Laurie Bayet

Dr. Laurie Bayet is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at American University's College of Arts and Sciences. She leads the Bayet Lab, a developmental cognitive neuroscience research group focused on understanding how infants and young children learn to interpret complex visual objects, particularly those relevant to affective and social communication. Her laboratory combines electro-encephalography (EEG), behavioral methods, and computational tools to investigate infant cognitive development and high-level vision.

Dr. Bayet's research focuses on two primary areas: (1) the early development of high-level visual representations in comparison to computational models of vision, and (2) the perception and understanding of affective communication. Her work examines how infants represent complex visual objects, how they perceive facial expressions, and how these processes develop over time. Through behavioral studies, neuroimaging, and computational modeling, her lab investigates the neural mechanisms underlying infant visual cognition and social-emotional development.

Dr. Bayet's research program has been recognized with prestigious awards including a Rising Star award from the Association for Psychological Science (APS) and a Distinguished Early Career Contribution Award from the International Congress of Infant Studies. Her work is currently funded by the National Science Foundation, a NARSAD Young Investigator Award from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, a Toffler Scholar Award from the Karen Toffler Charitable Trust, and American University.

• Rising Star award from the Association for Psychological Science (APS)
• Distinguished Early Career Contribution Award from the International Congress of Infant Studies

Dr. Bayet actively mentors students at various levels, including PhD candidates, master's students, undergraduate research assistants, and honors capstone students. She teaches courses including Cognitive Neuroscience with Lab (NEUR-310), Neuroscience as a Profession (NEUR-489), and Doctoral Dissertation courses (NEUR-899). Her lab, located in the Asbury building on American University's main campus in Washington DC, conducts in-lab studies using eye-tracking, EEG, and behavioral methods, as well as online studies for remote participation.

The Bayet Lab collaborates with families in the DC area, conducting research with infants and young children to better understand visual and social cognitive development. The lab is currently recruiting for several studies, including "Baby, Baby, What Do You See?" which examines how babies recognize everyday objects, and home-based studies examining early social learning.