannah is pursuing an Honors Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Education at the University of Toronto. As an academic interventionist at the Bright Lights Psychology Clinic, she has a profound dedication to fostering inclusive learning environments and supporting students with exceptionalities using reliable and developmentally-sensitive assessment tools and evidence-based interventions. She joined the TOHOL Lab in the summer of 2023 as a work study student with the interest in investigating how such tools can be created.
Ayda completed her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at York University. She is currently an MA student in School and Clinical Child Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). She intends to focus on understanding language and literacy acquisition among children, adolescents, and young adults. She is also interested in the development and evaluation of interventions to facilitate learning a second language and developing literacy skills in first and second languages. Her career goals include being a researcher and a psychologist working with children, adolescents, and families in a variety of settings such as schools, mental health facilities, community organizations, and academia. Ayda joined the TOHOL team in June 2020 and is contributing to the creation of a standardized measure that reflects an individual’s higher-order language ability. She interested in how to develop a marker for diagnosing language impairments in children and adolescents. Being a research assistant in the TOHOL project team has been a great learning experience for her and she is developing the skills needed to achieve her goals.
Jessica completed her Master of Education in Developmental Psychology and Education at the University of Toronto in 2020. She is currently working as a behavior therapist for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, including individuals on the autism spectrum disorder. Her career goal is to become a clinical child psychologist. Jessica joined the TOHOL team in May 2020 and is actively involved in the development of a standardized test of higher order language. Her research interests include the early identification and intervention of neurodevelopmental disabilities in children from a culturally and linguistically diverse background and exploring ways to better support their families. She is pleased to be part of the TOHOL team and enjoys working in such a supportive and collaborative environment!
Nickesha is a Master of Education student in Developmental Psychology and Education at University of Toronto, OISE. Prior to her graduate studies at OISE, she completed an Honors Bachelors degree in Child and Youth Care at Humber College, a Bachelor of Education in Primary Education and Literacy Studies and a Diploma in Literacy Studies at Bethlehem Moravian College in Jamaica. She has worked with the TDSB as a Child and Youth Counsellor. Nickesha is planning on pursuing a PhD in Developmental Psychology and Education. As part of her research practicum course, Nickesha became a member of the TOHOL team in September 2023 and assisting in data collection. Her interest is in the development and evaluation of remedial interventions that would assist children with developmental disabilities, that experience brain injury, and learning disabilities. Nickesha believes that working with TOHOL will create an opportunity to understand the integration of researching and education in order to strengthen her personal and professional skills needed to pursue her career.
Rebecca is currently pursuing her Master of Education degree in Developmental Psychology & Education. During her undergraduate studies at U of T from 2015-2019, she completed a Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology with an additional major in English Literature. Rebecca’s research interests extend from social psychology to languages to mental health. She has previously supported diverse research work at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), U of T psychology labs and higher education institutions. Now doing her Masters research practicum at the TOHOL Lab, she looks forward to advancing the team’s current research endeavours and seeing the project come to fruition. In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys literature, art, music, and more.
Ranhua Liu is a Master of Education student in Developmental Psychology and Education from the University of Toronto. He is also a marketing professional with experience in data analysis and content management. Ranhua joined TOHOL Lab in September 2023, actively contributing to research projects and demonstrating a keen interest in multilingual language development. Ranhua is truly passionate about helping others and constantly seeks opportunities to learn more about TOHOL. He is thoroughly enjoying being part of the TOHOL team in such a supportive and engaging environment!
Chanté is a final-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, double majoring in cognitive neuroscience and bioethics. She began working with the Test of Higher Order Language (ToHOL) team as a work-study student in the summer of 2023 and has been active in a multitude of associations and projects, including the Neuroscience Foundation, the Undergraduate Research Student's Association, the Canadian Undergraduates in Behavioural Sciences, and Delta Delta Delta. Through all these organizations Chanté has found her passion with learning languages and has aspired to be a polyglot. She is currently learning four languages: Spanish, French, Korean, and German. She intends to continue her research interests during graduate school, expanding to the field of neuroscience, and is confident that her experience with ToHOL will provide her with insight.
Tiffany is in her second year of her undergraduate degree program, Honors Bachelor of Science. She is currently double majoring in Molecular Biology and Psychology at the University of Toronto. Tiffany brings her experience studying neuroplasticity, Hebbian learning, and developmental psychology to the TOHOL team, where she aims to help investigate the implications of language processing in psycholinguistics. Tiffany's key research interests include neurological and cognitive development, and language acquisition. On the team, Tiffany is actively involved with multiple aspects to the study including transcription, scoring, and recruitment. She initially joined the TOHOL project in the summer of 2023 as a work study student and has enjoyed continuing to be a part of the project. .
Wenfu is a Ph.D. student in Speech-Language Pathology and Neuroscience at the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto. He completed his M.Sc. in Linguistics at the University of Alberta. In September 2020, Wenfu joined the TOHOL team as a Work-Study student, and he is very interested in developing assessment tools for higher order language skills, especially among children with language impairment and second language learners. Outside of TOHOL, Wenfu is currently working on examining the cognitive and neural development in bilinguals. In particular, he is interested in the neurophysiological correlates of attention allocation during spoken language processing among bilingual infants, children and adults.