Haskins Laboratories
The Science of the Spoken and Written Word
Yale-UConn Haskins Global Literacy Hub
Haskins Laboratories is an independent, international, multidisciplinary community of researchers who conduct basic and applied research on spoken and written language and related topics. Exchanging ideas, fostering collaborations, and forging partnerships across the sciences, it has produced groundbreaking research that enhances our understanding of—and reveals ways to improve or remediate—speech perception and production, reading and reading disabilities, and human communication. We continue to serve as an intellectual and resource hub as we actively develop future opportunities and collaborations .
Richard Aslin elected to the British Academy.
On July 18, 2024, Richard Aslin, Senior Research Scientist/Senior Lecturer at the Yale Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine, was elected an international member of the British Academy. Prior to joining the Child Study Center, he was a Senior Research Scientist at Haskins Laboratories. Here is the list of new fellows (which includes Catherine Snow and Eve Clark). This is a wonderful, and well-deserved honor. Congratulations, Dick!!
Yale and Uconn announce the Haskins Global Literacy Hub to help improve literacy outcomes locally and globally.
University of Connecticut Waterbury is partnering with the Yale School of Medicine Child Study Center and UConn Global Affairs to form the Haskins Global Literacy Hub to help improve literacy outcomes locally and globally. The new partnership was first announced Tuesday, Apr. 23, 2024, during the second annual WISHfest at the Palace Theater in Waterbury. (See the story in the Republic-American.)
The Haskins Global Literacy Hub is a collaborative initiative focused on bridging the gap between basic scientific research and practical, global efforts to improve literacy. It operates as a multi-institutional network, with key centers at Yale University’s Child Study Center, led by Linda Mayes (referred to as the “Global Literacy Hub” at Yale), and at UConn Waterbury, led by Fumiko Hoeft, as well as UConn Storrs/Global, led by Dan Weiner (referred to as the “Haskins Global Literacy Hub” at UConn). With a global reach, the Hub promotes cross-cultural literacy research and educational outreach. The literacy hubs at Yale and UConn are unified under a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed in April 2024, and continue to be led by Ben Powers, Maureen Lovett, and Jay Russell.
In parallel, Haskins Laboratories coexists with the Haskins Global Literacy Hub, operating under the same structure at both Yale and UConn with global institutional partners and researchers, and under the same MOU. It is co-led by Vince Gracco, Jay Rueckl, Nicole Landi, Fumiko Hoeft, and Ken Pugh. Haskins Laboratories has a long-standing interdisciplinary focus on speech, language, and reading, contributing to our understanding of the biological basis of language and literacy, from brain mechanisms to learning processes. The Labs are supported by Yale, UConn, and numerous grants, and host collaborative research projects and the Haskins Seminar Series.
Soon we will be requesting information related to:
1. Joining our LISTSERV: — a newly integrated Haskins Listserv operated by UConn; and
2. Information on how to continue Haskins Labs/Global Affiliate Scientist/Educator Status.
Stay tuned! More coming soon!!
Haskins Seminar Series.
Jonathan L. Preston, PhD, CCC-SLP, Syracuse University.
Biofeedback in therapy for persisting speech sound disorders: Results from clinical trials.
Took place on May 22, 2025, at 12 PM, In-Person & Virtual. Yale University, Haskins Laboratories, 300 George St., Suite 900, New Haven, CT.
More information, including Webinar URL.
Philip Rubin featured in article in UConn Today.
On June 11, 2025, Philip Rubin, Chair of the Board and CEO Emeritus of Haskins Laboratories and a Board of Trustees member at UConn, was featured in an article in UConn Today, “Board of Trustees Member Philip Rubin Continues Legacy of Research, Facilitation”, by Matt Englehardt. .
Nabin Koirala named as BIRC Director.
Nabin Koirala, Haskins researcher, and associate research scientist at the Yale Child Study Center, has been named as the new Director of the Brain Imaging Research Center (BIRC) at the University of Connecticut.
ASY (Articulatory Synthesis) Demo
The legacy ASY Demo (articulatory synthesis) was added to this website on Jan. 24, 2024.
Fundamentals of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Heather Bortfeld and Sylvia A. Bunge have written a new book, Fundamentals of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (Cambridge University Press, 2024), “an exciting introduction to the scientific interface between biological studies of the brain and behavioural studies of human development.”
Physical and Linguistic Aspects of Speech
Physical and Linguistic Aspects of Speech (Cress Books, 2024) presents physical theory of speech production contained in Acoustics of Speech Production and On Formants, both by Richard S. McGowan, in a largely non-mathematical way. Linguistic examples illustrate how the physical theory illuminates understanding of phonetic processes, and, to some extent, phonological models.
The Endangered Language Fund (ELF)
The Endangered Language Fund (ELF) is a 501(c)3 founded by Doug Whalen in 1996 with the goal of supporting endangered language revitalization and documentation projects. Its main mechanism for supporting work on endangered languages has been funding grants to individuals, tribes, and museums. ELF’s grants have promoted work in over 60 countries and have funded a wide range of projects,