Julie Van Dyke, Ph.D.

Affiliations

Senior Scientist, Haskins Laboratories
Adjunct Professor, Department of Linguistics and Languages, McMaster University
Adjunct Doctoral Faculty, Program in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center

Education

Ph.D., Cognitive Psychology, University of Pittsburgh
M.Sc., Computational Linguistics, Carnegie Mellon University
B.A., Computer Science and Linguistics, University of Delaware

Research Interests

Dr. Van Dyke investigates the interaction of phonological, memory, and executive function abilities on reading and language comprehension across the life-span, with a special focus on language-based clinical disorders.  She utilizes eye-tracking methods to investigate natural reading behaviors and the speed-accuracy tradeoff technique to precisely characterize the dynamics of word retrieval and linguistic processing.  She also conducts experiments using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG/ERP) to determine the neurobiological basis of skilled and disabled reading. A driving hypothesis in her research relates to the pervasive reliance on memory retrieval during language processing and the role of similarity-based interference as the primary limitation on successful comprehension.

Representative Publications

For a full list of publications with links to PDFs go here:  https://drjvandyke.net/publications

Jäger, L. A., Mertzen, D., Van Dyke, J. A.,& Vasishth, S. (2019, April 10). Interference patterns in subject-verb agreement and reflexives revisited: A large-sample study. 

Kuperman, V., Matsuki, K., & Van Dyke, J.A (2018). Contributions of reader- and text-level characteristics to eye-movement patterns during passage reading. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition.

Kush, D., Johns, C. L., & Van Dyke, J. A. (2018). Prominence-sensitive pronoun resolution: New evidence from the speed-accuracy tradeoff procedure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 

Tan, Y., Martin, R.C., Van Dyke, J.A.(2017). Semantic and syntactic interference in sentence comprehension: A Comparison of Working Memory Models. Frontiers in Psychology,8, 198.  

Kuperman, V., Van Dyke, J.A.,Henry, R. (2016). Eye-movement control in RAN and Reading. Scientific Studies of Reading, 20(2), 173-188. 

Matsuki, K., Kuperman, V., Van Dyke, J.A.(2016) The Random Forests statistical technique as applied to the study of reading disability.  Invited submission for special issue of Scientific Studies of Reading, 20(1), 20-33.

Johns, C.L., Matsuki, K. & Van Dyke, J.A., (2015).  Poor readers’ retrieval mechanism: Efficient access is not dependent on reading skill. Frontiers in Psychology—Language Sciences, 6:1552. 

Kush, D. Johns, C.L., Van Dyke, J.A.(2015) Identifying the role of phonology in sentence-level reading difficulty. Journal of Memory and Language, 79-80, 18-29

Van Dyke, J.A., & Johns, C.L. Kukona, A.  (2014).  Low working memory capacity is only spuriously related to poor reading comprehension, Cognition, 131(3), 373-403. 

Glaser, Y.G., Martin, R.C., Van Dyke, J.A., Hamilton, A.C., Tan, Y. (2013).  Neural basis of semantic and syntactic interference resolution in sentence comprehension. Brain and Language, 126, 314-326.  

Kuperman, V., & Van Dyke, J.A. (2011a). Effects of individual differences in verbal skills on eye-movement patterns during sentence reading. Journal of Memory and Language, 65(1), 42-73.

Van Dyke, J.A. & McElree, B. (2011). Cue-dependent interference in comprehension. Journal of Memory and Language, 65, 247-263. 

Lewis, R.L., Vasishth, S., Van Dyke, J.A.(2006). Computational Principles of Working Memory in Sentence Comprehension. Trends in Cognitive Science, 10(10), 447-454.

Van Dyke, J.A.& McElree, B. (2006). Retrieval interference in sentence processing. Journal of Memory and Language, 55, 157-166.

Grant Support

Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health (R01-HD073288) “Retrieval interference in skilled and unskilled reading comprehension” 2012-2019

Principal Investigator, subcontract, National Institutes of Health (R56-AG-049733) “Effects of age-related declines in working memory on syntactic comprehension” (David Caplan, PI) 2015-2016

Investigator, National Institutes of Health (P01-HD001994) “Nature and Acquisition of the Speech Code and Reading” (Jay Rueckl, PI) 2012-2017

Investigator, National Institutes of Health (R01-HD-067364) “Second language literacy acquisition: Psycholinguistic and neuro-cognitive determinants” (Kenneth Pugh, PI) 2011-2016

Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health (R21-HD058944) “Individual differences in memory storage and retrieval during reading comprehension”
2009-2012

Investigator, National Institutes of Health (R01-HD-056200) “Memory mechanisms in support of language comprehension” (Brian McElree, PI) 2008-2013

Investigator, National Institutes of Health (R01-HD-040353) “Neurobehavioral Mechanisms in Reading Comprehension” (Donald Shankweiler, PI), 2005-2011