Mercedes Spencer

Mercedes Spencer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northwestern University's School of Communication. Her research focuses on cognitive-behavioral correlates of reading development and identification of reading comprehension difficulties in children.

• PhD in Psychology, Florida State University
• Postdoctoral training, Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University

Research interests include executive function in literacy development, structural equation modeling of reading disorders, and early intervention strategies. Her work combines latent variable modeling and meta-analysis to examine developmental trajectories and cognitive profiles associated with reading comprehension challenges.

Recent publications emphasize reading disorder prevalence, diagnostic classification frameworks, and cognitive correlates of literacy. She applies advanced statistical methods to address gaps in reading comprehension assessment and prevention.

Awards

• 2021 Rebecca L. Sandak Young Investigator Award (Society for the Scientific Study of Reading)
• 2020 Early Career Award for Contributions to Research (International Dyslexia Association)

Teaching responsibilities include statistics and experimental design courses (CSD 304 and CSD 404) for Communication Sciences and Disorders students. Affiliated with the Reading, Education, and Development Laboratory.