Biography:Nadine Gaab

Short description: German-American cognitive neuroscientist

Nadine Gaab is a German-American developmental cognitive neuroscientist and the Silvana and Christopher Pascucci Professor in Learning Differences at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and affiliated faculty in the psychology department at Harvard University. She is a leading expert on the neurobiology of learning disabilities, with a particular focus on dyslexia and language, reading, and literacy development from infancy to adolescence.

Her research lab investigates the early developmental origins of learning differences and advocates for a shift from a "wait-to-fail" model, which leaves students who struggle with learning difficulties without or with minimal support, to a proactive, preventative model of education. Gaab is also the co-founder of EarlyBird Education a gamified platform for early screening of reading disabilities.

Early life and education

Gaab earned her master's degree in psychology from the University of Trier in Germany in 2001. She received her Ph.D. in psychology and neuroscience from the University of Zurich in Switzerland in 2004.

She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University from 2004 to 2005, followed by a postdoctoral position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 2005 to 2007, working with John D. E. Gabrieli, Gary H. Glover, and Paula Tallal.

Career and research

Gaab joined Harvard Medical School in 2007 as an assistant professor of pediatrics, with an appointment at Boston Children's Hospital's Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience. She founded the Gaab Lab at that time, which moved to the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2021.

In 2021, she joined the faculty at HGSE as an associate professor of education. She was promoted to the rank of professor of education, with tenure, and awarded the Silvana and Christopher Pascucci Professorship in Learning Differences, both effective January 1, 2026.

Gaab Lab

The Gaab Lab's research is at the intersection of developmental psychology, education, learning sciences, and neuroscience. It employs longitudinal behavioral and neuroimaging (MRI, fMRI, DTI) to investigate typical and atypical learning trajectories from infancy to adolescence, with a strong focus on language, reading, and literacy development.

A central goal of the lab is to identify neurobiological, behavioral and environmental factors starting at birth that pose risks or offer protection against the development of language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia, which could allow for intervention before a child begins to struggle in school.

Key studies from the lab include

• The Boston Longitudinal Dyslexia Study (BOLD) has shown that certain brain characteristics linked to dyslexia in older children are already present in preschoolers, before formal reading instruction begins, suggesting these differences reflect early atypical brain development and environmental influences rather than simply the result of difficulties learning to read.
• The BabyBOLD Study follows infants with and without a family history of dyslexia longitudinally from three months to elementary school to understand how early brain characteristics associated with reading difficulties can be observed, with the aim of developing a preventative education model. Results from the study have linked certain differences in brain structure and function associated with reading disability, including dyslexia, to subsequent language and reading outcomes as early as infancy, with individual differences in reading-related brain regions tied directly to pre-reading measures and indirectly to second-grade decoding and word recognition skills.

Gaab's research also extends to understanding the shared and distinct mechanisms underlying arithmetic and reading development through a longitudinal investigation funded by the NIH/NICHD (CALC project).

Translation to practice and policy

A significant aspect of Gaab's work is translating research findings into practical applications for education and policy. She is a co-founder of EarlyBird Education, a gamified, digital screener designed to identify children at risk for language-based learning disabilities, including a risk for developing dyslexia, as early as preschool.

She has also played a direct role in advocacy and policy. In 2018, Gaab was awarded the Allen C. Crocker Award from Boston Children's Hospital for her advocacy on behalf of children with reading disabilities, specifically for her efforts in the passage of Massachusetts dyslexia screening legislation. She has also served as a consultant for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education dyslexia guidelines. In 2025, she was appointed to serve as an expert on the International Dyslexia Association's Dyslexia Definition Steering Committee.

Awards and honors

• 2024: IMBES Translation Award from the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society.
• 2023: Academic Research Recognition Award from the World Literacy Foundation.
• 2020: Extraordinary Individual Award from the Special Education for All Learners (S.E.A.L.) Foundation.
• 2020: Norman Geschwind Memorial Lecture from the International Dyslexia Association.
• 2019: LDA Award for outstanding leadership in the learning disabilities field from the Learning Disability Association of America.
• 2018: Allen C. Crocker Award for Clinical Excellence and Advocacy from Boston Children's Hospital.
• 2017: Alice Garside Award from the Massachusetts Branch of the International Dyslexia Association.
• 2012: T. Berry Brazelton Award for Innovation from Boston Children's Hospital.
• 2004: Summa cum laude for her Ph.D. thesis from the University of Zurich.

Selected publications

Gaab has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, with her work appearing in journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Human Behaviour, Cerebral Cortex, and Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.

External links

• Profile at Boston Children's Hospital