Education and Brain Sciences Research Grants
Currently Funded Research Grants
Last Updated (1/14/2026)
Early Academic Achievement and Intervention Response: Role of Executive Function
- Grant number: R37HD095519-01A1
- PI: Cutting
- Sponsor: NICHD
- ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03713125
Despite the fact that a substantial number of school age children struggle with both reading and math acquisition, the brain mechanisms of the overlapping aspects of reading and math skills, thought in part to be linked via executive functions (EF), have not been unpacked. This project will use a longitudinal design, following children from Kindergarten through 1st grade, to understand how the brain networks associated with reading, math, and EF interact to predict academic outcomes and, in those who struggle academically, intervention response. Our ultimate goal is to develop brain-based causal models of academic success/failure so that we can better understand how to effectively individualize instruction in a way that maximizes academic success and prevents academic failure.
Neural Correlates of Discourse Processing in Adolescents
- Grant number: 5R01HD109151
- PI: Cutting
- Sponsor: NIH
Despite the fact that a substantial number of children struggle with reading comprehension (RC), and that schools prominently focus on having adequate RC for various types of texts, including stories and informational text, there is scant knowledge about the neurocognitive correlates of RC for different text types, or how readers process texts for optimal RC. This project aims to determine which brain networks are: (1) differentially linked to various text types and reader profiles and (2) predict optimal RC outcomes in children ages 10-12. Our ultimate goal is to understand the best way for children to learn new information through reading so that we can better understand how to effectively individualize instruction in a way that maximizes academic success and prevents academic failure.
Healthy Brain and Child Development Consortium (HBCD)
- Project number: 1U01DA055347-01
- PI: Cutting, Osmundson
- Sponsor: NICHD
Various adverse and protective environments may affect child development. The Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Consortium will follow 7,200 mothers and their children from 27 locations across the US from before birth to 10 years of age to better understand which harmful and protective environments exert the greatest impact on child development. The HBCD Study will inform public policy to improve the health and development of children across the nation.
Examination of the Role of Executive Function during Reading and Math in Children
- Grant number: K99HD111574
- PI: Martinez-Lincoln
- Sponsor: NIH
Children’s reading and math skills are critical to their future educational outcomes, career readiness, and overall health and well-being (e.g., ACT, 2020; Cain & Oakhill, 2006; DeWalt et al., 2004; Geary, 2011; Heilmann, 2020; Krajewski & Schneider, 2009; Ritchie & Bates, 2013), yet many children struggle with math and learning to read (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020). This proposal will examine individual differences in word reading and math ability in the functional role and connectivity of executive function, an underlying cognitive mechanism of reading and math. Ultimately, this increased understanding may offer a more directed approach to improve academic skills in struggling learners, thereby increasing educational and health outcomes for at-risk children.
Differential Diagnosis in Learning Disabilities
- Grant number: P50HD027802
- PI: Willcutt
- Co-Investigator: Cutting
- Sponsor: NIH
The Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center (CLDRC) is a long-standing interdisciplinary, multisite research program that investigates the genetic and environmental etiologies, neurobiology, neuropsychology, classification, and outcomes of specific learning disabilities (SLDs). The most distal long-term research objective of the CLDRC is the development of a comprehensive model of SLDs that is based on a complete understanding of SLDs at the genetic, environmental, neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, and instructional levels of analysis. Cutting serves as a Co-Investigator for the project in the Center that is focused on unpacking the neural correlates of reading and math difficulties.
Project R.E.A.C.T. (Reading and Executive Function Associations in Classroom Talk)
- PI: Cutting
- Sponsor: Southport School
Research has increasingly examined the role of EF in positive academic outcomes. While there has been some success with developing EF interventions in that they change EF abilities, they are limited in that they have not demonstrated that they transfer to other academic skills. This research aims to fill a current gap by examining whether specific aspects of instruction in reading intervention differentially contribute to cognitive versus academic improvement, which in turn informs methods for boosting EF within specific academic domains to positively impact academic performance. The project utilizes recordings of intervention data and applies natural language processing and machine learning approaches to code teacher language during reading instruction obtained during multiple reading intervention classes from The Southport School, a school for children with learning disabilities, including dyslexia. The Southport School is unique in that it uses EF language schoolwide, thus allowing examination of which elements of instruction also support EF development. The ultimate goal of this research is to provide insight into how teachers can support EF development by embedding specific language in their teaching in order to support struggling readers, including those who are not responsive to interventions.
Feasibility of real-time reading intervention enabled by fNIRS neurofeedback
- PI: Bowden & Cutting
- Sponsor: Nicholas Hobbs Discovery Grant Award
Reading proficiency underpins academic achievement, lifelong health, and economic opportunity, yet a substantial minority of learners struggle despite evidence-based instruction. Even with intensive tutoring, response to intervention varies widely across individuals and across sessions, and educators typically adjust instruction using delayed, noisy behavioral cues. Real-time neural engagement metrics could enable within-session adaptation—adjusting task difficulty, pacing, or strategy—to improve outcomes, especially for non-responders. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a portable, relatively motion-tolerant neuroimaging modality that may be suitable for capturing neurobiological data during realistic tutoring contexts. This pilot will establish the feasibility of monitoring word-related and broader reading-network responses in adults and will prototype a neuroadaptive decision engine for in-session adjustments to reading tutoring.
Neural Modulation and Plasticity of the Reading Network
- PI: Cutting
- Sponsor: Philanthropic Funds
This project is focused on a line of research in which we ultimately want to understand alternative treatments for those with dyslexia who are non-responders to reading intervention. As a first step, we are applying rTMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation), a noninvasive brain stimulation approach that uses electromagnetic fields to change connectivity in key brain networks involved in both basic reading processes (e.g., phonological processing) as well as higher level comprehension processes. We are seeking to understand how applying rTMS to key reading neural networks impacts these various reading processes. Adults with varying reading abilities receive fMRI pre- and post rTMS. We hypothesize that using neuromodulatory approaches may reveal the role of plasticity in reading circuitry, thus potentially informing treatments for dyslexia. Preliminary findings suggest that stimulation to the angular gyrus, a key node in the reading network, may result in enhanced reading comprehension abilities.
Lacy-Fisher Interdisciplinary Research Grant
- PI: Harriott & Parent
This pilot project investigates potential relationships between GRM7 SNPs and cognitive abilities in children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1). Individuals with NF1 typically present with a broad range of clinical symptoms, including various cognitive difficulties. These cognitive difficulties are fairly heterogeneous, suggesting that there are likely multiple biological mechanisms that might underlie them. One particularly promising biological mechanism is excessive release of GABA, which is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Indeed, variations in a gene that codes for a GABA receptor (SNP rs9870680; GRM7), which could facilitate excessive GABA release, have been linked to variations in cognitive abilities. In this project, we aim to investigate relationships between rs9870680 and working memory, reading abilities, visuospatial skills, and attention/ADHD symptomology in children with NF1. Any relationships found will help differentiate different cognitive profiles that children with NF1 could have, which could in turn help differentiate and refine treatment plans and interventions. In line with the interdisciplinary mission of this grant, this project notably combines methodologies and scales (genetics, psychological constructs) across disciplines (genetics, cellular/molecular biology, neuroscience, education).
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
- PI: Christie-Mizell
- Academic Advisor: Cutting
EBRL doctoral student Emily Harriott was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRF) in the developmental psychology division in 2023. Less about supporting a particular project and more about supporting a student’s overall research potential, this fellowship funds promising graduate students’ stipends, thereby providing students with more freedom and flexibility to explore their research interests without being tied to a specific project or grant. As such, Emily has been able to more deeply focus on, learn, and practice advanced statistical methods, neuroimaging processing and analysis software, and foundational developmental psychology content. Using additional funding earmarked for training/educational experiences, she has also been able to engage in additional neuroimaging software training and travel to conferences more extensively.
- Grant number: R37HD095519-01A1
- PI: Cutting
- Sponsor: NICHD
- ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03713125
Despite the fact that a substantial number of school age children struggle with both reading and math acquisition, the brain mechanisms of the overlapping aspects of reading and math skills, thought in part to be linked via executive functions (EF), have not been unpacked. This project will use a longitudinal design, following children from Kindergarten through 1st grade, to understand how the brain networks associated with reading, math, and EF interact to predict academic outcomes and, in those who struggle academically, intervention response. Our ultimate goal is to develop brain-based causal models of academic success/failure so that we can better understand how to effectively individualize instruction in a way that maximizes academic success and prevents academic failure.
- Grant number: 5R01HD109151
- PI: Cutting
- Sponsor: NIH
Despite the fact that a substantial number of children struggle with reading comprehension (RC), and that schools prominently focus on having adequate RC for various types of texts, including stories and informational text, there is scant knowledge about the neurocognitive correlates of RC for different text types, or how readers process texts for optimal RC. This project aims to determine which brain networks are: (1) differentially linked to various text types and reader profiles and (2) predict optimal RC outcomes in children ages 10-12. Our ultimate goal is to understand the best way for children to learn new information through reading so that we can better understand how to effectively individualize instruction in a way that maximizes academic success and prevents academic failure.
- Project number: 1U01DA055347-01
- PI: Cutting, Osmundson
- Sponsor: NICHD
Various adverse and protective environments may affect child development. The Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Consortium will follow 7,200 mothers and their children from 27 locations across the US from before birth to 10 years of age to better understand which harmful and protective environments exert the greatest impact on child development. The HBCD Study will inform public policy to improve the health and development of children across the nation.
- Grant number: K99HD111574
- PI: Martinez-Lincoln
- Sponsor: NIH
Children’s reading and math skills are critical to their future educational outcomes, career readiness, and overall health and well-being (e.g., ACT, 2020; Cain & Oakhill, 2006; DeWalt et al., 2004; Geary, 2011; Heilmann, 2020; Krajewski & Schneider, 2009; Ritchie & Bates, 2013), yet many children struggle with math and learning to read (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020). This proposal will examine individual differences in word reading and math ability in the functional role and connectivity of executive function, an underlying cognitive mechanism of reading and math. Ultimately, this increased understanding may offer a more directed approach to improve academic skills in struggling learners, thereby increasing educational and health outcomes for at-risk children.
- Grant number: P50HD027802
- PI: Willcutt
- Co-Investigator: Cutting
- Sponsor: NIH
The Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center (CLDRC) is a long-standing interdisciplinary, multisite research program that investigates the genetic and environmental etiologies, neurobiology, neuropsychology, classification, and outcomes of specific learning disabilities (SLDs). The most distal long-term research objective of the CLDRC is the development of a comprehensive model of SLDs that is based on a complete understanding of SLDs at the genetic, environmental, neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, and instructional levels of analysis. Cutting serves as a Co-Investigator for the project in the Center that is focused on unpacking the neural correlates of reading and math difficulties.
- PI: Cutting
- Sponsor: Southport School
Research has increasingly examined the role of EF in positive academic outcomes. While there has been some success with developing EF interventions in that they change EF abilities, they are limited in that they have not demonstrated that they transfer to other academic skills. This research aims to fill a current gap by examining whether specific aspects of instruction in reading intervention differentially contribute to cognitive versus academic improvement, which in turn informs methods for boosting EF within specific academic domains to positively impact academic performance. The project utilizes recordings of intervention data and applies natural language processing and machine learning approaches to code teacher language during reading instruction obtained during multiple reading intervention classes from The Southport School, a school for children with learning disabilities, including dyslexia. The Southport School is unique in that it uses EF language schoolwide, thus allowing examination of which elements of instruction also support EF development. The ultimate goal of this research is to provide insight into how teachers can support EF development by embedding specific language in their teaching in order to support struggling readers, including those who are not responsive to interventions.
- PI: Bowden & Cutting
- Sponsor: Nicholas Hobbs Discovery Grant Award
Reading proficiency underpins academic achievement, lifelong health, and economic opportunity, yet a substantial minority of learners struggle despite evidence-based instruction. Even with intensive tutoring, response to intervention varies widely across individuals and across sessions, and educators typically adjust instruction using delayed, noisy behavioral cues. Real-time neural engagement metrics could enable within-session adaptation—adjusting task difficulty, pacing, or strategy—to improve outcomes, especially for non-responders. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a portable, relatively motion-tolerant neuroimaging modality that may be suitable for capturing neurobiological data during realistic tutoring contexts. This pilot will establish the feasibility of monitoring word-related and broader reading-network responses in adults and will prototype a neuroadaptive decision engine for in-session adjustments to reading tutoring.
- PI: Cutting
- Sponsor: Philanthropic Funds
This project is focused on a line of research in which we ultimately want to understand alternative treatments for those with dyslexia who are non-responders to reading intervention. As a first step, we are applying rTMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation), a noninvasive brain stimulation approach that uses electromagnetic fields to change connectivity in key brain networks involved in both basic reading processes (e.g., phonological processing) as well as higher level comprehension processes. We are seeking to understand how applying rTMS to key reading neural networks impacts these various reading processes. Adults with varying reading abilities receive fMRI pre- and post rTMS. We hypothesize that using neuromodulatory approaches may reveal the role of plasticity in reading circuitry, thus potentially informing treatments for dyslexia. Preliminary findings suggest that stimulation to the angular gyrus, a key node in the reading network, may result in enhanced reading comprehension abilities.
- PI: Harriott & Parent
This pilot project investigates potential relationships between GRM7 SNPs and cognitive abilities in children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1). Individuals with NF1 typically present with a broad range of clinical symptoms, including various cognitive difficulties. These cognitive difficulties are fairly heterogeneous, suggesting that there are likely multiple biological mechanisms that might underlie them. One particularly promising biological mechanism is excessive release of GABA, which is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Indeed, variations in a gene that codes for a GABA receptor (SNP rs9870680; GRM7), which could facilitate excessive GABA release, have been linked to variations in cognitive abilities. In this project, we aim to investigate relationships between rs9870680 and working memory, reading abilities, visuospatial skills, and attention/ADHD symptomology in children with NF1. Any relationships found will help differentiate different cognitive profiles that children with NF1 could have, which could in turn help differentiate and refine treatment plans and interventions. In line with the interdisciplinary mission of this grant, this project notably combines methodologies and scales (genetics, psychological constructs) across disciplines (genetics, cellular/molecular biology, neuroscience, education).
- PI: Christie-Mizell
- Academic Advisor: Cutting
EBRL doctoral student Emily Harriott was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRF) in the developmental psychology division in 2023. Less about supporting a particular project and more about supporting a student’s overall research potential, this fellowship funds promising graduate students’ stipends, thereby providing students with more freedom and flexibility to explore their research interests without being tied to a specific project or grant. As such, Emily has been able to more deeply focus on, learn, and practice advanced statistical methods, neuroimaging processing and analysis software, and foundational developmental psychology content. Using additional funding earmarked for training/educational experiences, she has also been able to engage in additional neuroimaging software training and travel to conferences more extensively.
Previously Funded Research Grants
- Grant number: R01HD089474
- PI: Laurie E. Cutting, Ph.D.
- Study duration: Sep 2016 - Jan 2022
- Sponsor: NICHD
Neurofibromitosis Type 1 (NF1) is a common autosomal dominant neurocutaneous syndrome. The most common concern of NF1 is learning disabilities (LDs). Approximately half of children with NF1 have LDs, the most common of which are reading disabilities (RDs). The purpose of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics and treatment of RDs in NF1. This study combines a pharmaceutical intervention with a reading intervention to determine if there are synergistic effects in treating RDs in children NF1
- Grant number: R01HD044073
- PI: Laurie E. Cutting, Ph.D.
- Study duration: Aug 2015 - Jul 2021
- Sponsor: NICHD
This new and unexplored direction in reading comprehension research seeks to understand: (1) how comprehension develops neurobiologically and coordinates with word reading (2) if certain discourse features, with exploration of both narrative and informational texts, are important for reading comprehension outcomes and (3) the role of executive function in reading comprehension development. To our knowledge, we would be the first to test in a developmental context (via a longitudinal design) the hypothesis of neurobiological overlap of lower- and higher-level reading skills, and strength of structural and functional connections from these overlap regions, to predict successful reading comprehension. This is an important research direction, as studies have shown that older poor readers (especially non-responders to instruction) have both lower (word-level) and higher-level (comprehension) weaknesses. Ultimately, this research has the potential to change current practice, during grades in which children are increasingly required to gain information from text, by determining the neurobiology of reading comprehension, with particular focus on how narrative and informational texts may be processed differently.
- Sponsor Award Number: 7010
- PI: Sage Pickren
- Study Duration: Nov 2020 - May 2021
- Sponsor: The Association for Positive Behavior Support
This grant aims to implement a token economy with students virtually as they receive one-on-one reading instruction. The goal is to create a tutor-friendly intervention that increases engagement and decreases problem behavior during online reading instruction.
- Grant Number: F31HD104385
- PI: Tin Nguyen
- Study Duration: Sept 2020 - Aug 2022
- Sponsor: NICHD & NIMH
Early environment plays a major role in children’s brain and cognitive growth. Adversity linked to lower socioeconomic circumstances is negatively related to differences in children’s brain areas that support executive functions and language. Uniquely for the effect of socioeconomic circumstances, home literacy and language environment have been shown to tap children’s brain areas linked to reading and language – hinting at a protective mechanism. Our study aimed to characterize what and how specific features of an enriched home literacy and language environment interact with children’s brain differences to moderate the adverse effect of lower socioeconomic circumstances.
- Grant Number: R01HD067254
- PI: Laurie E. Cutting, Ph.D.
- Study Duration: Sep 2010 – Jul 2017
- Sponsor: NICHD
Few studies have investigated the nature of children who develop reading disabilities at or around the 4th-5th grade. Late-emerging Reading Disability (LERD) affects approximately 20 – 46 % of children identified as having a reading disability in late elementary school. Thus, it is likely that LERD is a significant contributing factor to the prevalence of reading failure in 4th and 8th grades (which is about 30%; NAEP, 2007). The goal of this study is to determine the cognitive and neurobiological profile associated with LERD, and establish how LERD is similar or different than early reading failure (RD-E). To accomplish this goal, the study will first gather data to determine the cognitive and neurobiological profile of a sample of 5th graders who have been identified as having LERD. We hypothesize that children with LERD will show a distinct cognitive and neurobiological profile, as compared to RD-E, that will be apparent in various aspects of their oral language and executive function (attention, memory, motor skills). Secondly, we will utilize the established cognitive and neurobiological profile of the 5th graders with LERD to guide the development of a predictive battery of cognitive and neurobiological tests to identify children at risk for LERD in earlier grades. We plan to follow the children identified as being at risk for LERD for several years, acquiring behavioral and neuronal data to better understand the development of LERD. This line of research can assist schools in determining what measures should included as early identifiers for those at risk for LERD and developing early intervention programs for those at risk for LERD. The research obtained through this study will be extremely valuable due to the fact that, in addition to learning specifically about LERD, we will contribute generally to the present understanding of brain maturation, particularly connectivity, over time.
- Grant Number: R21HD087088
- PI: Laurie E. Cutting, Ph.D.
- Study Duration: Aug 2016 - Jul 2019
- Sponsor: NICHD
Reading proficiently is a critical skill. Nevertheless, about 25-30% of children are poor readers. Thus, the need to understand how individuals read and comprehend text is critical. A widely accepted developmental model of reading, the Simple View, demarcates reading as consisting of lower-level (phonemic decoding, i.e., orthographic-to-phonological conversions) and higher-level (comprehension) skills, with each level associated with different types of reading difficulties (RD). Those with dyslexia (DYS) show lower-level deficits, with poor phonological processing thought to play an important explanatory role in their impaired decoding abilities. Recently, interest has focused on basic learning mechanisms that may underlie DYS, including the role of procedural and declarative learning and memory. Evidence suggests that procedural memory is poor in DYS, but that declarative memory may be intact. In contrast to DYS, children with Specific Reading Comprehension Deficits (S-RCD) read words quickly and accurately, but struggle with the higher-level skill of reading comprehension. Studies of S-RCD indicate poor semantic processing despite adequate phonological processing/decoding, as well as neurobiological anomalies of the medial temporal lobe (a structure associated with declarative memory) while reading low frequency words. These findings suggest that declarative memory may be weak in S-RCD. Our overarching goal is to explore the behavioral and neural correlates of learning in declarative and procedural memory systems through comparison of DYS, S-RCD, and typically developing readers and examination of how these two memory systems relate to decoding and reading comprehension more generally. We hypothesize (Aim 1) that DYS will show weaknesses in procedural but not declarative learning, while S-RCD may show the opposite. These differences will also be reflected in neurobiological alterations in functional patterns underlying each system. We also hypothesize (Aim 2) more broadly that when decoding and reading comprehension are examined on a continuum, behavioral and neural indices of declarative/procedural memory will differentially predict the two reading skills. This line of research represents relatively new and uncharted territory in understanding RD, especially S-RCD, and may in the long run help elucidate better treatments for those with reading difficulty, which is a significant public health concern. Ultimately, our plan is to build on this exploratory project to pursue R01 funding.