CAT Lab Director
Jill Thorson, PhD, Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Dr. Thorson completed her Ph.D. in child language acquisition at Brown University in 2015. Afterwards, she spent three years conducting research in Boston, MA, at Northeastern University and Boston University and studying early language development in children with autism and individuals with motor speech disorders. Before graduate school, she completed a B.A. in Linguistics and Spanish and an M.A. in Linguistics at the University of Rochester. She went on to be awarded a Fulbright Research Fellowship to Spain, living for two years in Barcelona while studying prosodic development in Spanish- and Catalan-speaking children. She opened the CAT Lab in the fall of 2017 with the goals to learn more about how young children acquire their native language and to identify ways to improve diagnosis and treatment for children with autism and/or motor speech disorders.
When she is not in the lab or teaching, she enjoys being outdoors (doing triathlons!), traveling to new places, and spending time with her family and animals.
Faculty Member
Meg Morgan, MS, CCC-SLP, BSC-CL
Meg is a bilingual clinical assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire. She obtained her master's degree and multicultural certificate at Arizone State University. Meg is a board-certified specialist in child language. Her areas of clinical expertise include multilingualism, multiculturalism, and Developmental Language Disorders. She joined the CAT Lab because of her interests in child speech and language and implementation science. Outside of work, Meg enjoys running, skiing, or spending time at the beach or in the garden.
Graduate Members
Alysa Emerson, Graduate Assistant
Alysa is a second-year graduate student in the UNH Communication Sciences and Disorders program. She joined the lab to gain research experience and further explore prosody and language acquisition. Alysa loves reading, hiking, playing with her two dogs, and spending time with family and friends.
Emma Moll, Graduate Assistant
Emma is first-year graduate student in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program. She joined the lab to gain research experience and explore the different opportunities that CSD has to offer. Emma enjoys running, reading, being by the ocean and spending time with friends and family.
Undergraduate Members
Kallie McCann, Research Assistant
Kallie is a senior at UNH majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Linguistics. She is the Secretary for ASL Club and a National Student Speech Language Hearing Association member. Kallie joined the lab last year to better understand language acquisition in children and to join the research world in hopes of using the knowledge to pursue a career in Speech-Language Pathology. She enjoys reading, going to the beach, being around family and friends or listening to music! She is excited for another year of being in the CAT Lab!
Bella Yapoujian, Research Assistant
Bella is a senior at UNH majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Bella is a first year INCO student. She joined the lab to gain research skills and to further her scope of different CSD specialties. She hopes to learn more about child acquisition studies. When she's not in school she loves to go on walks, listen to music, and watch movies with her friends!
Caitlin McCormack, Volunteer Research Assistant
Caitlin is a senior at UNH majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She is an active member the UNH chapters of both Chi Omega and NSSHLA. Caitlin joined the CAT lab because of her strong interest in children's language acquisition, in hopes of becoming an early intervention SLP. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with friends, reading, and attending work out classes. She is looking forward to her first year as a member of the lab!
Sage Maxwell, Research Assistant
Sage Maxwell is a junior at UNH majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She joined the CAT lab in hopes to make meaningful connections within the CSD program and to further her knowledge of child language acquisition! She is also an active member of the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association. She hopes to use the resources and tools she will gain in the CAT lab to pursue a career as a pediatric speech-language pathologist in an elementary school! When she’s not in school or at work, she enjoys singing, running, playing the fiddle, and hanging out with friends and family.
Abbey Miller, Volunteer Research Assistant
Abbey is a junior at UNH and is majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She is a member of Chi Omega and NSSHLA on campus. She joined the CAT lab because of her interest in children's language acquisition and to get experience in the research aspect. She hopes to pursue a career in Speech-Language Pathology working with children. She enjoys being with family and friends, going to the beach and the lake, listen to music, and reading!
Katie Sullivan, Volunteer Research Assistant
Katie is a senior English Teaching major at the University of New Hampshire. She is the president and founder of UNH's Little Library Club. Katie plans to attend graduate school to become a Speech Language Pathologist upon graduation, and she joined the lab to gain some experience in the field of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Her hobbies include reading, teaching spin classes, and crocheting.
Lauren Mott, Volunteer Research Assistant
Lauren is a junior at UNH dual majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders and Psychology. She joined the CAT lab this year because of her interest in prosody and child language acquisition. Through her experience in the lab, she hopes to gain skills and resources that will aid her in pursuing a career in Speech-Language Pathology. In addition to taking classes, Lauren works as an administrative assistant at a local speech therapy private practice and provides in-home support services to children and adults with autism. When she is not in school or working, she enjoys writing, snowboarding, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.