# contribute to research Get involved in research, meet our team, and help us improve our products! * * * ## research grants Duolingo is excited to support external research, because a stronger research community benefits everyone! #### Dissertation grants Duolingo’s annual dissertation grant program provides awards to doctoral students doing research on second language learning, mathematics, and music. See our past winners from [2020](https://blog.duolingo.com/introducing-the-2020-duolingo-research-grant-winners/), [2021](https://blog.duolingo.com/2021-duolingo-research-grant/), [2022](https://blog.duolingo.com/2022-duolingo-research-grant/), [2023](https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/2023_duolingo_research_grant_winners.pdf), [2024](https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/2024_duolingo_research_grant_winners.pdf), and [2025](https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/2025_duolingo_research_grant_winners.pdf). Our 2026 program is accepting applications until May 31, 2026. For more information, see our calls for research in [language learning](https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/2026_Duolingo_language_dissertation_grant_cfa.pdf), [math](https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/2026_Duolingo_math_dissertation_grant_cfa.pdf), and [music](https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/2026_Duolingo_music_learning_dissertation_grant_cfa.pdf), and the [FAQs](https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/2026_Duolingo_dissertation_grants_faq.pdf). #### Duolingo data for research We are happy to share an anonymized Spanish-learning [dataset](https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/duolingo_spanish_learning_dataset.pdf) with the broader research community. * * * ## our researchers Our team includes experts in learning sciences, AI and machine learning, and linguistics. We work closely with product teams to build innovative features based on world-class research. Badr Albanna(He/him)AI Research Engineer II[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/badralbanna) \| [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7OUdne8AAAAJ) - PhD in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley - Expertise in recurrent neural networks, complex systems, and information theory Klinton Bicknell(He/him)Head of AI[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/klintonbicknell/) \| [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wVTbo7sAAAAJ&hl=en) - PhD in Linguistics and Cognitive Science from UC San Diego - Expertise in AI, cognitive science, and language Lauren Bilsky(She/her)Senior AI Research Engineer[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-bilsky-76576059/) - A.B. in Linguistics and Applied Math - Economics from Brown University - Expertise in ML, NLP and prompt engineering Xiangying Jiang(She/her)Lead Learning Scientist[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiangying-jiang-a6850324a/) \| [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=GTv9Tj8AAAAJ) - PhD in Applied Linguistics from Northern Arizona University - Expertise in efficacy of app-based language learning, language assessment, and L2 reading - Associate Professor in TESOL and applied linguistics at WVU before Duolingo [Featured Report](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/flan.12600) Audrey Kittredge(She/her)Senior Learning Scientist[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/audrey-k-kittredge/) \| [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lq9SoEMAAAAJ&hl=en) - PhD in Cognitive Psychology from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - Expertise in psycholinguistics, educational psychology, and early childhood education - Postdoc in education at University of Cambridge and experience consulting for UNICEF [Featured Report](https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/Duolingo_whitepaper_duolingo_method_2023.pdf) Jackie Lee(She/her)Staff AI Research Scientist[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-lee-mit/) - PhD in Computer Science from MIT - Expertise in machine learning and natural language processing Kevin Lenzo(He/him)Senior Staff AI Research Scientist[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinlenzo) - PhD in Robotics from CMU - Expertise in speech technology, machine learning, and linguistics - 30 years industry experience including my own company Stephen MayhewSenior AI Research Engineer[Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-uLaJq4AAAAJ&hl=en) - PhD in Computer Science from University of Pennsylvania - Expertise in multilingual and low-resource NLP, NER - Experience with student modeling and personalization Will Monroe(He/him)Senior AI Research Scientist[Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3D8Y_FgAAAAJ) - PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University - Expertise in natural language processing and speech recognition [Featured Report](https://aclanthology.org/2020.ngt-1.28/) Farrah Neumann(She/her)Senior Learning Designer[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/farrah-n-b57599183/) \| [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NN__re4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra) - PhD in Hispanic Linguistics from University of Pittsburgh - Expertise in L2 phonetic learning, pronunciation training, and speech perception - Former college and high school instructor of Spanish and Linguistics Bozena Pajak(She/her)Vice President of Learning and Curriculum[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpajak/) \| [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=B8kH6q4AAAAJ) - PhD in Linguistics from UC San Diego - Expertise in the cognitive mechanisms underlying learning - Postdoc in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at University of Rochester [Featured Report](https://duolingo-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/duolingo-efficacy-english-reading-listening-whitepaper.pdf) Ryan Peters(He/him)Senior Learning Scientist[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-e-peters/) \| [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=FJHWiqUAAAAJ) - PhD in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences from Purdue University - Expertise in language learning and development, applied psycholinguistics, and attention Ben Reuveni(He/him)Senior Learning Scientist[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-reuveni/) - PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Northwestern University - Expertise in learning, memory, and decision making - Experience with reward processing, gamification, and data analysis Gabriella Skitalinska(She/her)AI Research Engineer II[LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/gabriella-skitalinska) \| [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4EFFk2MAAAAJ&hl) - PhD in Computer Science from University of Bremen, Germany - Expertise in natural language processing and computational social science Ziheng Zeng(He/him)AI Research Engineer II - PhD in Computer Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - Expertise in natural language processing Siwei Zhu(He/him)Senior AI Research Engineer[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/siwei-z-57a50941/) - Master’s in Applied Math from University of California, Los Angeles - Expertise in recommendation systems and NLP ## join us Ready to work with us? Check out our job openings! [SEE OPENINGS](https://careers.duolingo.com/#careers)