* Note. The members are listed in the order they joined the lab.
Koji Miwa, Ph.D.
(Lab leader / manager / janitor)
April, 2017 - In progress (!?)
Email: kojimiwa ▲ nagoya-u.jp (replace ▲ with @ )
Personal website
https://kojimiwa.com
Profiles on the web
ResearchGate: researchgate.net/profile/Koji_Miwa
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/...AAJ&hl=ja
ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0890-9265
Web of Science: webofscience.com...N-6428-2018
Current research projects
1. Individual differences in kanji word recognition
2. Visual word recognition of handwritten kanji words
Keywords
Psycholinguistics, Visual word recognition, Bilingualism, Morphology, Writing system, Eye movements
Message
As the lab leader, I want to make sure that we all play the game of life and the game of academia with balance, fairness, honesty, and respect.
✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺
Mehrnaz (Mary) Piroozi
(Master's program, G30)
Email: piroozitabriz.mehrnaz.z2 ▲ s.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp
(replace ▲ with @ )
October, 2024 - in progress
April, 2023 - September, 2023 (Research student)
Personal website
TBA
Profiles on the web
Researchgate: researchgate.net/profile/Mehrnaz-Piroozi
Current research projects
Processing of radicals and characters in Japanese Kanji word recognition
Keywords
Language Processing, Mental Lexicon, Word Recognition
Message
The processing of language in the brain is a very interesting phenomenon. It seems like the human brain is a supercomputer that is able to store and process an infinite amount of linguistic information in a few milliseconds, and it becomes even more fascinating if one can speak more than one language. As a speaker of 4 languages (Japanese, English, Persian, and Turkish), I am interested in understanding how this phenomenon takes place in the brain, and finding out if there is a special structure in the brain to accommodate for all these languages.
✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺
Yuta Sugiyama
(Doctoral program, English Language Education)
Email: sugiyama.yut ▲ gmail.com (replace ▲ with @ )
April, 2024 - In progress
Personal website
https://yutasugiyama.studio.site/
Profiles on the web
TBA
Current research projects
TBA
Keywords
TBA
Message
TBA
✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺
Kumi Wakita
(Doctoral program, English Language Education)
Email: wakita.kumi.p2 ▲ s.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp (replace ▲ with @ )
April, 2025 - In progress
September, 2024 - March, 2025 (Master’s program)
Personal website
TBA
Profiles on the web
Researchgate: researchgate.net/profile/Kumi-Wakita
Current research projects
Processing of multiword chunks in first and second languages.
Keywords
Psycholinguistics, written language processing, multiword chunks, second language processing,
English language
Message
Much wonder surrounds us, particularly in how our brains process words at the speed of light. I focus on the many mysteries of language processing, especially how individuals who speak multiple languages manage and process different linguistic systems. Understanding these processes is not only fascinating but also essential for uncovering the complexities of human communication.
✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺
Carolina Yanet Rodríguez Ortiz
(Research student, Humanities)
Email: yanet.ro.07 ▲ gmail.com (replace ▲ with @ )
April, 2025 - In progress
Personal website
TBA
Profiles on the web
TBA
Current research projects
Cognitive influence of second language, the linguistic impact on our world perception
Keywords
Language acquisition, linguistic relativity, bilingualism
Message
I believe we should pursue and try whichever catch our attention in order to let us surprise by life's wisdom. As a speaker of 3 (almost 4, for now) languages I might have 4th times the amount of questions but right now I want to explore how these languages work inside our minds, even if I get more questions than answers.
✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺
Jens Hinniger
(G30, Humanities)
Email: jenhinni ▲ iu.edu (replace ▲ with @ )
October, 2025 - In progress
Personal website
TBA
Profiles on the web
TBA
Current research projects
Kanji Processing of L1 English Speakers
Keywords
Psycholinguistics, Second Language Acquisition, L2 Lexical Processing, Kanji Word Recognition, Orthographic Processing
Message
Ever since my first exposure to Linguistics, I have been a firm believer that language (whether spoken, written, or signed) is an incredibly complex system that most people take for granted, which is why I hope to uncover many of its secrets. Alongside this belief, two core principles guide me. First, one must be able to take criticism in order to give it. Second is the philosophy of 七転八起 (shichiten hakki): literally meaning, "fall down seven times, get up eight," a reminder to persevere and never give up in life.
✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺
Xinyu Chang
(G30, Humanities)
Email: changxinyu130▲ 163.com (replace ▲ with @ )
October, 2025 - In progress
Personal website
TBA
Profiles on the web
TBA
Current research projects
Lexical access and processing in second language learners
Keywords
Bilingual word recognition, Cognitive load, Working memory in language processing
Message
I don't get many things right the first time. In fact, for a long time I used to dwell on regrets, imagining how life might have been if I had valued certain moments more. Over time I've come to see that every wrong turn and stumble has brought me to where I am. One lesson from the movie <About Time> has stayed with me: "I just try to live everyday as if I've deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it as if it was the full, final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life."
✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺
Alumni
- Jiashen Qu (Doctoral program, 2025)
Conceptualisation of event roles in the first and second languages by Japanese speakers of English
- Kumi Wakita (Master’s program, 2025) closely supervised together with Dr. Remi Murao
How meaningfulness and frequency affect the processing of multiword chunks in a second language
- Miki Ikuta (Doctoral program, 2023)
Metaphor interpretation and analogical reasoning in first and second languages
- Miki Ikuta (Master’s program, 2020)
Figurative language processing in a second language: Towards a bilingual metaphor comprehension model - Jinyun Sun (Master’s program, 2019)
Cross-language similarities and task demands in Japanese visual word recognition: A chronometric study with Chinese-English-Japanese trilinguals - Xue Wang (Master’s program, 2019), previously supervised by Dr. Remi Murao
Cognate processing in Japanese-English bilinguals: An auditory lexical decision study - Talia Chang (Master’s program, 2018), previously supervised by Dr. Remi Murao
Second language learners’ utilization of semantic and morphosyntactic cues in sentence comprehension
Academic family tree
The academic family tree continues to grow—from the past, through the present, and into the future. I want to make sure it stays healthy.
See LinguisTree at https://academictree.org/linguistics/tree.php?pid=822095#