Meet The Team!

Rebecca Marks, Ph.D

Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Science

Dr. Marks is an Assistant Professor in Human Development and Family Science. She uses behavioral and functional neuroimaging methods (fMRI and fNIRS) to study word processing and reading development in typical readers and children with learning disorders.

Dr. Marks came to Purdue as new faculty in 2025. She received her Ph.D. in Education & Psychology from the University of Michigan, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT.

Dr. Marks is accepting Ph.D. students in the 2025-2026 cycle.

Erin Dickinson

Erin is a recent graduate of Wellesley College, where she majored in Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences and Education. As an undergraduate, she was a member of the track team, and involved in the figure skating club, orchestra, and marching band at Boston College.
She worked on the READ study at MIT as an undergraduate research assistant, which is where she became interested in reading and cognition in children with different learning abilities. She is excited to continue this research with Dr. Marks! 

Kelsey Davison

Kelsey is a postdoctoral researcher in the Marks Lab. She recieved a Ph.D. in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Boston University, conducting research at the intersection of language & literacy development, cognitive neuroscience, and speech acoustics. Prior to her doctoral training, Kelsey served as a volunteer with the Peace Corps in rural Paraguay and earned her Ed.M. at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Her research interests center on identifying contextual factors that promote early language development among monolingual and bilingual children at risk for language and literacy disorders. As a geography nerd at heart, she spends her free time exploring trails and lakes of the Midwest with her partner and poodle.

Hyohyun Shin

Hyohyun is a Ph.D. student in Human Development and Family Sciences at Purdue University, where she works as a research assistant in the Marks Lab. Before beginning her doctoral studies, she worked as a kindergarten teacher in South Korea. Her research interests focus on children’s language and literacy development, particularly on ways to support literacy skills among preschoolers and kindergartners.

Jaela Haslett

Jaela is an undergraduate research assistant attending Purdue University as a senior. She majors in Early Childhood Education and Exceptional Needs, with a minor in Management.

Katrina Burras

Katrina (Kat) is an undergraduate research assistant attending Purdue University as a senior. She majors in Human Services, with a minor in Psychology.

Ella Treviño

Ella is an undergraduate research assistant attending Purdue University as a junior. She majors in Psychological Sciences with a minor in HDFS.

Samaira Lee

Samaira is an undergraduate research assistant attending Purdue University as a sophmore. She majors in Brain and Behavioral Sciences and volunteers with various campus organizations.

Kati Beck

Kati is an undergraduate research assistant attending Purdue University as a sophmore. She majors in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences with an HDFS minor.

Lynna Shanor

Lynna is an undergraduate research assistant attending Purdue University as a sophmore. She majors in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences with minors in HDFS and Linguistics.