Vanessa Harwood

  • Assistant Professor, PhD, CCC-SLP
  • Communicative Disorders
  • Phone: 401.874.2577
  • Email: vharwood@uri.edu
  • Office Location: Independence Square, Suite K

Labs

Biography

Vanessa Harwood is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Harwood has several years of experience as a pediatric speech and language pathologist through Lifespan School Solutions – The Bradley Schools, RI. She completed her doctorate at the University of Connecticut in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences in 2015. Her dissertation research was completed through Haskins Laboratories, CT. where she investigated neurobiological markers of language in toddlers.

Research

I am interested in translational research aimed at improving diagnostic and therapeutic services for the pediatric clinical populations. I am specifically interested in the neurobiological markers of language and literacy impairments. I use methodologies such as EEG/ERP to investigate electrophysiological measures of speech perception and their relationships with behavioral characteristics of language and reading.

Education

  • Ph.D., Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 2015
  • M.S., Communicative Disorders: Speech & Language Pathology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 2005
  • B.A., Elementary and Special Education, Providence College, Providence, RI, 2003

Selected Publications

Baron, A., Harwood, V., Woodard, C., Anderson, K., Fernandes, B., Sullivan, J., & Irwin, J. (2024). Using the Listening2Faces App with Three Young Adults with Autism: A Feasibility Study. Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 1-13.

Harwood, V., Logan, N. E., Baron, A., *Richards, S., *Dias, R., *Seng, A., *Jelfs E, Clarkin CM, Ward-Ritacco CL. (2024). Electrophysiological investigation of active-assisted vs recumbent cycling: A pilot study in healthy older adults. Progress in Brain Research. 283:67-97.

Harwood, V., Garcia-Sierra, A., *Dias, R., *Jelfs, E., & Baron, A. (2024). Event related potentials to native speech contrasts predicts word reading abilities in early school-aged children. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 69, 101161.

Irwin, J., Harwood, V., Kleinman, D., Baron, A., Avery, T., Turcios, J., & Landi, N. (2023). Neural and Behavioral Differences in Speech Perception for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Within an Audiovisual Context. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 66(7), 2390-2403.

Harwood, V., Baron, A., Kleinman, D., Campanelli, L., Irwin, J., & Landi, N. (2023). Event-Related Potentials in Assessing Visual Speech Cues in the Broader Autism Phenotype: Evidence from a Phonemic Restoration Paradigm. Brain Sciences, 13(7), 1011.

Baron, A., Harwood, V., Kleinman, D., Campanelli, L., *Molski, J., Landi, N., & Irwin, J. (2023). Where on the face do we look during phonemic restoration: An eye-tracking study. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1005186. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1005186

Harwood, V., & Kleinman, D., Puggioni, G. Baron, A., (2022). The P300 Event Related Potential Predicts Phonological Working Memory Skills in School-Aged Children. Frontiers in Psychology, section Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.918046