Maria Arredondo

Arredondo completed her PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Michigan. She then was a National Science Foundation (NSF) Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia and Haskins Laboratories. In January 2020, she joined the University of Texas at Austin as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences. She is also a Faculty Research Associate for the UT Population Research Center.

My research focuses on understanding how infants and young children acquire their language(s). I am especially interested in why some children can become proficient bilinguals, while others seem to struggle. To test these questions, I use functional near-infrared spectroscopy to study the cognitive and neural networks that support bilingualism. I am also interested in how children come to learn and understand from their culture(s). Through all these mechanisms, I investigate what allows all children to learn their languages and provides them with the skills to succeed academically. 

The methods of my studies include infant and child-friendly experimental designs, neuroimaging (functional near-infrared spectroscopy, also known as fNIRS), standardized assessments of language abilities, surveys, and one-on-one qualitative child-friendly interviews.

I am always happy to support undergraduate and graduate research opportunities, please feel free to reach out.