Matthew Dye

Matthew Dye is a Professor of Liberal Studies at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) within Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He directs the joint Ph.D. program in Cognitive Science at RIT and leads the NTID SPACE Center. Dye also holds an adjunct appointment in Neuroscience at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). His educational background includes a B.Sc. (Hons.) from Manchester Polytechnic (UK), an M.Sc. from the University of Stirling (UK), and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Southampton (UK). His postdoctoral research at the University of Rochester (2002-2009) focused on brain and cognitive sciences, particularly in British Sign Language psycholinguistics.

Dye’s research explores how deafness influences visual and multi-sensory processing, with a focus on selective attention, neuroplasticity, and sign language structure. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He teaches courses in RIT’s Psychology undergraduate program and oversees the Rochester Postdoctoral Partnership, a mentoring initiative for deaf and hearing scholars.

His research highlights include studies on crossmodal plasticity in cochlear implant users, visual attention differences in deaf individuals, and the impact of sign language on facial expression recognition. Dye actively participates in interdisciplinary collaborations, including the deaf 𝑥 lab, which investigates deaf-centric approaches to cognitive development and visual processing.

Key achievements include membership in an NIH review group (2020) and leadership roles in programs like the Rochester Bridges to the Doctorate, aimed at supporting deaf students in biomedical sciences. Dye’s labs, such as the GeoLab and STAR Lab, utilize advanced neuroimaging and eye-tracking technologies to advance understanding of deaf cognition.