Experience
2021- Professor SNSF (Swiss National Science Foundation), Head of the Autism, Bilingualism, Cognitive and Communicative Development (ABCCD) Lab, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg.
2019 – 2023 Senior Lecturer at the Linguistics Department (until 2023), and the English Department (from 2023), University of Geneva (including 112 hours per annum of courses at graduate and undergraduate levels on ‘language acquisition’ and ‘language impairment’, as well as student supervision).
2016 – 2019 Senior Researcher on the Swiss National Scientific Project entitled: ‘From language to cognition and vice-versa: Training effects in children with Specific Language Impairment and Autism Spectrum Disorder’, Psycholinguistics Department, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva.
2012 – 2015 Post-doctoral fellow at the Laboratory for Autism and Developmental Disorders, Inserm U930 – CNRS FRE 2448, L’Unité Mixte de Recherche (now the iBrain lab), François Rabelais University, ‘Imagerie et Cerveau’, Tours, France and the Institute for Cognitive Science, Laboratory on Language, Cognition and the Brain (Laboratoire sur le Langage, le Cerveau et la Cognition, L2C2), Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Lyon.
2007- 2012 Senior Research and Teaching Assistant in General Linguistics, Department of Linguistics, University of Geneva. Responsibilities: teaching (112 hours per annum at different undergraduate levels, including the classes: Introduction aux Sciences du Langage; La Langue et sa Structure; La Syntaxe des Créoles; L’Approche Cartographique), research (topics: syntax, creoles, language acquisition, language pathology), student supervision (various 3rd year students as well as co-supervision of one PhD student), orchestrating exams (at the BA, MA and DEA levels in linguistics and MA level in speech therapy), administrative duties for the Linguistics Department.
2001- 2007 Research and Teaching Assistant in General Linguistics, Department of Linguistics, University of Geneva. Responsibilities: teaching (56 hours per annum at different undergraduate levels), research (Doctoral thesis) Administrative duties for the Linguistics Department.
1999-2001 Research and Teaching Assistant in English Linguistics, English Department, University of Geneva. Responsibilities: teaching (56 hours per annum including the following topics: Introduction to linguistics; Englishes Around The World; Creole Languages), research (DEA thesis) and administrative duties for the Linguistics Department.
Qualifications
Qualification aux fonctions de Professeur des Universités (2018), Conseil National des Universités, Ministère de l’enseignement supérieur, de la recherche et de l’innovation, France. Doctorat ès Lettres (PhD) (2007) Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Letters, (with Highest Honours); Diplôme d’Etudes Supérieures (2001), Department of Linguistics, University of Geneva (with distinction), Grade: 6/6; Licence ès Lettres (Linguistics, English, French), with distinction (1999). General average (all exams and thesis): 6/6. University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Student supervision & academic service
(Co-)supervision of PhD candidates: Sarah Oudet, at the Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Title: Parent-led communication therapy for bilingual families of autistic children (2022-2026); Pauline Wolfer, at the Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Title: ‘The communicative development of bilingual children with and without ASD’ (2021-2025) ; Franziska Baumeister, at the Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Title: ‘The cognitive development of bilingual children with and without ASD’ (2021-2025); Jiao Du, Visiting PhD at the Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg from the University of Guangdong, Title : ‘The Acquisition of Passives in Mandarin Children with Specific Language Impairment’ (2021-2022); Lijun Chen, Visiting PhD at the Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg from the University of Guangdong, Title : ‘The acquisition of Chinese aspect markers by Mandarin-speaking children with high functioning autism plus language impairment and children with developmental language disorder’ (2021-2022); Morgane Burnel, at the Doctoral School for Health, Cognition and Environment Engineering, University of Grenoble, Title: ‘L’évolution des liens entre théorie de l’esprit, syntaxe et fonctions exécutives au cours du développement chez les personnes avec ou sans troubles du spectre autistique’ (2014-2017). Tamirand de Lisser, at the Department of Linguistics, University of Geneva, Title: ‘The Acquisition of Jamaican Creole: The Emergence and Transformation of Early Syntactic Systems’ (2012-2015).
Member of the Doctoral Committee: Nicolas Petit, “Development of pragmatic inferences and autism: scalar implicatures and metaphors at school age”. Faculty of Cognitive Sciences, University Claude Bernard, Lyon, France, 2023.
External examiner of (opponent) for the habilitation thesis: Luca Cilibrasi, “Language acquisition and the ontogeny of domain-specific cognition. Conceptual review and insights from English data.”. Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Czech Republic, 2022.
President of the Doctoral Committee: Kristen Schroeder, “Comprehension and production of referential expressions across Autism Spectrum Conditions”. Universitat de Barcelona, 2019.
Member of the Doctoral Committee: Elisabet Vila Borrellas, “Comprehension of yes/no- and wh-question across Autism Spectrum Conditions”. Universitat de Barcelona, 2021.
(Co-)supervision of MA students (>50) in (a) speech therapy at the Psychology Department, University of Geneva (2010-present) and the Department of Speech and Language Therapy of the University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris (2016-present) (b) Neuroscience at the Institute for Cognitive Science, University of Lyon (2012), (c) Cognitive Psychology at the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble (2013) and (d) Linguistics at the Linguistics Department of the University of Geneva (2007-present).
Member of the editorial board of Frontiers in Psychiatry – Autism (third most-cited journal in its field).
Invited reviewer for: Lingua; Applied Psycholinguistics; L’Année Psychologique; Autism Research; Autism; Journal of Autism and Related Disorders; Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research; Journal of Communication Disorders; Developmental Psychology; The Open Psychology Journal; Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics; Child Language Teaching and Therapy; International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders; Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology; Linguistics and Language Compass; The International Journal of Speech Language and The Law; Child Development; Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology; Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics; Proceedings for Formal Approaches to Creole Studies; Journal of Language Contact; Journal of Child Language; Plos One; Glossa; First Language; Research in Developmental Disabilities; Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools; Autism & Developmental Language Impairments; Journal of Psycholinguistic Research; Language Learning and Development; Cognitive Linguistics; Developmental Neurohabilitation; BMC Pediatrics; Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition; Frontiers in Psychology; Frontiers in Human Neuroscience; Frontiers in Education; Frontiers in Psychiatry; Psychiatry Research; Languages; Nature Mental Health; Brain Sciences; Brain Imaging and Behavior; Applied Sciences; Longdom Journals; Going Romance 2010; Bilingualism: Language and Cognition; Languages; The Creole Language Library; Canadian Journal of Linguistics; Studies in Caribbean Languages; Linguistic Analysis; Ampersand; Child Adolescent and Mental Health; World Journal of Pediatrics; Psychology Research and Behavior Management; Studies in Theoretical Psycholinguistics; Journal of Experimental Child Psychology; Current Psychiatry Research and Reviews; Applied Sciences; Bloomsbury Studies in Theoretical Linguistics; Language Development Research; Health Science Reports; The Syntax Session of the International Congress of Linguists; Oxford University Pess; The Israeli Science Foundation; Dutch Research Council (NWO); Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada (CRSH); AXA Fellowships; The Croatian Science Foundation; La Fondation Européenne de la Science; Autism & Developmental Language Impairment; Semantics & Philosophy in Europe SPE10; Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics; Boston University Conference on Language Development; International Association for the Study of Child Language; European Early Childhood Education Research Journal; Mental Health Research; Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (Belgium); The Health Research Board of Ireland; Communications Psychology; National Science Center of Poland; Cognitive Development; Behavioral Neurology; Asociación para el estudio de la adquisición del lenguaje 2022; Xth International Congress on Language Acquisition.
Member of the advisory board for the conference The Romance Turn (on the acquisition of Romance Languages), the Living and Learning Lab Neurodevelopment – LiLLab, Sorbonne University, Paris.
Grants
Research Projects
2022-2024: ‘Capito! Compris! Understood! Verstanden!’ (232,895 euros), my role: Partner; Principal Investigator: Ursula Semlitsch. 3-year project funded by Erasmus+.
2021-2024 : ‘Advanced language and sociocognitive skills in children with and without language disorders’ (26,620 euros), my role : international consultant ; Principal Investigators : Prof. Elisabet Serrat & Dr. Francesc Sidera Caballero. 3-year project funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain.
2020 : ‘Autism, Bilingualism, Cognitive and Communicative Development’ (1,656,073 chf), Principal (and sole) Investigator. 5-year PRIMA project funded by The Swiss National Science Foundation.
2019: ‘From language to cognition and vice-versa: Training effects in children with SLI and ASD’ (123,364 chf) Co-author; Principal Investigator: Dr. Delage. 6-month extension of existing project of The Swiss National Science Foundation.
2016: ‘Cognitive and linguistic diversity across mental disorders: typology, behavioural analysis and neuroimaging’ (154,782 euros), my role: international consultant ; Principal Investigator : Prof. Hinzen. 3-year project funded by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain.
2015: ‘From language to cognition and vice-versa: Training effects in children with SLI and ASD’ (429,504 chf), my role: Co-author; Principal Investigator: Dr. Delage. 3-year project funded by The Swiss National Science Foundation.
2014: ‘Jamaican Creole: The Emergence and Transformation of Early Syntactic Systems’ (25,000 chf), my role : Co-applicant ; Principal Investigator : Prof. Shlonsky. 6-month extension of existing project of The Swiss National Science Foundation.
2012: ‘Syntax in Autism’ (178,500 chf), my role: Principle (and sole) Investigator. 3-year project funded by The Swiss National Science Foundation.
2011: ‘Jamaican Creole: The Emergence and Transformation of Early Syntactic Systems’ (170,020 chf), my role: Co-applicant; Principal Investigator : Prof. Shlonsky. 3-year research project funded by The Swiss National Science Foundation.
Travel
Fondation Ernst and Lucie Schmidheiny (1090 chf; 2022) ; The Academic Society of Geneva (900 chf ; 2018), The Facutly of Psychology and Educational Sciences of The University of Geneva (2,900 chf ; 2018), The Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of The University of Geneva ; (2,500 chf ; 2017) ; Fondation Ernst and Lucie Schmidheiny (800 chf ; 2013), The Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences ( 500 chf; 2013) ; Le Fonds Bally (3,600 chf; 2003).
Research material
The Anliker Foundation (3,700 chf ; 2016), COINF (Commission d’informatique) (3,700 chf ; 2016).
Workshop organisation
‘Language and Mind in ASD’ (first author) hosted by the International Congress of Linguists : The Academic Society of Geneva (3, 730 chf, 2013) ; the Swiss Society of Linguists (1000 chf ; 2012) ; the Association ‘Autisme-Genève’ (3,000 chf ; 2012).
Teaching relief
Awarded by The Equal Opportunity Board of The University of Geneva based on academic excellence and imminent thesis completion (25,000 chf ; 2005-2006).
Conference and colloquia work
2024: Co-organiser of the workshop ‘Generalized Mixed-Effects Models’ (in collaboration with Didier Maillat), University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
2023: Co-author of the Symposium ‘The Behavioral and Neurobiological Basis of Impaired Memory in ASD: The Heterogeneous Patterns and Interventions’ (Main organizer: Lang Chen), International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting (INSAR), Stockholm, Sweden.
2017: Convener of the event ‘Cognitive and linguistic diversity among humans’ (Main organizer: Wolfram Hinzen), CosmoCaixa, Barcelona.
2017: Co-author of the Symposium ‘On links between language development and extra-linguistic cognitive knowledge: What we can learn from autism ?’, (in collaboration with Jeannette Schaeffer and Inge-Marie Eigsti), Boston University Conference on Language Acquisition, Boston.
2017: Co-author of the Symposium ‘What is the relationship between Executive Function and language development’ (in collaboration with Nicola Botting, Samantha Durrant, Marialivia Bernardi, Gary Morgan), International Congress for the Study of Child Language, Lyon.
2013: First author / Co-organiser of the workshop ‘Language and Mind in Autism’, International Congress of Linguists (in collaboration with Hélène Delage, Laurice Tuller, Philippe Prévost and Ira Noveck). University of Geneva. Website link: http://www.cil19.org/ateliers/language-and-mind-in-autism/
2008-2009: Member of the organising committee of the 450th anniversary of the University of Geneva, Faculty of Letters.
2006-2007: Co-organiser of the research seminar of the Department of Linguistics, Geneva (with Tabea Ihsane and Sandrine Zufferey).
2004-2005: Participation in the organisation of the ‘Generative Linguistics in the Old World’ conference (GLOW), Geneva.
2003-2004: Co-organiser of the research seminar of the Department of Linguistics, Geneva (with Genoveva Puskas).
Miscellaneous
Memberships of Scientific Societies (past and present): Member of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR); Adjunct member of Language Abilities in Children with Autism (LACA); Member of the Swiss Society of Linguistics; Member for the International Association for the Study of Child Language (IASCL); Member of the Swiss Society for Early Childhood Research; Member of the Serra Húnter Plan (PSH), Catalan University Selection Committee (in Basic Psychology), Universitat de Girona; Member of the Groupe de Recherche sur les Grammaires Créoles (GRGC), Université de Paris 8; Member of The Society for Caribbean Linguistics; Member of the Società di Linguistica Italiana.
Beyond Academia
2017-2021 Member of the committee of AGEPA (Geneva-based association for individuals with special-needs).
2014 Co-author of a series of illustrated stories for siblings of special-needs children: ‘Chez nous, c’est comme ça: Récits pour frères et sœurs d’enfants avec autisme’ (Published by Autisme France Diffusion).
2014-2023 Co-founder of www.atypicalsmile.com, a website connecting families of individuals with special needs with appropriate caregivers.
2010-2011: Organizer for the Geneva-based association ASK (All Special Kids) of ‘The Social Outings Group’, coordinating social events for special-needs children.
2001-2006: Collaborator on Applied Behavioral Analysis home programs for 2 boys with autism. Main contributions included acquiring training in ABA, hiring staff for both teams, orchestrating team meetings to discuss their individualized educational programs. Both boys are verbal, bilingual today.
Languages
English (Mother tongue), French (Completely fluent), Spanish (Good level), Jamaican Creole (Completely fluent)
Nationalities
Swiss, Jamaican