Updates From The NERD Lab

Kicking off the academic year with a strong start, our team shared fresh insights on language, gesture, and neurodevelopment this month at two conferences this month: the Society for the Neurobiology of Language (SNL 2025), held at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC (September 12–14), and the 20th Annual Thompson Center Autism Conference (TCC), held in St. Charles, MO (September 11–12). Across our posters, lab members highlighted ongoing work on gesture–speech integration, tone learning, and neural measures of language processing—continuing our lab’s mission to link multimodal communication with real-world outcomes.

We are so proud of to have our lab director Dr. Laura M. Morett and PhD Research Assistant Rylan Batten present at SNL 2025, and we are also proud of our newest lab member PhD Research Assistant April Heien made her presentation debut at TCC.

• Farran, B.M., Sheinkopf, S.J., & Morett, L. M. (2025, September). Neural Bases of Gesture and Speech Processing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An fNIRS Study. Presented at the 17th annual meeting of the Society for Neurobiology of Language in, Washington, D.C.

• Batten, R., Farran, B.M., & Morett, L. M. (2025, September). The Effect of of Pitch Gestures on Sensitivity to Lexical Tone: An N400 Study. Presented at the 17th annual meeting of the Society for Neurobiology of Language in, Washington, D.C.

• Heien, A., Nguyen D., & Morett, L. M. (2025, September). Relating the Neural Mechanisms of Social Processing Impairments to Gesture-Speech Integration Difficulties in ASD: A Pilot Study. Presented at the 20th annual Thompson Center Conference in St. Charles, MO.

🧠 International Society of Gesture Studies 2025

Our lab director Dr. Laura M. Morett presented a poster and two talks from three NERD Lab accepted submissions at ISGS 2025 in Nijmegen, Netherlands, sharing insights from our ongoing research on gesture and language. 

Dr. Morett presented two talks:

• Batten, R., Farran, B.M., & Morett, L. M. (2025, July). Congruent pitch gestures enhance the phonological and semantic processing of L2 Mandarin words in L1 English speakers. Presented at the 10th meeting of the International Society of Gesture Studies in, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

• Farran, B.M., Sheinkopf, S.J., & Morett, L. M. (2025, July). Neural Mechanisms of Multimodal Communication in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Insights from Gesture-Speech Integration. Presented at the 10th meeting of the International Society of Gesture Studies in, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

As well as one poster:

• Nguyen, D., Young, S.E., Earle F.S., & Morett, L. M. (2025, July). Observing Pitch Gestures Facilitates Delayed L2 Lexical Tone Categorization an Discrimination in Novel Words. Presented at the 10th meeting of the International Society of Gesture Studies in, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

🧠 New fNIRS Experiment Development 

We also welcomed summer volunteer Niles Johnson who collaborated with Bash (our postdoctoral researcher) and Derrick (our lab manager) on a new fNIRS project. This newer study is set to run later this year and will expand our understanding of neural responses during language processing. Stay tuned for more updates as the project unfolds!

We are thrilled to share that our incredible lab director, Dr. Laura M. Morett, has been officially promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the University of Missouri!

This well-deserved recognition reflects Dr. Morett's outstanding contributions to research, teaching, and service. The promotion will take effect on September 1st, 2025. Congratulations Dr. Morett on this exciting milestone!

On June 9th, several faculty, staff, and graduate student members of the department came to celebrate Dr. Laura M. Morett’s promotion! The lab wouldn’t be what it is without her leadership, insight, and steady guidance — congrats, Dr. Morett!

At our final lab meeting of the semester, mentors presented parting gifts to our graduating seniors in recognition of their hard work and contributions. Dr. Laura M. Morett presented to Sydney Turner, and Rylan Batten presented to Hanna Keeter. We are incredibly proud of both graduates and thrilled that they will be continuing their academic journeys in the Master’s program here at Mizzou. We look forward to seeing them around campus next year!

At the Senior Send Off event held in Clark Hall May 7th, NERD Lab member Sydney Turner was honored for being selected to present at the Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri. Additionally, MSHA presenters were recognized for their achievements including Turner and fellow NERD Lab member Hanna Keeter. We are proud to celebrate our graduating seniors, Sydney Turner and Hanna Keeter, for their outstanding contributions and accomplishments within the lab and beyond. Their dedication and hard work have been invaluable to our lab, and we wish them continued success in their future endeavors.

We are proud to announce that Dr. Laura M. Morett was recognized for receiving the Fulbright scholarship at the Faculty Recognition Awards Ceremony at the State Historical Society of Missouri on May 2, co-hosted by President Choi and Provost Martens. This event celebrated faculty achievements in teaching, research, service, leadership, and extension, highlighting Dr. Morett's exceptional contributions to international research and collaboration.

Dr. Bashar M. Farran recently presented the lab's work at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting held in Seattle, Washington of May 2025. INSAR, dedicated to promoting and disseminating high-quality autism research globally, convenes this scientific meeting each year to exchange and showcase new scientific progress among autism research scientists and their trainees from around the world. Dr. Farran's presentation contributed to the ongoing efforts to advance understanding and practices in the field of autism research.

Lab Director Dr. Laura M. Morett participated as a panelist in a College of Health Sciences research panel moderated by Dr. Nick Smith in Clark Hall. She was joined by Dr. Trent Guess (Physical Therapy), Dr. Idethia Shevon Harvey (Health Sciences), and Dr. Bill Janes (Occupational Therapy). Dr. Morett represented the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) department, contributing valuable insights to the discussion.

During the Honors College Spring Awards ceremony, lab member Sydney Turner was honored with the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award. The event, held on April 15 at the State Historical Society of Missouri, celebrated the exceptional achievements of students pursuing the Honors Certificate, alongside awards for distinguished faculty and campus partners.

This semester, the NERD Lab submitted five projects to present at Mizzou's 2025 Show Me Research Week! NERD Lab Undergraduate Research Assistants Cait Deutsch and Sydney Turner presented solo poster presentations, while Hanna Keeter and Lauren Holzwarth presented a project as a pair, and Allana Chitwood and Shauna Norgaard as another pair. Additionally, Rylan Batten, MHS, CCC-SLP, presented a solo presentation. We are incredibly proud of everyone, including both returning and new lab members, who had the opportunity to represent the lab!

We are proud to announce that Dr. Laura M. Morett was recognized at the State of the College of Health Science 2025 event. The NERD Lab was featured multiple times, highlighting our advanced lab equipment, the contributions of our dedicated undergraduate researchers, and Dr. Morett's prestigious Fulbright award. During this photograph, the Dean highlighted lab member Sydney Turner alongside Dr. Laura M. Morett at Jefferson City's 2025 Undergraduate Research Day where Sydney presented on one of our lab's project to key stakeholders. This recognition underscores the impactful work being done at the NERD Lab and Dr. Morett's exceptional leadership and achievements.

The NERD Lab submitted two accepted projects to present at the 2025 Missouri Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MSHA) Convention in Kansas City, Missouri this past weekend on April 5th. Undergraduate research assistants Hanna Keeter and Lauren Holzwarth presented on impacts of gesture with accented narratives while undergraduate research assistant Sydney Turner presented on impacts of gestures within video conferencing settings like Zoom. Read more about MSHA 2025 here!

We are proud to announce that our Lab Director has been recognized as a notable alum by her high school. Her alma mater celebrated her achievements and posted about her on Facebook, highlighting her contributions to the field. Congratulations to Dr. Laura M. Morett on this well-deserved honor!

The NERD Lab submitted two accepted projects to present at the 38th Annual Conference on Human Sentence Processing. Held from March 27-29, 2025, at the University of Maryland College Park, this prestigious event brought together leading experts in psycholinguistics and related fields to discuss the latest advancements.

PhD Researcher Rylan Batten, MHS, CCC-SLP, and Lab Manager Derrick Nguyen showcased the lab's recent work on gestures, language processing, and lexical tone acquisition. For more information about the conference, visit the Human Sentence Processing Society.

Dr. Laura M. Morett recently organized a symposium at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) held in Denver, Colorado, from March 21-24, 2025,  further contributing to the academic discourse on gesture and language learning. This conference brought together leading experts in applied linguistics to discuss the latest advancements in the field.

• Morett, L. M., & Stam, G. (2025, March). Methodological considerations for gesture selection and coding in L2 acquisition research. Presented at the 52nd annual meeting of the American Association for Applied Linguistics, Denver, CO.

As part of the symposium, Dr. Morett presented a talk:

• Morett, L. M. (2025, March). Selecting gestures emphasizing sound and meaning in L2 words. Presented at the 52nd annual meeting of the American Association for Applied Linguistics, Denver, CO.

For more information about the conference, visit the AAAL 2025 Conference.