Principal Investigator

Michele Diaz, Ph.D., (mtd143@psu.edu)
CV

Michele Diaz is a Professor of Psychology, Linguistics, & Neuroscience and the former Director of Human Imaging at the Social, Life, and Engineering Sciences, Imaging Center at the Pennsylvania State University. Our lab focuses on the behavioral and neural representations of language and how these representations differ across the lifespan. She and her lab combine behavioral, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging measures to examine the relations between cognition, aging, and the brain. Most recently, our lab has focused on two themes: age-related differences in language production among monolingual adults and age-related differences in semantic memory networks. Dr. Diaz received her B.A. from Penn State and her Master’s and Ph.D. from Duke University. She lives in State College with her two favorite people (husband Wilson and son Nico) surrounded by friends on the best block in America #BBIA.

Research Associates

Abby Cosgrove, Ph.D. (alc5907@psu.edu)

I am a Research Associate in the Language and Aging Lab, as well as the Assistant Director of Human Imaging, at the Social Life & Engineering Sciences Imaging Center at Penn State. I received my PhD in Psychology and Language Science with a Specialization in Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience from Penn State University in 2023. Prior to this, I completed my undergraduate education (B.A. in Psychology and Spanish, 2018) and master’s degree (M.S. in Psychology, 2020) from Penn State. My current research interests focus on the underlying mechanisms of age-related differences in semantic memory. More specifically, the extent to which the organization of an individual’s semantic system influences their language communication abilities.

Megan Nakamura, Ph.D. (mjn5892@psu.edu)

I am a postdoc researcher and T32 Pathways Fellow for the Center for Healthy Aging. I received my Ph.D. And M.A. in Linguistics with a focus on psycho/neurolinguistics from the University of Florida . Prior to that, I received my B.A. from the California State Polytechnic University of Pomona in Language and Literature with minors in Psychology and TESL . I am interested in understanding the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying language processing, with an emphasis on bilingualism, language learning across adulthood, and their effects on brain health in older adulthood. I have expertise in EEG, and I am expanding my skills to include fMRI. Currently, I am investigating how language production changes with age and am interested in how language learning might help preserve cognitive health in older adults.

Graduate Students

Allison Link (alink@psu.edu)

I am a sixth year graduate student pursuing a dual-title Ph.D. in Psychology and Language Science. I graduated from Stony Brook University with a double major in Psychology and Spanish. I am broadly interested in how linguistic knowledge is represented in the mind, with a focus on bilingual cognition, statistical learning, and computational network modeling techniques.

Kathryn Walters (kbw5646@psu.edu)

I am a second year graduate student in Cognitive Psychology. I graduated from Mississippi State University with my BS in Psychology with minors in linguistics and cognitive science. My research interests focus on language and the brain.

Jie Yan (jzy5486@psu.edu)

I’m Jie, a third year graduate student in the cognitive area. My general interest is in the effect of age on language across the lifespan. Recently, I have been investigating the relationship between age, white matter integrity, and language production with Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI).

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Breanna Becnel

My name is Breanna and I am currently a sophomore at Penn State majoring in Neuroscience. After graduation I hope to attend Medical School. This is my second semester with the Language and Aging Lab.

Caitlyn Kleintop 

Hello, my name is Caitlyn and I am currently a senior at Penn State studying Communication Sciences and Disorders. I also have my certification to be a Registered Behavioral Technician and plan to go to graduate school after graduation to get my SLP degree with a focus working with children with special needs and deaf individuals. This is my first semester in the Language and Aging lab and I cannot wait to continue working on research and learning more as the semesters continue.

Karly DeMayo

My name is Karly DeMayo and I am currently a senior majoring in Biology with a focus in Neuroscience. I have been working in the Language & Aging Lab since January 2022, and have enjoyed learning from the amazing staff in this lab! My goal after graduation is to attend Medical School and pursue a specialty in Anesthesiology.

David Saldubehere

My name is David and I am currently a senior at Penn State majoring in Computer Science. This is my first semester in the Language and Aging Lab.

Thomas Tran

My name is Thomas, and I am currently a senior at Penn State University majoring in Biology. After graduating I hope to attend Medical School. This is my first semester in the Language and Aging Lab.