Genetics & Neurobiology of Language
July 30 - August 5, 2018
Application Deadline: April 15, 2018

Instructors:

Simon Fisher, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, The Netherlands
David Poeppel, Max-Planck-Institute, Frankfurt & New York University
Kate Watkins, University of Oxford, UK

See the roll of honor - who's taken the course in the past

 

Why are children able to acquire highly sophisticated language abilities without needing to be taught? What are the neurobiological  and neurophysiological processes that underpin human speech and language, and how do they go awry in developmental and acquired disorders? Which genetic factors contribute to this remarkable suite of human skills, and are there evolutionary precursors that we can study in other species? Can we trace connections between language skills and musicality? This unique CSHL course, in its third iteration, addresses these core questions about the bases and origins of speech and language, through talks, interactive sessions, keynotes and debates, involving leading experts from a range of disciplines. It integrates the state-of-the-art from complementary perspectives, including development, cognitive models, neural basis, gene identification, functional genomics, model systems and comparative/evolutionary studies.



Confirmed Speakers for 2018 course:

Jonathan BrennanUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor , MI
Anne Christophe, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, FRANCE
Ruth De Diego-Balaguer, University of Barcelona, Barcelona , SPAIN
Karen Emmorey, San Diego State University, CA
Evelina Fedorenko, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA
Tecumseh Fitch, University of Vienna, AUSTRIA
Reyna Gordon, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, TN
Erich Jarvis, Rockefeller University, NY
Ellen Lau, University of Maryland, MD
Mairead MacSweeney, University College London, UK
Brad Mahon, University of Rochester, NY
Angela Morgan, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, AUSTRALIA
Dianne Newbury, Oxford Brookes University, UK
Jonathan Peelle, Washington University in Saint Louis, MO
Constance Scharff, Freie Universität Berlin, GERMANY
Sonja Vernes, MPI for Psycholinguistics, NETHERLANDS

The course will be held at the Laboratory's Banbury Conference Center located on the north shore of Long Island. All participants stay within walking distance of the Center, close to tennis court, pool and private beach.

Support & Stipends

This course is supported with funds generously provided by: Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation

Stipends are available to offset tuition costs as follows:

       

Interdisciplinary Fellowships (transitioning from outside biology)  & Scholarships (transitioning from other biological disciplines) (Helmsley Charitable Trust)
International applicants (Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

Please indicate your eligibility for funding in your stipend request submitted when you apply to the course. Stipend requests do not affect selection decisions made by the instructors. 

Cost (including board and lodging): $2,710 

No fees are due until you have completed the full application process and are accepted into the course. Students accepted into the course should plan to arrive by early evening on July 29 and plan to depart after lunch on August 5.

Before applying, ensure you have 1) Personal statement/essay; 2) Letter(s) of recommendation; 3) Curriculum vitae/resume (optional); 4) Financial aid request (optional). More details


If you are not ready to fully apply but wish to express interest in applying, receive a reminder two weeks prior to the deadline, and tell us about your financial aid requirements, click below: