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I am an assistant professor at the University of Delaware in the Department of Linguistics & Cognitive Science. I also hold joint appointments at the Department of Psychology & Brain Sciences and the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. I direct the QLAB – Language Acquisition and Brain Laboratory.
I completed post-doctoral training at McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working with John D. E. Gabrieli. I received my PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, co-supervised by Susan M. Garnsey and Cynthia L. Fisher. I obtained my MD in Basic Medicine from Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University.
My research goal is to understand the neurobiological organization of language in the human brain, how that organization changes from childhood through adulthood, how it is disrupted in major neurodevelopmental disorders of language (autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, language impairment, and schizophrenia), and how knowledge of that organization may enhance language learning and language intervention. I use a variety of behavioral (eye-tracking) and neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, MEG, EEG, and DTI) to study the relationship between language learning, cognitive skills, and brain development in both children and adults. More about my research…
Featuring the 2019 Publication on NeuroImage
2016 NARSAD Young Investigator Grant
Some People’s Brains Are Wired for Languages
Language areas of the brain activate differently in autism
On the cover of Learning & Memory
