People - Brain, Language and Bilingualism

Mirjana Bozic

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

I am a cognitive neuroscientist who studies language. I am University Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, and Fellow and Director of Studies for Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at King's College, Cambridge.

I hold a degree in Psychology from the University of Novi Sad, and MPhil and PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Cambridge. After my PhD I was a Career Development Fellow at MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, before taking my position as a University Lecturer in the Department of Psychology.

Stephen Theron-Grimaldi

PHD STUDENT

My research investigates the key language factors that lead to bilingual adaptations of selective attention. Do I need to speak my second language fluently for those adaptations to emerge? If I have not a language for some time, how will that affect my bilingual brain? I aim to answer those questions by using EEG to assess selective attention processes in the brains of people with different bilingual profiles.

Previously, I studied Experimental Psychology at the University of Warwick, and have graduated with an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL.

Jingkang Wang

PHD STUDENT

My research interests lie in how language processing interacts with general cognitive systems such as perception, learning and attention. My MPhil research project focusses on how bilingualism and different levels of typological similarity between languages modulate the neural patterns of auditory selective attention using EEG recordings.

I have a BA (Honours) in Psychology from McGill University, and MPhil from the University of Cambridge.

Lucas Cruz

PHD STUDENT

I am interested in semantic cognition in bilingualism, focusing on how language and memory interact to support the representation of abstract meaning in the bilingual brain. Combining behavioral and neuroimaging methods, my work examines how abstract concepts are organized and accessed across languages, and how bilingual experience shapes their underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms.

I have a BA in English Studies from the Federal University of Pernambuco, an MS in Psycholinguistics from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, and an MA in Linguistics from the University of Verona.

Lois Parri

PHD STUDENT

My research examines the internal and environmental factors that shape individual differences in second-language learning. Working closely with adolescent learners, I aim to translate this research into practice by developing a personalisable digital tool to support more individualised and equitable second-language acquisition in educational settings. My broader research interests include digital interventions in mental health and approaches that bridge research, public engagement, and lived experience.

I completed both my BSc and MSc in Clinical and Health Psychology at Prifysgol Bangor.

Jacqueline Phelps

AFFILIATED RESEARCHER

My research focuses on how the neural mechanisms of selective attention are affected by bilingualism, especially in childhood. I use a combination of EEG and behavioural selective attention tasks to analyse bilingual and monolingual children’s neural and behavioural reactions, and compare these to adult patterns of responses.

I hold MSc in Child Development from UCL, and PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Jinxing Yue

AFFILIATED RESEARCHER

I primarily do research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics, by using methods such as behavioural testing, electrophysiology, and neuropsychology. The other stream of my research covers topics in management and public policy (health, education), mainly from the perspectives of cognitive sciences.

I hold a PhD in the neuroscience of language, which was jointly awarded by the University of Groningen and Newcastle University upon Tyne (IDEALAB programme). I am an Associate Professor at Harbin Institute of Technology.

Hannah Davidson

AFFILIATED RESEARCHER

My overarching research interests are bilingualism, language contact and morphology which I explore from different angles using historical, sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic approaches. My main research focusses on Mauritian Creole and I am interested in German-English bilinguals to explore whether they process morphologically-complex words in the same way as monolingual speakers.

I have a PhD and MPhil from the University of Oxford and an MA in European Linguistics from the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Linda Bakkouche

AFFILIATED RESEARCHER

My research focuses on speech perception and production in second language (L2) acquisition, examining how individual differences in auditory processing and cognitive abilities shape L2 speech development. I use behavioural methods and EEG to study neural encoding of speech, including responses to AI-generated speech, and apply these insights to the development of AI-based tools for L2 learning.

I hold a BA (Honours) in Early Years Education (University of West London), and MA in Applied Linguistics (UCL), and I am currently completing doctoral research at the University of Cambridge.

Pepita Alex

AFFILIATED RESEARCHER

I am currently a PhD student at the University of Aberdeen, where I explore how goals and contextual factors shape reading processes, using a combination of EEG and eye-tracking. My primary research interest revolves around the predictive processing framework, with a focus on how this can be applied to language processing.

I hold a BA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, and have been working in the Bozic lab as a research assistant, where I developed my interests in the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying language.

Nađa Stojanović

MPHIL STUDENT

My research examines how second-language usage modulates the neural encoding of higher-order linguistic features during selective attention in bilingual listeners. More broadly, I am interested in how language experience shapes neural representations of complex linguistic structure.

Previously, I completed a BS in Computer Science at Lehigh University. I am working in the Bozic Lab while completing an MPhil in Cognitive Neurosciences at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit.