Speaker
Dr. Ellen Verhoef
Postdoctoral Researcher, Max Planck Institute
Biography
In 2016 I obtained a Msc in Medical Biology with honors from the Radboud University in Nijmegen. After this, I started a PhD in the population genetics of human communication group, one of the themes embedded in the Language and Genetics department. During my PhD, I will study the role of common genetic variation in early language under supervision of Dr. Beate St Pourcain and Prof. Dr. Simon E. Fisher. One of the aims of my PhD is to discover single genetic variants influencing early vocabulary (15-38 months). This work is part of the EAGLE consortium. In addition to this, I am interested in the genetic architecture of language and literacy across development. In this work I focus on questions as, for example, do genes influencing early vocabulary also influence reading skills later on. Finally, I am studying genetic overlap between early language and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.