Our lab understands diversity as a multidimensional issue that pertains both to the populations of study and to the identities of the people who carry out the research, and we are committed to advancing both via the following steps.
First
in our research we create experimental frameworks where acquiring knowledge about traditionally sidelined populations can be leveraged to inform fundamental language processing questions. Placing the focus of our research on two populations that are severely understudied in the US; namely multilingual individuals and sign language users, will i) lead to the development of theories of language and cognition that no longer ignore non-hegemonic linguistic experiences, and ii) incorporate to the scientific endeavor two demographic groups that have been traditionally excluded from science. We believe in diversity as the engine that will take science beyond its current boundaries, and as such we are committed to its nurturing and representation in the scientific questions, investigated populations, and theoretical frameworks that guide our research.
Second,
we strive to bring researchers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, cultures, and experiences to the lab. In addition to believing that making sure that opportunities in academia are available to individuals from all walks of life is the fair thing to do, in this lab we know that this diversity of perspectives enriches our discussions, research, and reasoning. We have found that constantly challenging our intellectual ideas and notions about what is “normal” in the world, not only makes us better researchers, but it also makes us better people.
As a transgender individual who has faced barriers and discrimination in my career, I’m committed to advancing the inclusion of all minorities in science, and I try to work diligently to ensure that the next generation of scientists will be more diverse than the one whose shoulders I currently stand on.
If you want to learn more about being trans or non-binary, watch this documentary I participated in a few years ago:
NYU DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
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