Rachel R. Romeo

Research Interests

Brain development from infancy through adolescence; language and literacy development; socioeconomic status and early adversity; the role of early experiences on neurocognitive development; equity in education and learning

Bio

Rachel Romeo, PhD, CCC-SLP (she/her/hers) is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist and licensed speech-language pathologist broadly interested in how children’s early experiences, both favorable and adverse, influence their neural, cognitive, and academic development, with a specific focus on language and literacy development. She directs the Language, Experience, and Development (LEAD) lab, where she employs interdisciplinary methods from developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience (including structural and functional brain imaging), and direct educational interventions to study how young brains adapt to varying environments and lead to unique developmental paths. She is especially interested in socioeconomic differences in development, and how translational cognitive neuroscience may better support educational equity. Dr. Romeo’s research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, and has received international press by Scientific American, BBC, NPR, US News & World Report, and the World Economic Forum, amongst others.

Dr. Romeo received her PhD from the joint Harvard/MIT Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, MSc in Language Sciences from University College London, BA in Psychology and Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania, and clinical licensure in Speech-Language Pathology from the MGH Institute of Health Professions. She also completed the Translational Postdoctoral Training in Neurodevelopment program at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

In addition to her appointment in HDQM, Dr. Romeo holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences and the interdisciplinary program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science. She is also a member of the Language Science Center and the Field Committee in Developmental Science.

Dr. Romeo is accepting students to begin Fall 2022.

Honors & Awards

Fellow, British American Project (2019)

Flux Congress Science of Learning Award, & Post-Doctorate Award (2019)

Society for the Neurobiology of Language Postdoctoral Merit Award (2019) and Graduate Student Award (2017)

UCL Language Sciences Dissertation Prize and Overall Achievement Award (2012)

The Thouron Award (2011)

Fulbright Fellowship (2011)

Publications

For my complete list of publications, please see my Google Scholar Page.

Selected Publications:

Romeo, R.R., Choi, A.B., Gabard-Durnam, L.J., Wilkinson, C.L., Levin, A.R., Tager-Flusberg, H., & Nelson, C.A. (2021). Parent language input predicts neuroscillatory patterns underlying language development in infants at risk of Autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Romeo, R.R.*, Leonard, J.A.*, Robinson, S.T., Mackey, A.P., West, M.R., & Gabrieli, J.D.E. (2021). Replication and extension of family-based training program to improve cognitive abilities in young children. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.

Romeo, R.R., Leonard, J.A., Grotzinger, H.M., Robinson, S.T., Takada, M., Mackey, A.P., Scherer, E., Rowe, M.L., West, M.R., Gabrieli, J.D.E. (2021). Neuroplasticity associated with conversational turn-taking following a family-based intervention. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 49, 100967.

Cychosz, M., Romeo, R. R., Soderstrom, M., Scaff, C. H., Ganek, H., Cristia, A., Casillas, M., Bang, J., & Weisleder, A. (In press). Long form recordings of everyday life: Ethics for best practices. Behavior Research Methods, 52, 1951–1969.

Romeo, R. R. (2019). Socioeconomic and experiential influences on the neurobiology of language development. Invited review at Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups: Special Issue on the Neurobiology of Language Development and Disorders, 4, 1229–1238.

Romeo, R.R., Imhof, A., Bhatia, P., Christodoulou, J.A. (2019). Relationships between socioeconomic status and reading development: Cognitive outcomes and neural mechanisms. In S.J. Lipina & M.S. Segretin (Eds.), Neuroscientific Perspectives on Poverty (pp. 153-182). Erice, Italy: CLASCO.

Romeo, R. R., Segaran, J., Leonard, J. A., Robinson, S., West, M. R., Mackey, A. P., Yendiki, A., Rowe, M. L., Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2018). Language exposure relates to structural neural connectivity in childhood. Journal of Neuroscience, 38(36), 7870-7877.

Romeo, R. R., Leonard, J. A., Robinson, S. T., West, M. R., Mackey, A. P., Rowe, M. L., Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2018). Beyond the “30 million word gap:” Children’s conversational exposure is associated with language-related brain function. Psychological Science, 29(5), 700–710.

Romeo, R. R.*, Christodoulou, J. A.*, Halverson, K. K., Murtagh, J., Cyr, A. B., Schimmel, C., Chang, P., Hook, P. E., & Gabrieli J. D. E. (2018). Socioeconomic status and reading disability: Neuroanatomy and plasticity in response to intervention. Cerebral Cortex, 28(7), 2297-2312.

Grants & Projects

Current Funding:
K99/R00 HD103873: Exploring language experience as a mechanism underlying socioeconomic differences in neurocognitive development
Eunice Kennedy Schriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Previous Funding:
T32 MH112510: Translational Postdoctoral Training Program in Neurodevelopment
National Institute of Mental Health
2018-2020

F31 HD086957: Effects of linguistic input on the neural basis of language development
Eunice Kennedy Schriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
2016-2018

T32 DC000038: Predoctoral Training in Speech and Hearing Sciences
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
2012-2015

Courses

EDHD 775: Human Development and Neuroscience

Labs

Learning, Experience, and Development (LEAD) Lab