Dr. Mercedes Spencer Receives the Rebecca L. Sandak Award

The Rebecca L. Sandak Award

“The Rebecca L. Sandak Young Investigator Award was established in 2008 to honor the memory of Rebecca Sandak, who died before her research goals and ideas could be fully realized. The award is intended to recognize a gifted young reading researcher who shows outstanding promise and dedication to the field. “

We’ve long known Dr. Spencer’s passion and dedication when it comes to research, so it is always nice when such inspiration and skill is recognized by others in the field. The Education and Brain Research Lab heartily congratulates her on her well-earned recognition. We fully expect to congratulate her on many more in the future.

If you would like to find out more about the award and it’s origin, please follow this link.

2021 Award winner: Mercedes Spencer and Annie Yixun Li
2020 Award winner: Marc Goodrich and Elizabeth Stevens
2019 Award winner: Florina Erbeli
2018 Award winner: Jamie Quinn
2017 Award winner: Laura Steacy
2016 Award winner: Maaike Vandermosten
2015 Award winners: Elsje van Bergen and Elizabeth Tighe
2014 Award winners: Suzanne Adlof and Sara Hart
2013 Award winner: Fabienne Chetail
2012 Award winner: Elizabeth Norton
2011 Award winners: Yaacov Petscher and Jennifer Gilbert
2010 Award winner: Eva Marinus
2009 Award winner: Rebecca Betjemann
2008 Award winner: Shelley Xiuli Tong

EBRL now Recruiting for a Brain-Based Learning Enhancement study

The Education and Brain Sciences Research Laboratory is now recruiting for a study investigating Brain-based Learning Enhancement. Adults between the ages of 18-40 who are native English speakers are invited to participate. The study includes: Initial eligibility screening, and 3-4 study visits. Visit 1 includes MRI, EEG, non-invasive brain stimulation, and behavioral testing. Visits 2 and 3 include non-invasive brain simulation sessions and behavioral testing. Some individuals may be asked to complete an EEG. Some participants may be invited for a Visit 4, which includes MRI, EEG, and behavioral testing.

For participating, you will receive an E-gift card for $50 for each study visit, plus a $50 completion bonus for finishing all parts of the study.

If you would like to participate, please contact Dr. Katherine Aboud at Katherine.Aboud@vanderbilt.edu

Flyer for Brain-Based Learning Enhancement Study

Dr. Amanda Martinez-Lincoln Awarded NIH Supplement

EBRL’s postdoctoral research fellow, Dr. Amanda Martinez-Lincoln and her mentor, Dr. Laurie E. Cutting were the recipients of a NIH/NICHD Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-related Research. This funding will support Dr. Martinez-Lincoln’s project that will examine the neurobiological relation of reading comprehension and executive functioning in English Learners.

EBRL’s Laura Barquero Becomes Associate Editor of Annals of Dyslexia

Annals of Dyslexia is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the scientific study of dyslexia, theory-based practices on remediation, and intervention of dyslexia and related areas of written language disorders, including spelling, composing, and mathematics. As of last year, Laura Barquero has dedicated her time and energy to becoming an Associate Editor of this tri-annual journal and lent them her skills towards their continued success. As we well know, they’re lucky to be receiving her skills and abilities and we wish her continued success.

Find out more about the Annals of Dyslexia here: https://www.springer.com/journal/11881/editors

EBRL Graduate Student Receives Funding from NISE

Sponsored by a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) grant, the Neurodiversity Inspired Science & Engineering (NISE) program takes a novel approach to the training of engineers and scientists engaged in advancing the future of work at the human technology frontier. NISE engages students across STEM disciplines in the development, deployment, and commercialization of approaches and devices that support neurodiverse individuals and/or that are inspired by their abilities.

This year, our PhD student Andrea Burgess received funding from the National Science Foundation and Vanderbilt’s Frist Center for Autism and Innovation. In this fellowship program, neuroscience and engineering students work together to develop projects that support neurodiverse individuals, such as people with autism, dyslexia, and ADHD. No doubt she will use this funding to support her research and continue to contribute to the wealth of knowledge in our field.

Dr. Spencer Recognized by The International Dyslexia Association

Each year the International Dyslexia Association acknowledges the achievements of leading researchers and practitioners in the dyslexia field of research, as well as those of individuals with dyslexia who exhibit leadership and serve as role models in their communities. Dr. Mercedes Spencer of EBRL was recognized for her work and research by the IDA. She was awarded the Early Career Award for Contributions to Research. According to their website, the award is given to an early-career researcher and conference speaker “whose innovative research has had a positive impact on the lives of individuals with dyslexia.”

We’re more than happy to see her tireless efforts being recognized, but we’ll be even more excited to see where she goes from here and be there along the way to help her research thrive.

Dr. Aboud Receives OSNAP Award

After a two day virtual conference and a detailed presentation our very own Dr. Katherine Aboud achieved the National Institute of Health’s Outstanding Scholar of Neuroscience Award! The OSNAP award is designed to recognize and support senior pre-doctoral candidates and early stage post-doctoral fellows who are conducting exceptional research and have great academic potential in their scientific PhD programs across the nation.

As always, we are happy to have such academic scholars in our midst and continue to foster the forward drive and thinking that moves scientific research and understanding forward.

EBRL and Distant Research

We at EBRL hope that you are doing well during these challenging times, even as things continue to open and close.

In the past few weeks and months, we’ve been hard at work, doing data collection in tandem with many of our colleagues across the nation, switching to remote testing. Even though we’ve been stuck at home like so many of you, the research hasn’t stopped. Through remote tech, we’ve still been interacting with our participants and been collecting data as much as possible. Sadly, we are unable to take the MRI scanner home due to some portability issues (we’ll figure it out one day).

(Pictured Above, Portability Issues of a Giant Magnet like an MRI)

Anyways, though we are unable to take MRI data, there are still plenty of tests, games, and data we can collect with participants remotely. Soon, we might be able to start seeing participants in person again, but for now there’s plenty for us to do.

As always, you can check on the latest updates on Coronavirus from Vanderbilt at: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/coronavirus/

 

For now, it seems like we may be seeing participants as soon as Fall, but as always, we will be keeping our participants updated as things go along. If you have any questions or want to participate in one of our studies, you can always email us at educationbrain@vanderbilt.edu .

COVID-19 Response and Our Research

We at EBRL hope that you and yours are doing well and staying safe in this unprecedented health event going on in the United States and across the world.

 

The times we are in are difficult for research and we here at the Education and Brain Science Research Lab are committed to the health and safety of both the participants and staff of our lab. Vanderbilt University itself has implemented social distancing measures on campus to help reduce the spread of the COVID-19 (corona) virus into the further community and keep high risk individuals protected.  To that end, on campus visits for research have temporarily been suspended for the next few weeks and all staff are currently working virtually from home. We will keep in close contact with our currently scheduled participants in the upcoming weeks and keep them appraised of the situation as it develops, but if you would like to stay up to date on Vanderbilt’s response to the ongoing health crisis and find out more about how to protect yourself, go here: (https://www.vanderbilt.edu/coronavirus/)

 

We will be in close contact with our participants going forward, and will keep everyone informed as things progress. In the meantime, the lab has gone off-site in the best practice of social distancing. To help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus on your own, please see this guide on some general rules and guidelines that might help.