Our mission is to build bridges between sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics to decode the complexities of bilingual communication.
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We value communication, respect, honesty, and open-mindedness—both in our research and in our collaborative lab environment. These values guide how we work together, engage with our communities, and approach our research.
Meet the Team
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Principal Investigator
Ariel Chan, Ph.D.
I'm an Assistant Professor of Languages and Applied Linguistics and the director of the BISON lab. I received my Ph.D. in East Asian Linguistics from UCLA in 2023. I’m a psycho-sociolinguist and I study how social factors shape the way bilingual people juggle multiple languages. I’m originally from Hong Kong and deeply passionate about supporting the Cantonese-speaking community. When I’m not in the lab, you’ll probably find me out hiking, traveling, or trying to pick up another language just for fun.
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You can find my personal website here.
Lab Manager
Holly Shanahan
I am a third-year undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Cruz, double-majoring in Language Studies and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. I’m interested in phonetics and second language acquisition, especially related to Mandarin. In my free time, you can find me reading, dancing, and solving puzzles.
Senior Undergraduate Researcher
Charlotte Burnham
Hi! My name is Charlotte, and I am a senior at Stanford studying linguistics and Chinese language. I am a part of the team working on the French-English EEG study and the Cantonese code-switching project. I am also a part of Stanford's Social Interactions Lab (SoIL). In my free time, I like listening to music, reading, running, and learning new languages!
Senior Graduate Researcher
Jeremy Inthisane
I recently graduated from Stanford with a BA and MA in Linguistics, and I’m currently in the process of applying to PhD programs! In the BISON Lab, I am responsible for scheduling and data collection in the French-English EEG project. I am primarily interested in the intersection between linguistic typology + cognitive science through the music-language interface; I have secondary interests in sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, and language documentation/revitalization. I am fluent in three languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
I love discovering new music and participating in anything cultural and/or artistic! Si me conocéis, ya sabéis que soy flamenco.
Undergraduate Researcher
Paula Hirano
My name is Paula and I am a sophomore at UC Santa Cruz currently studying Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism. I love learning about the dynamics of culture and language, and I am passionate about connecting with people of different backgrounds! English and Brazilian Portuguese are my home languages; currently, I am studying French and Italian. During my free time, I like going to the beach and cooking new recipes.
Undergraduate Researcher
Jacob Poschl
I’m a junior majoring in Computer Science at UC Santa Cruz. My research interests lie in predictive processing and computational models of intelligence, particularly how principles from neuroscience can inform the design of adaptive AI systems. After graduation, I plan to pursue a PhD in computational neuroscience. Outside of computational work, I enjoy learning about psychology and philosophy, and I’m currently reading Dostoyevsky.
Undergraduate Researcher
Matilda Wesche
I’m a third-year Linguistics major at UC Santa Cruz with interests in bilingualism, phonetics,
and second language acquisition. I currently work as a research assistant focusing on using the N400 Component to Examine Variation in Monolingual and Bilingual Language Processing. I’m especially fascinated by how social and cognitive factors interact to shape language use, and I hope to continue exploring this intersection in my future research. Outside of linguistics, I have a passion for fiber arts—particularly knitting and spinning!
Senior Undergraduate Researcher
Grace Wong
I’m a senior at Stanford majoring in History and Linguistics. I’ve been involved with the VOT project using our Cantonese-English code-switching corpus and with data collection for our EEG study. My academic interests mainly relate to Chinese (and especially Cantonese) culture, language, and history. Outside of academics, I love reading, creative writing, playing the guzheng (Chinese harp), and watching musicals!
Undergraduate Researcher
T. Wong
Hello! I’m a senior at UCSC studying Linguistics and Education. I’ve recently developed an interest in Neurolinguistics, particularly regarding multilingualism as well as how the brain processes and produces language. When I have time to spare I like to listen to music while drawing, knitting, or crocheting.
Our Collaborators
Dr. Thanh Lan Truong
University of Tübingen
University of California, Irvine
