Babilou Family’s Post

Understanding the experiences of neurodivergent research students No surprises here for those of us who are neurodivergent research students — just powerful confirmation of what we have long known and felt. Tan et al. (2025) have published a systematic review in Studies in Higher Education that synthesizes 31 studies on the doctoral and master’s experience of neurodivergent students. The findings resonate deeply: the weight of hidden curricula, the exhaustion of navigating ableist structures, the precarity, the unspoken norms, and the paradox of thriving and struggling simultaneously. The review identifies eight key themes — from academic culture and executive functioning to sensory environments, disclosure, and mental health — and calls for systemic change through universal design, co-produced policies, and the valuing of neurodivergent scholarship. For many of us, this isn’t new information, it’s lived experience, now evidenced in peer-reviewed form. Still, it’s validating to see our realities named and researched so rigorously. Thank you to Tan et al. for bringing scholarly weight and clarity to what some of us neurodivergent postgraduates and early-career researchers have felt for years. https://lnkd.in/eSZFJ8yb #NeurodivergentResearchers #PhDLife #NeurodiversityInAcademia #InclusiveEducation #ResearchCulture #LivedExperienceResearch #EquityInAcademia

The University of Michigan helped reignite the research career of cancer survivor Suzanne Perkins, who has planned her career around the insight that education plays a key role in recovery for children who have been maltreated. An estimated 37 percent of children in the U.S. are referred for investigation of abuse or neglect in their lifetimes, often leading to well-documented cognitive and academic deficits that last until adulthood. Perkins, Research Assistant Professor with the Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD) at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, has received a 5-year (K01) career award from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to develop a theory of the brain mechanisms that underlie the impact of childhood maltreatment on cognitive functioning. She will test these ideas using fMRI brain scanning, and share insights that could craft the future of learning for children at risk. The findings could directly help kids who struggle in school because of deficits in executive functioning, like planning, memory, and focus. Read more about Suzanne Perkins's reignited research career, and look to Michigan for exemplars of life-changing education: https://myumi.ch/9pWk3 University of Michigan Marsal Family School of Education University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts University Of Michigan Department Of Psychology Hampshire College #LifeChangingEducation #GoBlue

This Center for Healthy Aging colloquium brought together interdisciplinary aging-related researchers at Penn State University last week to discuss topics ranging from how long-lived mammals adapt/ tolerate disease to sleep health. #PennStateResearch #Interdisciplinary #Aging #Collaboration

A Stanford-led study found that children attending higher-performing schools show faster white matter development — the brain’s wiring that supports communication and learning — particularly in regions linked to reading skills. This means a strong school environment doesn’t just boost grades — it may actually shape the brain’s structure itself. 📚✨ #ChildDevelopment #EducationResearch #Neuroscience #Learning #BrainDevelopment #StanfordResearch Link https://lnkd.in/gGU8vHE8

How does wildfire smoke impact early childhood development? CIFAR researchers in the Child & Brain Development program are leading a first-of-its-kind study on how wildfire smoke affects babies exposed in utero. This research, led by Fellow Michael S. Kobor (The University of British Columbia) and in collaboration with Program Co-Director Thomas McDade (Northwestern University), offers urgent insights into the lasting health impacts on children. 💡 Learn more about their work in CIFAR’s 2024-2025 Impact Report: https://cifarimpact.ca/ #TheNextLeapStartsHere

New research from Northwestern Professor of Anthropology Thomas McDade with CIFAR colleagues in British Columbia will help shape future policies to better protect pregnant women and newborns during wildfire seasons. #NUGrantSuccess Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University

PhD students are the future of academia. They are trained to conduct independent research and lead the next generation of projects that drive our disciplines forward. But academia is not only about research. Teaching is a vital part of many academic careers, and many PhD students aspire to make teaching a central part of their professional identity. Furthermore, many PhD students play a crucial role in delivering our undergraduate and masters' programmes. So enhancing their skills also means a higher quality learning experience for all our students. It’s the responsibility of academics to nurture this potential by offering meaningful opportunities for PhD students who not only want to teach, but who want to excel as educators. Crucially, we need to do this within our professional disciplines, embedding teaching development in the specific contexts, methods and challenges that make our subjects unique. And we must do this in way that respects and protects their research time, ensuring that teaching development complements – rather than competes with – their doctoral work. ...and that's why today we've launched GEDS. A new initiative to support the development of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) across the School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London. Stay tuned for updates as our first cohort progresses through the programme. With Claire Heard

'University’s world-leading research in brain science and mental health.' We need to start looking at science as a global collaboration that has taken place over thousands of years if considering an understanding of what leads to mental health. The underlying drive of Science and Scientist is to arrive at the correct solution not to win an election. In a very real sense - claiming to be the world leading centre in research into the mind - propagates a way of thinking (common amongst politicians) of life as a competition - which itself is responsible for rapid deterioration in mental health.

Before we had frameworks, assessments, or structured literacy… we had pioneers who saw what others missed. Their early observations sparked the scientific inquiry that still guides evidence-based reading instruction today: - Adolph Kussmaul (1877): First described “word blindness” — noting that individuals with normal intelligence and vision could still experience significant reading challenges. - Rudolf Berlin (1887): Introduced the term “dyslexia,” combining Greek roots meaning “difficulty with language.” - William Pringle Morgan (1896): Published one of the earliest clinical case studies documenting developmental dyslexia in a child. These pioneers helped shift dyslexia from a misunderstood struggle to a recognized learning difference grounded in neurological research. Today, organizations like Dyfference Makers build on that foundation — empowering families, supporting educators, and creating evidence-aligned tools to help every reader thrive. We’re thankful for the past, energized for the future, and committed to continuing this important work. #DyfferenceMakers #DyslexiaAwareness #LiteracyResearch #EducationLeadership #EvidenceBasedInstruction #Neuroscience #NonprofitImpact #MakeADyfference

In the Graduate College, we often see our students and postdoctoral fellows presenting their research at conferences and meetings across the country. Recently, one of our own had the opportunity to do the same. Jessica (John) Newhouse, Senior Student Program Coordinator for the Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, is also pursuing her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. She recently presented her research at the biennial 2025 Scholarly Consortium for Innovative Psychology in Education (SCIPIE) conference, held on the Norman campus. Her poster explored teacher burnout and examined whether the strong sense of value teachers place on their profession can help offset the significant psychological demands of the job. The conference brought together educational psychologists from across the nation to exchange ideas, advance the study of learning, and develop innovative approaches to research in the field. Jessica’s participation not only highlights her dedication to her own academic growth but also reflects the spirit of scholarship and curiosity that defines the Graduate College community.