Award recognizes young researchers pushing the boundaries of science I-LABS faculty, Dr. Christina Zhao was recognized as a finalist for the 2024 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. This prestigious award recognizes early-career researchers whose innovative research pushes the boundaries of science and aims to address the fundamental questions at the intersection of the life and social sciences. The award recognizes scientists doing interdisciplinary … Read More
New Research: Mother-infant face-to-face interaction in a 2-brain experiment at three months shows neural synchrony between the two brains, which predicts word production at 15 months
Dr. Yaara Endevelt-Shapira and colleagues presented research results in a poster at the 2025 Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD conference). The poster is titled “How mother-infant inter-brain synchrony is affected by the context of the interaction and speech input?” In this result, Mother-infant face-to-face interaction in a 2-brain experiment at three months shows neural synchrony between the two … Read More
Dr. Kuhl Briefs United States Congress
In May, I-LABS Co-Director, Dr. Patricia Kuhl, shared the latest research about early childhood learning and brain development with members of the US Senate and House of Representatives at an event hosted by the Aspen Institute. The Aspen Institute Congressional Program is a nongovernmental, nonpartisan educational program. It provides Senators and Representatives the opportunity to delve into complex and pressing … Read More
Psychology Today article on gender stereotypes and STEM an “Essential Read.”
Psychology Today article on gender stereotypes and STEM an “Essential Read.” Allison Master’s article, When It Comes to Gender Stereotypes, Not All STEM Fields Are the Same, was positioned as an Essential Read by Psychology Today editors. This article summarizes the most recent work on gender and STEM stereotypes, a study done in collaboration by researchers at the University of Houston and … Read More
STEM Stereotypes are not the same
New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences suggests that it may be time to re-evaluate how we think about STEM stereotypes. Researchers based at University of Houston and University of Washington found a big difference in stereotypes. Both girls and boys felt like computer science and engineering is “for boys.” However the researchers did not see … Read More
Rodolfo Cortes Barragan’s research on night sky visibility is one of the most downloaded articles of the year.
I-LABS scientist Dr. Rodolgo Cortes Barragan published one of the most downloaded articles in Scientific Reports. The article, which focuses on how the ability to see the stars impacts our curiosity and wonder about the universe, was one of the Top 100 downloaded Sustainability papers published in Scientific Reports last year. In the study, I-LABS scientists Rodolfo Cortes Barragan and Andrew Meltzoff … Read More
Christina Zhao wins prestigious NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award
The NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award recognizes outstanding early-career researchers. I-LABS faculty, Dr. Christina Zhao is a finalist for the 2024 NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award. This prestigious award recognizes early-career researchers who ask fundamental questions at the intersection of the life and social sciences. The award recognizes scientists doing interdisciplinary work that promotes cross-field collaboration and researchers … Read More
Accelerated brain maturation shown in teens post-pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic produced dramatic changes in the daily lives of adolescents, and these changes were particularly detrimental for teens’ academic, social, and emotional development. Using brain measures (Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI), I-LABS scientists studied the structure of the brain in teens ranging in age from 9 to 20 years, both before and after the pandemic. Brain maturation is … Read More
New research compares speech and music in babies’ environment
First controlled study on speech vs. music yields surprises I-LABS scientists sought a snapshot of infants’ auditory environments. Unlike previous research which documents the amount of speech and language that infants hear, no previous work looked at the amount of music infants hear. Results showed that infants hear more spoken language than music, with the gap widening as the babies get … Read More
New Research: Infants’ brain responses to adult social interaction at 5 months predicts language development at 2.5 years of age.
New insights into the neurobiology of language learning Whether you’re in Tokyo, Madrid, or Seattle, seeing a parent interact with a baby produces a heartwarming scene – the parent uses a high-pitched voice (often called ‘parentese’), reacts positively to the baby’s babbling and gestures, and often makes eye contact and smiles. Babies are riveted by this “social ensemble.” But why? … Read More