Alumni

The PhD in Educational Neuroscience (PEN) Program opened its doors to the first class of Ph.D. students in Fall 2013. The ground-breaking program is thrilled to recognize the students who have graduated and/or successfully defended their dissertation and are on the way to graduation.

Dr. Diana Andriola

Alumna, PEN

Dissertation: "The Neurobiological Correlates of Phonological Awareness and Reading Outcomes in Deaf Children"

Graduation: 2019

Current Position: Science Education and Outreach Specialist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Dr. Andriola (Dr. Clifton Langdon, Advisor) worked as a research assistant in Dr. Langdon's Language and Educational Neuroscience (LENS) lab. During her previous assistantship with Petitto's Brain and Language Lab for Neuroimaging (BL2), Dr. Andriola received certification in functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS).

In her doctoral research, Dr. Andriola used fNIRS to investigate the cognitive mechanisms supporting spoken and signed language phonological awareness, and whether sign language phonological awareness supports reading development in deaf children. Findings from this research provide insight into the impact of early language exposure and inform educational policy and practice for literacy instruction with deaf children.

This research is the first to use an interdisciplinary neuroscience approach to examine phonological awareness for both signed and spoken language in children and promises to shed new light on the brain’s capacity for language processing, regardless of the language modality.

Secondary Reader (Advisor): Dr. Gaurav Mathur

Alumni