Ece Demir-Lira, PhD
@ecedemirlira.bsky.social
Developmental Scientist • Assoc. Prof of Psychological and Brain Sciences / Pediatrics at UIowa • Studying environmental experiences and neurocognitive development • Lab website: https://demir-lira.lab.uiowa.edu
Always a pleasure to see one of your academic heroes sharing your work :)
Nora Newcombe@noranewcombe.bsky.social · 2mo agoProbing learning mechanisms-- Differential Motor System Activation in Chemistry Problem Solving: Gesture‐Based Versus Model‐Based Instruction - Clingan‐Siverly - 2026 - Mind, Brain, and Education - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Always a pleasure to see one of your academic heroes sharing your work :)
Nora Newcombe@noranewcombe.bsky.social · 2mo agoProbing learning mechanisms-- Differential Motor System Activation in Chemistry Problem Solving: Gesture‐Based Versus Model‐Based Instruction - Clingan‐Siverly - 2026 - Mind, Brain, and Education - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
New review paper from our PhD students Begüm Yılmaz and İbrahim Akkan in collaboration with Ece Demir-Lira and our lab director Tilbe Göksun! @begumyilmaz.bsky.social @ibrahimakkan.bsky.social @ecedemirlira.bsky.social @tilbegoksun.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Preterm children’s early language development: Language-specific and domain-general child-related precursors
In the dynamic and complex process of language development, some populations, like preterm-born children, are at risk of developing language delays. T…
sciencedirect.com
This week, we were delighted to host Assoc. Prof. Ece Demir-Lira @ecedemirlira.bsky.social from the University of Iowa. She presented her research titled "New Perspectives on Home Math Environment and Neurocognitive Pathways of Numerical Development." Thank you for this inspiring talk! 🌿
@psychiowa.bsky.social has two tenure-track positions open: one in Clinical Science, one open-area in Neuroscience. Iowa City is a great place to do science (and to live)! Come join us! psychology.uiowa.edu/about/job-op...
Job Openings
Learn more about the job opportunities available at University of Iowa in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
psychology.uiowa.edu
official ad to follow soon but heads up: 1-2 postdocs slots in my lab, hopefully w/fall start! reposts welcome, details to follow. babies! word learning! cognitive & linguistic skills! #CogSciSky #DevPsychSky 🐦🐦 (lab info: bergelsonlab.fas.harvard.edu/prospectives) also recruiting grads this fall!
bergelsonlab.fas.harvard.edu
Am I too old? I just attended a conference session where a speaker zoomed into the session, turned off their camera and turned on an AI bot to give the talk, and the slides were clearly AI-generated with minimal data. 😬 Is this our new normal?
I’ll be recruiting my first PhD student to start in Fall 2027 and would love for folks to send interested students my way!
And a second paper by @begumyilmaz.bsky.social! We examined the effect of manipulating parental gesture use on parents’ math talk and child math performance.
Koc University Language & Cognition Lab@kudilvebilis.bsky.social · 5mo agoNew study led by our PhD student Begüm Yılmaz! @begumyilmaz.bsky.social @dilaykaradoller.bsky.social Müge Caferoğlu @tilbegoksun.bsky.social @ecedemirlira.bsky.social "Parental gestural math input and children's math skills: An intervention study" www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
New study led by our PhD student Begüm Yılmaz! @begumyilmaz.bsky.social @dilaykaradoller.bsky.social Müge Caferoğlu @tilbegoksun.bsky.social @ecedemirlira.bsky.social "Parental gestural math input and children's math skills: An intervention study" www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Parental gestural math input and children's math skills: An intervention study
The present intervention study examines how parents' use of gestures changes the way they provide math talk to their children, and whether increased u…
sciencedirect.com
I can't make it to #CDS2025 unfortunately, but my very talented first-year PhD student Noah Scott is presenting Saturday at Poster Session 3 (1:15–2:30pm), P3-98 "Real-time language processing and the brain: Structural contributions of the dorsal language pathway". Please go say hi!
New paper led by the very talented @begumyilmaz.bsky.social from our Koc+Iowa collaboration. We find specific links between spatial and math tasks that are robust across children born term and born preterm.
Koc University Language & Cognition Lab@kudilvebilis.bsky.social · 6mo agoNew study led by our PhD student Begüm Yılmaz! @begumyilmaz.bsky.social @sultankarakas.bsky.social @tilbegoksun.bsky.social @ecedemirlira.bsky.social "The Links Between Spatial and Math Skills in Preterm and Full-Term Children" @tandfresearch.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/eprint/3PWR7...
🧠 The DEN Lab (@UIowa) is hiring a Lab Coordinator! A wonderful opportunity for recent grads preparing for grad school. Come do meaningful developmental cog neuro research with us in Iowa City, a vibrant college town with rich intellectual and cultural life! jobs.uiowa.edu/research/vie...
Research Requisition Details - Jobs@UIOWA: Search and Apply for Jobs at The University of Iowa
Jobs@UIOWA: The official place to search and apply for jobs at The University of Iowa.
jobs.uiowa.edu
I am going to shamelessly plug my husband's work on students' mathematical reasoning in advanced science. To my peers interested in child math development, consider this as a window into the tail end of children's academic journey 😊 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
It’s Not “Just” an Equation: How Students Dynamically Coordinate Mechanistic and Mathematical Schemas with Complex Equations
Complex scientific equations often appear opaque to students—not just because of symbolic formatting, but also due to how learners activate and coordinate different varieties of mechanistic and mat...
tandfonline.com
I feel very privileged to have trained with Prof. Kağıtçıbaşı during my undergraduate years. She was not only an exceptional scholar but also a remarkable teacher. Learn more about Prof. Kağıtçıbaşı, a pioneer in cross-cultural psychology and SPSP’s Heritage Initiative: spsp.org/membership/a...
Çiğdem Kağıtçıbaşı | SPSP
Çiğdem Kağıtçıbaşı, a pioneer of Turkish social psychology, reshaped cross-cultural theory with her work on family, autonomy, and relatedness across diverse societies.
spsp.org
Summer, please stay... But also—this RRR dance clip is queued up for my interpersonal synchrony lecture and I’m so ready! 🧩🧠✨ #RRR www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAzl...
Naacho Naacho (Full Video) RRR - NTR, Ram Charan | M M Kreem | SS Rajamouli | Vishal Mishra & Rahul
YouTube video by T-Series
youtube.com
Recent paper from our lab led by Işıl: Early parental multimodal input is differentially associated with later vocabulary knowledge for preterm & full-term infants @ecedemirlira.bsky.social @aslierciyes.bsky.social @mkobas.bsky.social @kudilvebilis.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Today, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Ece Demir-Lira @ecedemirlira.bsky.social, director of DEN Lab at the University of Iowa, for a talk titled “An Introduction to Two-Person Neuroscience: Theory and Practice”!🧠
📣📣 A recent paper by Dilay Karadöller, Ece Demir-Lira, & Tilbe Göksun: Full-Term Children with Lower Vocabulary Scores Receive More Multimodal Math Input Than Preterm Children www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @dilaykaradoller.bsky.social @ecedemirlira.bsky.social @tilbegoksun.bsky.social
Full-Term Children with Lower Vocabulary Scores Receive More Multimodal Math Input Than Preterm Children
One of the earliest sources of mathematical input arises in dyadic parent–child interactions. However, the emphasis has been on parental input only in speech and how input varies across different e...
tandfonline.com
I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful paper led by the very talented @mkobas.bsky.social and my fav collaborator @tilbegoksun.bsky.social. I am generally a big fan of beautiful descriptive statistics and Mert did an amazing job in this paper! Enjoy!
Tilbe Göksun@tilbegoksun.bsky.social · last yr.Here is the latest paper from our lab led by my former amazing graduate student Mert: Spatial language development in preterm and full-term infants: The role of object exploration and parents’ spatial input @mkobas.bsky.social @ecedemirlira.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Our commentary on Karadöller, Sümer, and Özyürek paper: "Promoting a multimodal first language acquisition framework" @ecedemirlira.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/eprint/9PHBG... @dilaykaradoller.bsky.social @asliozyurek.bsky.social
Promoting a multimodal first language acquisition framework: A commentary on Karadöller, Sümer, and Özyürek - Tilbe Göksun, Ö. Ece Demir-Lira, 2025
Karadöller et al. propose a multimodal language acquisition framework, integrating evidence from first language acquisition in spoken and sign languages. In thi...
journals.sagepub.com
Researchers at Annenberg and @umdscience.bsky.social show that proposed NIH funding cuts lead to an estimated $16 billion in economic loss and 68,000 jobs lost nationwide. Learn about their project and view the interactive map here:
Data-Driven, Interactive Map Shows Local Economic Impact of Cuts to Federal Funding for Health Research
asc.upenn.edu
“The ecosystem of research and the creation of new knowledge in universities has been so powerful for American prosperity, American freedom, American ingenuity. To have that disrupted by government overreach is a disaster for this country.” —Wesleyan University President Michael Roth on @msnbc.com
Another wonderful collaboration with the best team! Congrats Ibrahim for leading this effort.
Koc University Language & Cognition Lab@kudilvebilis.bsky.social · last yr.A new study from L&C Lab led by our PhD student İbrahim Akkan! @aslierciyes.bsky.social @ecedemirlira.bsky.social @tilbegoksun.bsky.social "Narratives of preterm and full-term preschool-aged children: Analyses of different narrative dimensions" bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
JUST dropped! Neuron review with Matt Birnie on the evolving neurobiology of early-life stress. Where is our field? what are our challenges? where and how do we move forward? www.cell.com/neuron/fullt... would love your thoughts🧠🧪 @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social @cate-cholamine.bsky.social
New publication alert from our former post-doc Dilay Karadöller, Ece Demir-Lira & Tilbe Göksun! @dilaykaradoller.bsky.social @ecedemirlira.bsky.social @tilbegoksun.bsky.social Read the article 👇 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Full-Term Children with Lower Vocabulary Scores Receive More Multimodal Math Input Than Preterm Children
One of the earliest sources of mathematical input arises in dyadic parent–child interactions. However, the emphasis has been on parental input only in speech and how input varies across different e...
tandfonline.com
U.S. scientists: Have you contacted Congress this week? #AcademicSky #PsychSciSky #Science Here’s a guide to help: www.psychologicalscience.org/act-now
Act Now: Share your Concerns with Your Representative and Senators
It does not matter whether your Representative or Senators agree with you. They must hear from you to understand how federal policy changes are influencing the people they were elected to represent.
psychologicalscience.org
Multifaceted nature of early vocabulary development: Connecting child characteristics with parental input types. Final version by Tilbe Göksun & al. @dilaykaradoller.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12524 Paper: tinyurl.com/4kut2n9s
The US House Congressional Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group is looking for instances where the impoundment and restriction of NIH/NSF funds is having a negative impact. Submit examples here: delauro.house.gov/constituent-... delauro.house.gov/constituent-...
2025 Federal Financial Assistance Freeze
On Monday, January 27th, 2025, President Trump issued an order to freeze virtually all of approved and legally required federal funding.
delauro.house.gov
Very handy visual aids for contacting representatives or media - Cards for each state on funding for NSF and NIH
Dr. Rebecca Barnes (she/her)@waterbarnes.bsky.social · 2y agoThis is amazing 😍😍 @500womensci.bsky.social has made cards for each state on funding for NSF and NIH avail for download bit.ly/NSF_bystate & bit.ly/NIH_bystate if they are helpful for folks