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Susan Goldin-Meadow
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Post-Docs

Dr. Nina Semushina

I defended my Ph.D. in Linguistics and Anthropogeny at UCSD. In my dissertation, I studied how the number systems of sign languages of deaf people are similar to and different from the number gestures of hearing cultures and the number systems of spoken languages in their typological, morphological, and processing aspects. Additionally, I explored the effects of early language deprivation on the acquisition of number, and I continue this line of research.

I am interested in the acquisition of numbers and mathematical concepts by children and adults and the role that language (signed or spoken) and gesture play in this process. Currently I am working in the lab on a project investigating how adults understand and use statistical concepts.

Email: nsemushina@uchicago.edu

Dr. Monica Do

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Chicago. My research uses experiments in language production to better understand the relationship between thought and language. Specifically, I investigate (i) how people decide what to say (and not say) about the world they see around them and (ii) how they map their conceptual representations of the world into the linguistic form required by their language. Website: https://voices.uchicago.edu/monicado/
Email: monicado@uchicago.edu

Dr. Amanda Seccia

Amanda received her B.A. in Psychology from Wilkes University in 2015 and her Ph.D. in the Department of Learning and Instruction at the University at Buffalo (UB) in 2021. Amanda managed the Pedagogy and Practice Lab at UB where she oversaw use of neuroimaging and psychophysiological measurement tools like functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG). Amanda’s work focused on bridging neuropsychology and education. She investigated epistemologies, roles, and knowledge bases that contribute to the disconnect between neuroscience and education. Amanda’s dissertation examined how researcher-practitioner partnerships help bridge the research-practice gap. She is interested in collaborating with educational practitioners to make connections from neuroscience research to comprehensive and transformational teaching practices. Amanda is a postdoctoral scholar in the ENL and Goldin-Meadow labs. Currently, her projects involve using fNIRS to study brain activity in children when learning a math lesson using nonverbal communication.