Daniel Koo, Ph.D.

Post-doctoral Research Fellow

B.A. -- University of Maryland, College Park, 1994, English and Sociology
M.A. . Gallaudet University, 1997, Linguistics
M.A. . University of Rochester, 2002, Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Ph.D. . University of Rochester, 2003, Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Daniel received his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences in 2003. His dissertation is on the nature of phonological representations in deaf native cuers of English. He came to the Center as a post-doctoral fellow sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Recently, he won the Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award for post-doctoral fellows from the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders. Daniel is interested in how the visual language-learning experience of deaf individuals shapes their linguistic representations and processes. Of particular interest is Cued American English (CAE) whose phonology derives from spoken English, yet its users communicate through the use of manual articulators and vision. Currently, he is using fMRI technology to explore the neural basis of reading in deaf individuals raised with different communication backgrounds (i.e. American Sign Language and CAE). Understanding the relationship between phonology, linguistic modality, and the neural substrates underlying language processes in the brain will have enormous benefit for a child's language acquisition and subsequent reading development.

Publications:

1. Koo, D. (1994). Cued Speech: What's the Big Deal? Volta Voices Vol. 1, No. 4.
2. Koo, D. (1994). Certification - It's not a Luxury. RID Views Vol. 11, No. 6.
3. Koo, D., Ciancio, N., Garate, M., Hanlon, E. (1996). Second Language Learning of American Sign Language by Asian Deaf Students: Sociolinguistic Influences on Language Production and Attitudes. In L. Byers and M. Rose (eds.) Gallaudet University Communication Forum. vol. 5.
4. Koo, D. (1997). Structure of Determiners in American Sign Language. Gallaudet University. Communication Forum. vol. 6.

Abstracts:

1. Koo, D.S., Maisog, J.M., LaSasso, C., Crain, K.L., Weisberg, J., Eden, G.F. (2006) Functional neuroanatomy of single word reading in deaf signers. Georgetown Office of Biomedical Graduate Education Student Research Days Annual Competition and Exposition.
2. Weisberg J., Crain K.L., Koo D.S., & Eden G.F. (2006) Object identification and location processing in deaf signers: An fMRI study. Georgetown Office of Biomedical Graduate Education Student Research Days Annual Competition and Exposition.