Dr. Allison Lahnala

Overview

I’m an interdisciplinary researcher working at the intersection of natural language processing (NLP), computational social science, and psychology. My research focuses on modeling social, goal-oriented conversations, with a particular emphasis on empathetic interaction, persuasion, and the dynamics of conversational support. I’m especially interested in developing efficient methods to integrate insights from the social sciences into robust, personalized machine learning applications. My academic path has taken me from studying computer science at the University of Michigan to completing a PhD in Informatik at the University of Bonn, with research experiences in both Germany and the U.S. Before joining McMaster in July 2025, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, where I studied digital phenotyping and substance use. At McMaster, I plan to build a research program that brings together language technology, health communication, and digital mental health. Alongside research, I’ve been involved in mentorship and interdisciplinary collaboration across computing, psychology, and public health. My teaching experience includes courses and workshops on AI ethics and social NLP, as well as outreach programs aimed at broadening participation in computing.

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