Little Longhorn Lab Team
Lauren H. Hampton, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Principal Investigator
Dr. Lauren Hampton is the principal investigator of SibWatch and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 15 years of experience serving young children with language delays and their families.
Elizabeth (Liz) Rodriguez, M.Ed., BCBA
Graduate Research Assistant
Liz acts as a primary interventionist and graduate research assistant and on Team SibWatch. She is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst. Over the past decade, she has worked with children with exceptionalities ranging in ages between 1-21. Liz is currently pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of Texas at Austin with a special interest in working with toddlers in early intervention.
Annabel Garza, M.Ed., RBT
Clinical Research Assistant
Annabel Garza is a clinical research assistant on the SibWatch Team. She was born and raised in Laredo, Texas and moved to Austin, Texas in 2013. She received her master’s degree in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities in the fall of 2021. Annabel has been providing ABA therapy services for children and families for over 5 years.
Jerrica Butler, B.A., RBT
Research Assistant Assessor
Jerrica Butler is a post-baccalaureate Research Assistant with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She comes from a lengthy background working with kids in after school and summer camp settings. After 9 years of clinical work as a registered behavior technician (RBT) for children with autism spectrum disorders, she found her way into research with the Little Longhorn Lab in 2021. Her current research interests stem from working closely with ASD families on building language through play and managing challenging behaviors. She is currently involved in the Autism Consortium of Texas Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (ACT LEND) Program at University of Texas at Austin to continue to train and develop as a researcher within the ASD/IDD community.
Younghwa (Young) Noh, M.Ed., BCBA
Graduate Research Assistant
Young is pursuing a doctoral degree in Special Education with a concentration in Early Childhood Special Education at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood and Family Studies from the University of Washington and her master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Texas at Austin. With extensive experience as a Registered Behavior Technician in various settings including schools, clinics, and homes, Young recently obtained certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Her research interests include naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions, feeding therapies for autistic children, and trauma-informed and culturally responsive Applied Behavior Analysis.
Ellen G. Cho, B.S., RBT
Research Assistant Coder
Ellen graduated from Texas Woman’s University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with Spanish and chemistry minors and is pursuing her master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education. She has been working in an early intervention clinic serving young children for over two years and hopes to work for this population as a BCBA. This is her first time working in a research setting, she looks forward to growing with her teammates. She aspires to pursue a Ph.D. and lead her own research team in the future.
Alexis Bacon-Yates, M.S. Ed.
Graduate Research Assistant
Alexis (she/hers) is a licensed teacher and early interventionist specialist with field, academic, and research experience in Early Childhood Education (ECE), Early Intervention (EI), and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE).
She is a doctoral student in Equity and Diversity in Special Education, a 2023-2024 ACT LEND fellow, and a LEND Equity Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin.
Her research interests include examining how educational and healthcare systems support young culturally and/or linguistically diverse children, and their families, experiencing a disability. She hopes to use research to develop equitable, meaningful, and accessible EI/ECSE systems for these historically marginalized communities to ensure they have opportunities to benefit from quality intervention services designed with them in mind.
Taylor Chan
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Taylor Chan is a current undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and hopes to become a pediatric CRNA in the future. On campus, she is a part of the University of Texas Dance Team and the Texas Sweethearts. This will be her first time working in a research setting, but she is excited to learn more about young children with autism and ways to help them and their families.
Regan Cohen
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Regan is an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing a Bachelor of Science and Arts in Biology with a certificate in Pre-Health Professions and a minor in Health Communications. Regan aspires to work within the medical field, with an interest in becoming a physician as well as exploring diverse career avenues that align with her passion for healthcare. Joining this lab is her exciting first introduction into a research setting, and she is looking forward to working with a team. When she is not studying or working, she is often nannying or running!
Farah Kazi
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Farah is a RUBI Research Assistant for Little Longhorn Lab and an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a certificate in Elements of Computing, and she hopes to pursue a PhD in Psychology and work within the realm of adolescent psychology. Her research interests lie in the role of sociocultural norms and values in family estrangement.
Collaborators
Tiffany Woynaroski, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Co-investigator and Vanderbilt Site PI for SibWatch
Dr. Tiffany Woynaroski is the Co-investigator and Vanderbilt Site PI for SibWatch. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Adjunct Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, a Fellow of the First Center for Autism and Innovation, and an Investigator in the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and Vanderbilt Brain Institute.
Megan Roberts, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Principal Investigator of the SMART Study
Dr. Megan Roberts is the principal investigator of the Early Intervention Research Group. Megan is a Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She is a licensed speech-language pathologist with over 10 years of experience working with young children and their families. Megan joined Northwestern in 2013 and started the Early Intervention Research Group to examine how best to support early language development in young children with developmental delays. Megan believes that every child has an important message to share with the world and that language is best learned during positive interactions between caregivers and children.
Volunteers
Samra Teshome is an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Society along with a certificate in Spanish for the Medical Professions and a minor in Sociology. She aspires toward a career within the realm of obstetrics and women’s health and hopes to begin graduate school in that pursuit within the coming year. Her research interests lie in investigating the influence of support systems on participant outcomes, the origins and consequences of medical mistrust, and the different approaches to health taken along sociocultural lines.
Shreya Kantam is an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing a Bachelor of Science and Arts degree in Biology with a minor in Art History and certificate in Forensic Science. She hopes to work in the medical field with a focus in child development.
Daria Maya is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Her previous research experience at the University of Delaware includes the effects of distance learning on neurodiverse learners. Daria is interested in the intersection between child development and disabilities. After graduation Daria hopes to work as a Special Education teacher.
