Here, you’ll get to know the dedicated team members who contribute their expertise and passion to our work every day. Each team member plays an essential role in advancing our mission and supporting the communities we serve.


Aquí, podrás conocer a los miembros dedicados de nuestro equipo, quienes aportan su experiencia y pasión a nuestro trabajo diario. Cada miembro del equipo desempeña un papel esencial en el avance de nuestra misión y en el apoyo a las comunidades a las que servimos..


Principal Investigators

All About Name 

Full Name
Title
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Name
Andrew joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in XXXX. His primary responsibilities involve XXX across multiple projects in the lab:

  • Project 1

  • Project 2


Cool Facts about Name

  • Undergraduate Education:

  • Graduate Education:

  • Background:


Why Reach Out to Name?

All About Name 

Full Name
Title
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Name
Andrew joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in XXXX. His primary responsibilities involve XXX across multiple projects in the lab:

  • Project 1

  • Project 2


Cool Facts about Name

  • Undergraduate Education:

  • Graduate Education:

  • Background:


Why Reach Out to Name?

Austin, TX Staff

All About Name 

Full Name
Title
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Name
Andrew joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in XXXX. His primary responsibilities involve XXX across multiple projects in the lab:

  • Project 1

  • Project 2


Cool Facts about Name

  • Undergraduate Education:

  • Graduate Education:

  • Background:


Why Reach Out to Name?

All About Diana

Diana F. Cruz
Bilingual Research Speech-Language Pathologist
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Diana
Diana joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in February 2024. Her primary responsibilities involve providing direct patient care for key projects, including:

  • R01 Grant - Barcelona

  • Alzheimer’s Grant - Mexico & Local Cases

  • Latino Caregiver Support Group Study

In addition to her clinical duties, Diana serves as the lab manager, where she leads essential operational tasks, including:

  • Onboarding of new employees and students

  • Scheduling and Coordination

  • Supply Ordering and Lab Logistics

  • Supervision of Research Assistants (RAs)

  • Grant and IRB Management


Cool Facts about Diana

  • Family & Fun: Outside of work, Diana is an outdoor enthusiast who loves exploring nature with her family. She’s always planning new adventure trips and activities with her husband and two young kids, making memories in the great outdoors.


Why Reach Out to Diana?

  • Wiki Pages & Documentation: Need help creating pages on the lab’s Wiki? Diana has tips and tricks to streamline the process.

  • Patient Materials & Support: Have patient-related questions? Diana is available in person or on Teams to assist with patient materials and any specific clinical needs.

  • Scheduling Matters: Need to makes changes to your schedule? Tag me in your supervisor chat!

All about Maria Fernanda Quiñones Vieta

Maria Fernanda Quiñones Vieta

Bilingual Research Speech-Language Pathologist Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin

About Marifer

Marifer joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in May, 2020. Her primary responsibilities involve conducting screenings and assisting with assessment and sociodemographic data organization.

Cool Facts about Marifer

  • Undergraduate Education: University of Texas at Austin, bachelors in speech pathology.

  • Graduate Education: University of Texas at Austin masters speech pathology program.

  • Background: I ram originally from Mexico City from a multicultural household, my mom is from Cuba and my dad is from Mexico. I grew up learning about dialectical differences. I moved to the US at the age of 15 to purse my bachelors in speech pathology.


Why Reach Out to Name? You can reach out to me if you are interested in clinical work with Spanish speaking families, have graduate school questions, or would like to know about working at private practice.

Post Doctoral Fellows (Austin, TX)

All About Andrew 

Andrew P. Collins
Postdoctoral Fellow
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Andrew
Andrew joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in September 2024. His primary responsibilities involve the linguistic analysis of data from Spanish-speaking patients across multiple projects in the lab:

  • R01 Grant - Barcelona

  • Alzheimer’s Grant - Mexico & Local Cases


Cool Facts about Andrew

  • Undergraduate Education: Andrew completed his B.A. in Linguistics at the University of Vermont. He worked with clitic left-dislocation in Spanish.

  • Graduate Education: Andrew completed his M.A. and Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of Kansas in September 2024. His dissertation was an ERP study investigating the processing of agreement in coordinate structures in native speakers of Spanish and learners of Spanish. For this project, he went to the University of the Basque Country in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.

  • Background: Andrew is originally from Londonderry, New Hampshire. He has lived in New England, the Midwest, and now the South. He comes from a bicultural/bilingual household. His mother was born in Portugal and came to the United States when she was 15 without speaking English, while his father was born in the United States and has had roots in New England since the 1600s.


Why Reach Out to Andrew?

  • General Linguistic Questions: Curious about certain linguistics-related topics? Send Andrew a message on Teams.

  • General Academic Questions: Have general questions about higher education (e.g., transitioning into or out of academic work, planning on graduate school, etc.)? Andrew is available in person or on Teams to help.

All About Wenfu 

Wenfu Bao
Postdoctoral Fellow
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Wenfu
Wenfu joined the lab in January 2025. His responsibilities include analyzing data, writing articles and grant proposals, and mentoring students, etc. He is involved in multiple projects:

  • Sant Pau Project: Molecular bases of bilingualism's protective effect against cognitive decline

  • HABS-HD Project: Examining differences in AD biomarkers and neuroimaging trajectories across different cognitive profiles in monolingual and bilingual Mexican Americans

  • R01 Grant


Cool Facts about Wenfu

  • Wenfu loves being in nature through hiking and biking. He is excited to explore the outdoors in Austin. 


Why Reach Out to Wenfu?

  • Data analysis: Wenfu has analyzed different types of behavioural and neurophysiological data by building models (e.g., linear mixed-effects model, generalized additive mixed-effects model) in R. Also, he is familiar with data visualization through ggplot. 

  • Study design: Wenfu has designed multiple psycholinguistic experiments via different methodologies. He can share with you potential considerations when designing an experimental study. 

  • Research in CSD: Wenfu might be able to answer your questions regarding pursuing further education in communication sciences and disorders.

PhD Students

All About Name 

Full Name
Title
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Name
Andrew joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in XXXX. His primary responsibilities involve XXX across multiple projects in the lab:

  • Project 1

  • Project 2


Cool Facts about Name

  • Undergraduate Education:

  • Graduate Education:

  • Background:


Why Reach Out to Name?

All About Name 

Full Name
Title
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Name
Andrew joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in XXXX. His primary responsibilities involve XXX across multiple projects in the lab:

  • Project 1

  • Project 2


Cool Facts about Name

  • Undergraduate Education:

  • Graduate Education:

  • Background:


Why Reach Out to Name?

Barcelona, Spain Staff

All About Name 

Full Name
Title
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Name
Andrew joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in XXXX. His primary responsibilities involve XXX across multiple projects in the lab:

  • Project 1

  • Project 2


Cool Facts about Name

  • Undergraduate Education:

  • Graduate Education:

  • Background:


Why Reach Out to Name?

All About Júlia 

Júlia Filella Mercè
Bilingual Research Speech-Language Pathologist
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Júlia
Júlia joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory on July, 2023. Her primary responsibilities include recruitment, assessment, and treatment (using the VISTA or LRT protocol) of patients with Primary Progressive Aphasia in the Clinical Trial and Observational Study branches.

  • R01 Grant - Barcelona


Cool Facts about Name

  • Undergraduate Education: Bachelor’s degree in Speech and Language Therapy at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Before focusing on research, I worked as a speech and language therapist with patients with neurological and neurodegenerative diseases in clinical and hospital settings.

  • Graduate Education: Master’s degree in Oropharyngeal Dysphagia at the School of Language Pathology of Hospital de Sant Pau. Master’s degree in Nutrition and Health at the Open University of Catalonia.

  • Background: I’m from Barcelona, Spain. My native languages are Catalan and Spanish, and I’m fluent in English.


Why Reach Out to Name?

You can reach out to me if you are interested in learning more about speech and language therapy in patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA).

All About Name 

Full Name
Title
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Name
Andrew joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in XXXX. His primary responsibilities involve XXX across multiple projects in the lab:

  • Project 1

  • Project 2


Cool Facts about Name

  • Undergraduate Education:

  • Graduate Education:

  • Background:



Why Reach Out to Name?

Barcelona, Spain Collaborators

All About Name 

Full Name
Title
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Name
Andrew joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in XXXX. His primary responsibilities involve XXX across multiple projects in the lab:

  • Project 1

  • Project 2


Cool Facts about Name

  • Undergraduate Education:

  • Graduate Education:

  • Background:


Why Reach Out to Name?

All About Name 

Full Name
Title
Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin


About Name
Andrew joined the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Laboratory in XXXX. His primary responsibilities involve XXX across multiple projects in the lab:

  • Project 1

  • Project 2


Cool Facts about Name

  • Undergraduate Education:

  • Graduate Education:

  • Background:


Why Reach Out to Name?