Carina Lüke

Carina Lüke is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Pedagogy and Intervention for Language and Communication Impairments at the Institute for Special Education within the Faculty of Human Sciences at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. Since August 2020, she has held this prestigious position, leading research and teaching in the field of language disorders and communication impairments. She also serves as the Representative for Equal Opportunities for Women in Science at the Faculty of Human Sciences, demonstrating her commitment to diversity and inclusion in academia.

Prof. Lüke earned her Doctor of Philosophy (summa cum laude) from Technical University of Dortmund in 2015, following a Master of Science in Clinical Linguistics from Bielefeld University in 2010. Her academic journey includes positions as Research Project Leader at Paderborn University (2018-2020), Visiting Professor at Heidelberg University of Education (2018-2019), and Research Project Leader at Technical University of Dortmund (2016-2018). She also spent time as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh in 2018.

Her research focuses on language and communication development, with particular emphasis on the definition and terminology of language development disorders, diagnosis and therapy for language development delays, multilingualism, supportive communication, and gesture research. She has made significant contributions to understanding how early gesture usage predicts later language abilities, and how multimodal approaches can enhance language learning for children with communication needs. Her work bridges theoretical understanding with practical applications in educational settings, especially in inclusive classrooms.

Her publication record reveals several key trends: a strong focus on developmental language disorders terminology and diagnostics, innovative approaches to language assessment (particularly through tools like the Mottier Test), and groundbreaking research on the role of gestures in language acquisition. Her work increasingly addresses multilingual contexts and the intersection of language development with other cognitive domains like theory of mind and metaphor comprehension. Recent publications highlight her leadership in developing clinical guidelines for language disorder interventions across German-speaking countries.

• Delphi-Study on Definition and Terminology of Developmental Language Disorders (2023-2024)
• German S3 Clinical Guideline on Interventions for Developmental Language Disorders (2024)
• Multilingual Assessment Tools Development (Mottier Test)
• Gesture Research in Language Acquisition

Prof. Lüke has secured research funding from major German funding bodies including the BMBF and DFG. Her research group includes doctoral students, research assistants, and collaborators across multiple institutions. She has developed practical materials for educators and clinicians, including 'Gesten und Gebärden zur Wortschatzförderung in Kita & Grundschule' (2024), which translates research into classroom applications.

Her research team at the University of Würzburg operates within the Chair of Pedagogy and Intervention for Language and Communication Impairments, conducting studies on projects including ModaKiS, Multitasking, SprESE, and STARKE STIMME macht SCHULE. The team collaborates with outpatient clinics, schools, and international research groups to translate findings into practical applications for children with language development disorders.