iLEAP Lab
Dr. Robin Panneton, Lab Co-Director
Dr. Vanessa Diaz, Lab Co-Director
Lab Director
Robin Panneton, Ph.D
Associate Professor
Robin Panneton graduated with a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1985. Under the supervision of Dr. Tony DeCasper, she studied fetal and newborn perception of sounds associated with the mother's voice during late human gestation. She went on to post-doctoral positions at the University of Rochester (Dr. Dick Aslin) and the Rose F. Kennedy Center (Dr. Diane Kurtzberg) before joining the faculty in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech in 1989.
Research Interests: Speech Perception in infancy; face+voice integration during language learning; developing speech and language; eye tracking; heart-rate defined attention
Current Graduate Students
Caroline Taylor
Developmental Grad Student
Caroline graduated from Emory & Henry College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. She joined the iLEAP Lab as a graduate student in Fall 2018. Caroline is interested in language learning and the underlying mechanisms that accompany this process; in particular, socioeconomic risk. She is also interested in the potential impact parenting has on language development.
Research Interests: Infant Emotion and Attention, Language Learning and Development, and Socioeconomic Status
Madeline Netto
Developmental Grad Student
Madeline graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and in Applied Linguistics. She joined the iLEAP lab at Virginia Tech in 2022. She is interested in all things language-related, including learning many languages herself!
Research Interests: speech perception and language learning
Undergraduate Research Assistants - Spring 2023
Lindsey Burnsed
I am a senior at Virginia Tech from McLean, Virginia majoring in Biological Sciences with a Biomedical concentration. After graduation, I plan on attending medical school after one gap year with hopes of becoming a pediatrician.
Kalista Luzanta
I am a junior at Virginia Tech majoring in psychology. After graduation, I hope to attend grad school and intend to be a child psychologist in the Air Force. A few of my research interests include behavioral health care, feeding disorders in adolescents, and language learning.
Rachel Sottung
I am from Virginia Beach, and I am a senior at Virginia Tech. I am also a transfer student from Tidewater Community College, and currently majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology. I am hoping to attend graduate school to become a speech-language pathologist working with school-aged children. A fun fact about me is I can play several instruments: the piano, flute, piccolo, and guitar.
Ivy Osafo
I am from Woodbridge, VA and I am a sophomore majoring in Biochemistry on a pre-med track. After graduation, I aspire to go to medical school and become a pediatrician. One fun fact about me is that my native country is Ghana!
Mark Young
I am a junior at Virginia Tech majoring in Psychology and Clinical Neuroscience. For the moment I plan to attend medical school and become a Physician, but also want to explore different areas of research and have developed an interest in early childhood development and psychology.
Alexa Marshall
I am a junior at Virginia Tech majoring in Psychology and Environmental Horticulture. She is interested in cognitive development and hopes to attend graduate school with a focus on clinical psychology or neuroscience.
Undergraduate Research Alumni
Sammy Vadlamani - graduated Fall 2022
Sammy graduated from Virginia Tech in December, 2022. She comes from Richmond, VA and majored in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience with a minor in Language Sciences. She received a Fralin Undergraduate Research Fellowship for 2021-22!!! She hopes to attend graduate school for Speech Language Pathology and is interested in working with young children with language and/or feeding disorders.
Chelsea Kumi - graduated Fall 2022
Chelsea graduated from Virginia Tech in December 2022. She majored in Clinical Neuroscience and was in the honors college. She intends on pursuing medical school after graduation. She hopes to become a physician and continue research in psychology or neuroscience.
Grace Wells - graduated Fall 2022
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Grace is a Psychology major with an Adaptive Brain and Behavior minor at Virginia Tech who will be graduating in Fall 2022. She plans to attend graduate school with the hope of becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to pursue her long-term goal of helping others, specifically children and adolescents, through counseling and mental health services.
Rachel Williams - graduated Spring 2022
Rachel majored in Biological Sciences and Psychology, and is from Quartz Hill, California. She hopes to pursue a postgraduate oppportunity and/or program to expand her knowledge of development. She is particularly interested in the cognitive development of infants and children
Katie Cox - graduated Fall 2021
Katie is a senior at Virginia Tech majoring in Biology on the Biomedical Sciences track. She plans to attend medical school after a gap year and is interested in biopsychology, especially pertaining to pediatric development.
Natalie Boyle - graduated Spring 2021
Natalie Boyle is a senior at Virginia Tech majoring in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, minoring in Psychology. She intends to pursue Physician Assistant School after graduation and continue her passion for research in genetics. She is interested in studying the psychological changes made throughout childhood development.
Chandler Gavin - graduated Spring 2021
Chandler is a senior at Virginia Tech majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Spanish. She aspires to attend Physician’s Assistant School after graduation and pursue a career working with children. She is interested in studying cognitive behavior in infants and children.
Alexa "Lexi" Brownell - graduated Spring 2020
Lexi Brownell graduate in Spring 2020 and immediately accepted a position as Clinical Research Specialist at the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development (under Dr. Geraldine Lawson). She plans to attend graduate school in clinical psychology in the future.
Adrianna Daly - graduated Spring 2022
Adrianna is a senior from Vienna, VA majoring in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychology at Virginia Tech. She is interested in the neuroscience of psychiatric disorders and mental health, and plans to attend graduate school in the future.