Natalia Rakhlin

TALENT ATTRACTION

Position: Associate Professor
Organization: Wayne State University
Research Focus: Language acquisition in young children

“What made Wayne State stand out from other research institutions I had visited was the collaborative atmosphere and openness I felt here,” Rakhlin said.

Born and raised in Russia, Associate Professor Natalia Rakhlin, Ph.D., came to Wayne State University in 2014 to join the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Prior to WSU, Rakhlin was at the Child Study Center at Yale University School of Medicine.

“During my interview, the search committee was not only interested in my own research and how it could contribute to the department’s strengths, but they also wanted to show me various opportunities I would have to collaborate with researchers from across campus.”

Rakhlin’s research is focused on language acquisition in young children — in typical development and under conditions of developmental pathology — and the factors — child-internal and environmental — that contribute to developmental outcomes. She has published papers on language development in children with developmental language disorder and developmental dyslexia.

In addition to her research at Wayne State, Rakhlin teaches courses on speech and sound disorders in children, child language acquisition, and language and disorders in children from birth to age 5. Rakhlin also is a member of the scientific advisory board for the New England Research on Dyslexia Society and a former member of its executive committee.