# People # People ![L4L end-of-the-year celebration group photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2025-05/IMG_4945_reduced_2.jpg?itok=y7xCIxOH) ## Principal Investigator ### Paola Uccelli Paola Uccelli is Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the convener of the Language for Learning Research Team. With a background in linguistics, she studies socio-cultural and individual differences in students' language and literacy development throughout the school years. ![Paola Uccelli speaking in classroom](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/language-for-learning/files/paola-1.jpg?h=1ac72d06&itok=4luE4PE0) ## Co-Principal Investigators [### Christopher D. Barr ](/people/christopher-d-barr) Dr. Barr is the Director of Assessment and Evaluation of STEM Programs at Rice University. He has been an evaluator and psychometric expert on several federally funded projects in education, natural science, and engineering. His focus is to conduct... ![Headshot of Christopher D. Barr](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/language-for-learning/files/chris-barrj.pg_.jpg?itok=JQbB8G7N) [### Veronica Boix-Mansilla ](/people/veronica-boix-mansilla) Dr. Verónica Boix-Mansilla is an international expert in global and intercultural education. Her research examines conditions that enable individuals to understand and take action on the most pressing issues of our times (migration, sustainability... ![veronica_profile](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/veronica_profile.png?itok=r4iyTqdc) [### Beatriz Cardoso ](/people/beatriz-cardoso) Beatriz Cardoso, President of the Laboratório de Educação. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and a Specialization from the Institut Municipal d’Educació, Barcelona, where she worked with Prof. Ana Teberosky. Beatriz... ![Beatriz Cardoso](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/language-for-learning/files/beatriz_cardoso.jpeg?itok=ccdFnWSU) [### Alejandra Meneses ](/people/alejandra-meneses) Alejandra Meneses, Associate Professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her research focuses on language for school literacy and science learning. She earned her doctorate in Linguistics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and... ![Alejandra Meneses](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/language-for-learning/files/a_meneses_foto_1_0.jpg?itok=AvlACUOM) [### Emily Phillips Galloway ](/people/emily-phillips-galloway) Emily Phillips Galloway is Assistant Professor at the Peabody School of Education, Vanderbilt University. Rooted in her experiences as a former middle school reading specialist, her research explores the relations between school-relevant language... ![Emily Phillips Galloway](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/language-for-learning/files/galloway_emily_phillips_final.jpg?itok=2jjWEj_L) --- ## Co-Investigator [### Wenjuan Qin ](/people/wenjuan-qin) Wenjuan Qin is an associate professor at the College of Foreign Languages and Literature, Fudan University, China. She received her doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her teaching and researching focus on language development as... ![Wenjuan Qin](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/language-for-learning/files/qin_pic_0.png?itok=6nlx4VA1) --- ## L4L Research Team Coordinator [### Bailey Buchanan ](/people/bailey-buchanan) Bailey Buchanan is a PhD student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she studies the intersection of linguistics and education in multilingual contexts. Her research explores language and literacy development throughout the school years... ![Bailey](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/language-for-learning/files/bailey.png?itok=gGLZgx42) --- ## CALS Project Coordinator [### Linda Andreev ](/people/linda-andreev) Linda Andreev is an advanced PhD student at HGSE with a strong interest in language and literacy. Her dissertation examines teacher’s talk in the context of a discussion-based curriculum for English learners. Linda’s other research focuses on a)... ![Linda Andreev](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/language-for-learning/files/img-0187.jpg?itok=t_Ba3PWD) --- ## Current PhD students and Research Assistants [### Josh Bednorz ](/people/josh-bednorz) Josh is a Research Assistant for the Language for Learning Team at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Eliot-Pearson Center for Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University. His research interests encompass developmental and... ![Josh B.](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/language-for-learning/files/josh.jpg?itok=d1baVH6_) [### Sining Tao ](/people/sining-tao-0) Sining Tao is a PhD student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she studies multilingual learners’ language and literacy development across diverse educational settings. She is particularly interested in practice-embedded research that (1)... ![Sining Tao headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-05/97d778bb3dd49ec953c6fc296c9ad3d9.JPG?itok=mkIMcdvq) [### Nika Nabifar ](/people/nika-nabifar) Nika Nabifar holds a master’s degree in Education with a concentration in Language and Literacy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her work focuses on the role of dialogue and discussion in fostering engagement and improving reading... ![Nika Profile Photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/Nika%20Profile%20Photo.jpg?itok=xKxUFoo9) --- ## L4L Visiting Scholars and Friends [### Manar Hazzaa ](/people/manar-hazzaa)HGSE Visiting Scholar (2022-2024) Postgraduate Researcher, University of Leeds Manar is an Egyptian award-winning children’s book author. She is currently a postgraduate researcher at the University of Leeds, UK. Her research focuses on studying attitudes and behaviors of adult readers when reading picture books to children. Hazzaa... ![Manar Profile Photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/Manar_Profie_2025.jpg?itok=qWtatuDy) [### Ferda İlerten ](/people/ferda-ilerten)HGSE Visiting scholar (2024-2025; 2019) Lecturer, Yildiz Technical University/Istanbul Ferda Ilerten is a researcher and lecturer specializing in bilingualism and foreign language education. Currently a visiting researcher at the HGSE under the TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye) postdoctoral research... ![Ferda Headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-05/Unknown.jpeg?itok=8PBpWaUq) [### Dongying Li ](/people/dongying-li-0)HGSE Visiting Scholar (2024-2025; 2019-2020) Associate Professor, Nanjing Normal University Dongying Li is currently an associate professor at the school of foreign languages and cultures in Nanjing Normal University. Her research interests mainly include second language writing, second language pedagogy and teacher education. Her work aims to... ![Dongying headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-05/WechatIMG201.jpg?itok=UxlTyhAR) [### Mike Thompson ](/people/mike-thompson)Co-Founder + CEO of Groovelit Mike is Co-Founder and CEO of Groovelit, an innovative technology platform that transforms writing instruction using gamification to make it engaging and accessible for every student. With a master's degree in Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology... ![Mike headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum6091/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-05/mike-profile.jpeg?itok=wyLI7b_L) --- ## Former L4L Members [### Emilio Sánchez ](/people/emilio-s%C3%A1nchez)Professor of Educational Psychology at University of Salamanca (Spain) [### Gladys Aguilar ](/people/gladys-aguilar)Harvard PhD [### Mariam Dahbi ](/people/mariam-dahbi)Harvard PhD [### Ziyun Deng ](/people/ziyun-deng)HGSE Ed.D. [### Christina Dobbs ](/people/christina-dobbs)Associate Professor, Boston University HGSE Ed.D. [### Claire Jo ](/people/claire-jo)Assistant Professor, Yonsei University HGSE Ed.D. [### Narges Moeini ](/people/narges-moeini)former HGSE EdM Student [### Zihao Zhou ](/people/zihao-zhou)former HGSE EdM Student [### Olivia Barbieri ](/people/olivia-barbieri) former HGSE EdM Student [### Qihan Chen ](/people/qihan-chen)Ph.D. Student, Boston College, Lynch School of Education and Human Development Ed.M., Harvard Graduate School of Education [### Miranda Hansen ](/people/miranda-hansen)former HGSE EdM Student [### María Juliana Rojas ](/people/mar%C3%ADa-juliana-rojas)former HGSE EdM Student ---