Language

Brittany is a data analyst assisting Dr. Jet Vonk in research on primary progressive aphasia and neurolinguistics. She received her Master of Science degree in health data science from the University of New Hampshire. Previously, she graduated from the University of Massachusetts with an undergraduate degree in psychology. Before transitioning to tech, she worked with at-risk youth, special needs and pre-k children.

Mónica Zegers is a postdoctoral scholar at the UCSF Dyslexia Center. She obtained a BA degree in Psychology and a professional degree in Clinical Psychology at Pontificia Universidad Católica of Chile. She earned her MA and PhD degrees in Human Development and Education at UC Berkeley.

Janhavi Pillai is an imaging data assistant at the ALBA Lab. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA degree in Cognitive Science and a minor in Data Science. Janhavi has previously worked as a research assistant at the UCSF Kheirbek Lab, where she examined and compared the roles of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and ventral hippocampus in fear and anxiety behaviors.

Mariah L. Pospisil, MEd, is a lifelong educator and advocate for students with dyslexia. After receiving her AB degree in Psychology from Harvard College, Mariah earned her teaching credential and Master of Education as an Education Specialist, Mild/Moderate from Notre Dame de Namur University. As a teacher, instructional coach, and school leader, Mariah focused on implementing instructional and social-emotional interventions to support students with dyslexia throughout their K–12 educational journeys.

Heather Murphy Elgin, EdM, is a research coordinator for the UCSF Dyslexia Center’s Multitudes project. Prior to UCSF, she worked in educational research as an instructional coach, reading specialist, special educator, and classroom teacher in Cambridge, New York City, Washington, DC, and San Francisco.

Gabriella is a bilingual speech-language pathologist at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center in the Dyslexia Center led by Dr. Marilu Gorno Tempini. Gabriella has a BA degree in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico and an MS degree in Speech and Language Pathology from Carlos Albizu University. Gabriella is a native Spanish speaker, raised and educated in Puerto Rico, and is passionate about bilingualism.

Jet Vonk received her PhD degree in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences from the City University of New York Graduate Center, with a focus on neurolinguistics and cognitive science. She also maintains an affiliation with the Department of Epidemiology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, where she is currently obtaining a second PhD in Epidemiology.

Marni graduated from the University of Florida with a BS degree in Psychology – Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience and a minor in Zoology. At UF, she was a Research Assistant for a Neurocognitive Lab studying addiction. She also coded qualitative data on the impact of COVID-19 on college students, created a scientific poster for an international conference and wrote a manuscript that is currently under review for publication. Marni was Clinic Manager at a Neuropsychology Clinic where she gained experience scoring and administering neuropsychological tests.