Evie A. Malaia’s Lab for Neuroscience of Dynamic Cognition

Research in the Neuroscience of Dynamic Cognition lab is focused on modeling the neural bases of communication across language modalities (written, spoken, signed) and populations (autistic, Deaf, neurotypical).  Studies are designed to understand how people learn to transfer information using language, and how language acquisition and learning change brain organization in children and adults.  The laboratory uses a variety of research methods to accomplish this goal.

Our work is supported by the National Science Foundation, Marie Curie Action of European Commission,  ORAU Powe Jr. Faculty Enhancement Award, EURIAS Fellowship Programme, Alabama Life Research Institute, and Association for Psychological Science’s Fund for Teaching and Public Understanding of Psychological Science. 

International Society of Autism Research meeting

McCleod, M., Borneman, S., Malaia., E. (April 30 – May 5, 2025) Neurocomputational Correlates of Autism: Exploring 1/f Power andNarrowband EEG Activity across Genders. International Society for Autism Researh meeting (INSAR), Seattle, WA

Congratulations to Michelle – our Randall Outstanding Scholar!

Alabama Autism Conference

McCleod, M., Petrovski, P., Malaia., E. (February 28, 2025) Gendered Neural Mechanisms in Autism: Examining Theta Power and Social Behavior Correlations. Poster presented at the 23rd Annual Alabama Autism Conference, Tuscaloosa, AL.

Sansom, C., Hanks, G., Malaia., E. (February 28, 2025) Communication Apprehension and Empathy in Neurodiverse Social Interactions. Poster presented at the 23rd Annual Alabama Autism Conference, Tuscaloosa, AL.

Rocking it at Undergraduate Research Conference 2025 !

Speech and Hearing Association of Alabama meeting

McCleod, M., Malaia., E. (February 14, 2025) Neurocomputational phenotypes in female and male autistic individuals. Poster presented at the Speech and Hearing Association of Alabama (SHAA) Convention, Birmingham, AL.AY 2024-25

Undergraduate Students in the lab (Fall 2024 – Spring 2025):
Gwen Hanks – Nursing
Michelle McCleod – Randall program/Neuroscience
Keleigh Willis – Kinesiology
Carrie Sansom – Psychology
Paige Petrovski – CD/Speech, Language and Hearing
Emma Shore – CD/Speech, Language and Hearing
Reina Bell – Neuroscience/STEM to MBA

Spring 2025: Ashley Borkholder – CD/Speech, Language and Hearing