PhD Candidate, Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience
Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery
Research Interests: Perinatal and Adult Stroke, Neuroplasticity, Language Network Development
Advisors: Elissa Newport, PhD, Peter Turkeltaub, MD, PhD
Rotations: Elissa Newport, PhD, Peter Turkeltaub, PhD, Rhonda Friedman, PhD
Prior Education: Novosibirsk State University, Southern Illinois University
Natalya graduated from Novosibirsk State University, Russia, where she received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in Philology. During her graduate studies, Natalya focused on psycholinguistics analyzing the structure and contents of the mental lexicon of Russian and French speakers. Soon after graduation, Natalya received the Fulbright Graduate Student Fellowship and continued her education at Southern Illinois University. There she received an M.A. degree in Linguistics in May 2021. While studying at SIU, Natalya developed her interest in the neural bases of language and started conducting research at the Child Assessment in Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Lab with Dr. Michele Kibby. Natalya investigated the role of the middle frontal gyrus in the working memory of children with ADHD and Reading Disorder. In the summer of 2021, Natalya received the Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship, which supported her summer internship at the Georgetown Brain and Language Lab directed by Dr. Michael Ullman. Natalya worked on a project investigating how language abilities change throughout the lifespan. In summer 2022, Natalya joined the IPN. She is now a fifth year PhD Candidate working with Drs. Elissa Newport and Peter Turkeltaub. Her work focuses on the development of the language network from infancy into adulthood, as well as on the language network reorganization following perinatal stroke.