Abstract: Children with reading disabilities (RD) often have co-occurring challenges such as specific learning disabilities in mathematics (MD) or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Yet neurocognitive studies of dyslexia typically examine reading in isolation. This leaves an open question: Are co-occurring learning challenges associated with poorer reading than RD alone? This talk will unite two separate studies of brain and behavior in co-occurring RD+MD and RD+ADHD, and their replication in a large, independent dataset. Findings deepen our understanding of the intersecting challenges that face vulnerable learners to inform educational practice and advance a more nuanced understanding of neurodiversity.

Bio: Rebecca Marks is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science at Purdue University. She is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist studying the brain bases of language and reading across diverse learners. Dr. Marks received her Ph.D. from the Combined Program in Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan in 2021. As a postdoctoral fellow, she held appointments at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, and as an adjunct lecturer on education at Harvard University. Her postdoctoral work was funded by an NIH F32 fellowship titled Neurocognitive Foundations of Morphological Processing in Dyslexia. In 2024, she was awarded the Rebecca L. Sandak Young Investigator award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading. She has received university-wide recognition for teaching excellence as well as grant funding for successful mentors of minority women in STEM.