Duke Leadership Academy Scholars Profile

Michele Diaz

Michele Diaz

Title: Assistant Professor and Associate Director, Scientific Administration
Location:
Senior Management Area: School of Medicine
Class Year: 2012

Bio:
Language is a ubiquitous aspect of human life. Much remains to be learned about the neural infrastructure that supports this complex social and cognitive function. My research has focused on understanding the neural infrastructure of various aspects of receptive and productive language. Most recently I have been interested in how novelty and figurativeness influence recruitment of the right hemisphere. I have also been examining age-related changes in language. Specifically, this research project looks at neural factors that contribute to age-related retention (semantics) and decline (phonology) that have been observed in language. We are investigating the relations between structural factors (i.e., white matter integrity), functional activations, and behavior.

Previously, I have used electrophysiology to examine how semantic and phonological processes interact during spoken language comprehension. Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), I have investigated the neural substrates of orthographic, lexical, and semantic aspects of visual word processing, and the influence of conscious perception on the engagement of brain regions that support these processes. Finally, my involvement with the Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN) project has allowed me to explore technical issues related to multi-site imaging, such as quality assurance measures and reliability.