Courtney E. Venker

Courtney E. Venker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University's College of Communication Arts and Sciences. She is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist and serves as director of the Lingo Lab in the Oyer Speech and Hearing Building on campus.

Her research focuses on language development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), specifically examining how auditory-visual integration supports word learning. Using standardized assessments, behavioral coding of parent-child interactions, and eye-gaze tracking methodologies, she investigates how adults modify speech for children with language delays. Her work aims to identify optimal communication strategies that enhance language acquisition in ASD populations through visual attention mechanisms and simplified input structures.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Early Career Research Award from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD/NIH)

Dr. Venker leads a 3-year NIH-funded project analyzing visual perceptual salience in word processing among toddlers and preschoolers with ASD, which supports her lab's mentoring of students in communicative sciences research. The Lingo Lab team employs advanced eye-tracking and behavioral analysis techniques to explore neurocognitive communication pathways, with findings featured in publications including JAMA Pediatrics.