Dyslexia Across Languages

Diane August, Ph.D., is an independent consultant as well as a senior research scientist at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C. At the Center for Applied Linguistics, she directs a large, federally funded study investigating the development of literacy in English language learners. She is also the Staff Director for the National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth. As an educational consultant, Dr. August has worked in the areas of literacy, program improvement, evaluation and testing, and federal and state education policy. She has been a senior program officer at the National Academy of Sciences and Study Director for the Committee on Developing a Research Agenda on the Education of Limited English Proficient and Bilingual Students. Dr. August worked for 10 years as a public school teacher and school administrator in California. Subsequently, she served as Legislative Assistant in the area of education for a United States Congressman from California, worked as a grants officer for the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and served as Director of Education for the Children's Defense Fund. In 1981, she received her doctorate in education from Stanford University, and in 1982, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in psychology, also at Stanford.

Dr. Fitch received her B.S. from Duke University and her Ph.D. inbiobehavioral sciences (concentration in developmental psychobiology)from The University of Connecticut. Her research centers onunderstanding how the disruption of early brain development underliessubsequent cognitive disabilities, with a particular focus onrisk factors for language-relevant skills. Topics of research includeanimal models of brain damage typical of premature and term birthinsult, as well as animal models for genetic risk factors associatedwith cognitive disability.

Dr. Lee is an experimental psychologist by training. He is working on the issues of reading acquisition, reading disabilities, reading instruction, and bilingualism.

Dr. LoTurco is Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology in Storrs, CT.

Peggy McCardle, Ph.D., M.P.H., Chief, Child Development and Behavior Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6100 Executive Boulevard, Suite 4B05, Rockville, MD 20852-7510. Dr. McCardle has been a classroom teacher and has served as faculty at various universities and as a speech-language pathologist in hospitals and medical centers.

In addition to her duties as Branch Chief, she directs the Language, Bilingualism and Biliteracy Program and developed various branch programs in literacy. She is a co-editor of several volumes and has served as guest editor of thematic journal issues on reading, bilingualism, and English language learner research. She is committed to the importance of ongoing research on child health, development, and learning and to ensuring that important research results are shared with the practice community so that they can improve the lives of children.

Senior Research Scientist, Haskins Laboratories, 270 Crown Street, New Haven, CT 06511. Dr. Mencl is an experimental psychologist whose background includes work in auditory perception, cognition, and neural network modeling. His current research applies functional neuroimaging techniques to investigate brain function.

Dr. Miller is Program Director of the Reading, Writing, and Related Learning Disabilities Program at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Miller previously held the position of Associate Research Scientist at the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, where he oversaw programs in adult literacy and math and science learning.

Research Scientist, Yale