معرفی
Elika Bergelson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, where she leads the Bergelson Lab (BLAB) within the Laboratory for Developmental Studies. Her research investigates how infants learn language from their surrounding linguistic, visual, and social environments. She previously held faculty positions at Duke University and the University of Rochester, and her work bridges developmental psychology, cognitive science, and linguistics.
- PhD in Psychology, University of Pennsylvania (2013)
- Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Rochester (2013–2014)
- Research Assistant Professor, University of Rochester (2014–2016)
- Assistant/Associate Professor, Duke University (2016–2022)
- Associate Professor, Harvard University (2023–present)
Her research focuses on early lexical development, particularly how infants comprehend words before they can speak. She is best known for identifying the “comprehension boost” — a rapid improvement in word understanding around 12–14 months. Using eye-tracking, EEG, corpus analysis, and behavioral methods, her lab explores how sensory input, social interaction, and language exposure shape learning. She also studies language development in blind and deaf/hard-of-hearing infants to understand the role of sensory modalities in acquisition.
The recent articles reflect a strong focus on naturalistic language input, cross-linguistic comparisons, and developmental mechanisms. Themes include the impact of parental talk, the relationship between tonal language experience and music processing, and the structure of early vocabularies. Her work increasingly incorporates large-scale data and cross-cultural collaboration, as seen in her PNAS and Science publications.
Scientific Awards:
- NIH Early Investigator Award
- FABBS Early Career Award
Bergelson mentors students and researchers at all levels and is committed to open science, sharing data via HOMEBANK, Databrary, and GitHub. She actively engages in science communication, with media features in the NIH Director’s Blog, BBC, ABC Australia, and Harvard Gazette. Her lab emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusivity in both research participation and training.
The Bergelson Lab is part of Harvard’s Laboratory for Developmental Studies and continues the SEEDLingS project’s legacy while expanding into new domains like atypical development and cross-linguistic studies.
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