WHO I AM
Child development scientist.
I've always been curious about how minds grow in the modern world, that became my research programme.
I run the Little Scientist Lab (currently at Griffith University), where my team studies how preschoolers learn from people, robots, and the social cues sitting between the two. Our work uses open science practices and child-first methodologies to ask careful questions about learning and how relationships between children and their teachers shapes that.
The questions I chase started early: an autistic kid who wanted to know why people do what they do. My methodologies got more rigorous but my curiosity never changed.
WHAT I STUDY
My research focus.
Three threads run through everything I do: how children learn, how they decide who to trust, and how technology and neurodiversity reshape both.
Autism & Development
How autistic children learn and engage with peers and technology, co-designed with autistic communities from the very beginning.
Social Robots & Learning
How do children learn from and interact with social robots? When are robots helpful, and when do they fall short?
Learning & Relationships
Children learn better when they are engaged in the learning. Engaged learning requires relationship building with their educators. What does this look like for all children and their unique styles of interaction and where do social robots fit?
WHERE I WORK
The Little Scientist Lab.
Where curiosity meets research.
A research group dedicated to how young children learn, play, and grow.
We design experiments that respect children's agency and ask questions that matter right now and into the future. We collaborate with educators, autistic communities, and parents to keep the work useful and respectful.
VISIT LITTLE SCIENTIST LABWHAT I'VE PUBLISHED
Recent publications.
Selected peer-reviewed work. Open-access wherever possible. Click any title for the DOI.
TAKE SOMETHING WITH YOU
Research belongs to the people who need it.
Guides, videos, data, and tools for parents, educators, and researchers. Everything we publish is free to use, share, and adapt.
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