Ardi Roelofs

Ardi Roelofs is a Full Professor at the School of Psychology at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, where he has held this position since 2013. He is also a Principal Investigator at the Centre for Cognition of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, and a Research Associate of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen. His academic career spans over three decades, with previous positions including Associate Professor at Radboud University (2009-2013), Senior researcher at Nijmegen Institute for Cognition and Information, and various roles at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.

Roelofs earned his Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD degrees (all with highest distinction) in Experimental Psychology from Radboud University. Following a postdoctoral year at MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (1992-1993), he held positions at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and the University of Exeter before returning to Radboud University.

His research focuses on the neurocognitive mechanisms of language and its relationship with other cognitive abilities, particularly attention. Roelofs leads the Attention and Language Performance laboratory, which examines basic language performance including word production, comprehension, repetition, and reading. His work spans healthy bilingual adults, typically developing children, children with language impairment, and adults with aphasia due to stroke or neurodegenerative disease. A central aspect of his research involves computational modeling, particularly through the WEAVER++ model and its neurocognitive extension WEAVER++/ARC, which synthesizes behavioral psycholinguistic, functional neuroimaging, tractographic, and aphasiological evidence.

Analysis of Roelofs' 15 most recent publications reveals a strong focus on the intersection of language production, cognitive control, and attentional mechanisms. His work spans theoretical modeling, electrophysiological studies, clinical applications for aphasia, and developmental aspects of language processing. A consistent theme is the examination of how attentional processes influence language production across different populations and contexts, with significant contributions to understanding bilingual language control, semantic interference effects, and executive functions in speech production.

• 2003 VICI grant: Flagship grant from Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), awarded to top 10% of researchers
• 1993 Erasmus Prize for dissertation "Lemma Retrieval in Speaking: A theory, computer simulations, and empirical data"
• 1992 NWO TALENT grant for postdoctoral fellowship at MIT
• Multiple cum laude distinctions for all academic degrees (BSc, MSc, PhD)

Roelofs has coordinated numerous research projects, including the NWO VICI project "Goal-referenced control of verbal and nonverbal actions" (2004-2009) and multiple PhD projects under the NWO "Language in Interaction" consortium. He served as Director of the Master of Cognitive Neuroscience Program at Radboud University from 2013-2018. His laboratory, the Attention and Language Performance laboratory, collaborates with several institutions including the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Royal Dutch Kentalis, the Radboudumc Alzheimer Centre and Parkinson Centre, and the Sint Maartenskliniek. Notable outputs from his lab include the screening test SYDBAT-NL and therapy app SimpTell for aphasia. Since 2019, Roelofs has been gradually reducing his teaching and research activities due to incurable cancer, though he continues to contribute to the field.