Baila Epstein
Associate Professor
Communication Arts, Sciences and Disorders
Location: 4433 Boylan Hall
Phone: 718.951.5000 x3071
Fax: 718.951.4167
Email:
Baila Epstein's Web site
Baila Epstein is associate professor in the Department of Communication Arts, Sciences, & Disorders. Her primary research interest is language processing and cognitive control skills in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and in children with typical language development. She is director of the Child Language and Cognition Laboratory at Brooklyn College, where she uses behavioral methods of assessment to elucidate SLI. She is currently collaborating with researchers from the Developmental Neurolinguistics Laboratory at the CUNY Graduate Center, where she uses electrophysiological methods to examine the brain processes underlying normal and disordered language. In addition, she provides speech-language evaluations and treatment to school-age children, specializing in the treatment of children with language-based learning disabilities.
Education:
Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center - 2009 (Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences)
M.S., Brooklyn College - 2004 (Speech-Language Pathology)
B.S., Touro College - 2002 (Speech and Communication)
Areas of Expertise:
Behavioral and electrophysiological assessment of language and cognition in typically developing and language impaired children; language-based learning disabilities in school-age children; and psychometric principles and procedures in speech-language evaluations.
Books and Publications
Epstein, B. (2018). Psychometrics for speech and language assessment: Principles and pitfalls. In C. Stein and R. Fabus (Eds.) A guide to clinical assessment and professional report writing in speech-language pathology (2nd ed.). SLACK Inc., NJ. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2018
Epstein, B., & Schwartz, R. G. (2017). Neurobiology of child language disorders. In R. G. Schwartz (Ed.) The handbook of child language disorders (2nd ed.). Psychology Press: NY. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2017
Epstein, B. "Five Heads are Better than One: Preliminary Results of Team-Based Learning in a Communication Disorders Graduate Course. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders. 51.1: 44-60. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2016
Neumann, Y., B. Epstein, and V. Shafer. "Electrophysiological Indices of Brain Activity to Content and Function Words in Discourse." International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders. In press. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2016
Epstein, B., V.L. Shafer, R. Melara and R.G. Schwartz. "Can Children With SLI Detect Cognitive Conflict? Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence." Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 57: 1453-67. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2014
Neumann, Y., B. Epstein and V. Shafer. "An Electrophysiological Investigation of Discourse Coherence in Healthy Adults." Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics. In press. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2014
Epstein, B., A. Hestvik, V.L. Shafer and R.G. Schwartz. "ERPs Reveal Atypical Processing of Subject vs. Object Wh-questions in Children With Specific Language Impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 48.4: 351-65. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2013
Fortunato-Tavares, T., C. de Andrade, D.M. Befi-Lopes, A. Hestvik, B. Epstein, L. Tornyova and R. Schwartz. "Syntactic Structural Assignment in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking Children With Specific Language Impairment." Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2012
"Psychometrics for Speech and Language Assessment: Principles and Pitfalls." A Guide to Clinical Assessment and Professional Report Writing in Speech-language Pathology. Eds. C. Stein and R. Fabus. Delmar, N.Y.: Cengage Learning. Expected in 2012. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2011
(Tropper) Epstein, B. and R.G. Schwartz. "Neurobiology of Child Language Disorders." The Handbook of Child Language Disorders. Ed. R.G. Schwartz. New York: Psychology Press: NY. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2009
(Tropper) Epstein, B., A. Hestvik, V.L. Shafer and R.G. Schwartz. "The Processing of Subject and Object Wh-questions in Children With Specific Language Impairment: An ERP Study." Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) Proceedings 32. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2008
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
PSC-CUNY Traditional A Research Award, Brooklyn College, CUNY, Reliability determination of the Conversational Breakdown Coding Method for preschool language samples. Baila Epstein, principal investigator; 2020-21.
(Grants and Fellowships) 2020
PSC-CUNY Traditional A Research Award, Brooklyn College, CUNY, Clinical application of the conversational breakdown coding method to language samples of preschool children with language impairment. Baila Epstein, principal investigator; 2015-16. (Grants and Fellowships) 2015
CUNY Collaborative Incentive Research Grant, for "Neurobehavioral Mechanisms Underlying Interference Control in Children With and Without Language Impairment." Baila Epstein and Klara Marton, co-principal investigators. $28,324; 2014-15. (Grants and Fellowships) 2014
Dean's Mini-Grant of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Brooklyn College, CUNY, Cognitive Control in Children with and without Specific Language Impairment. Baila Epstein, principal investigator; 2014-15. (Grants and Fellowships) 2014
William Stewart Travel Award, City University of New York. (Awards and Honors) 2012
New Faculty Fund of Brooklyn College, for "Assessment of Error-Monitoring in Children With Specific Language Impairment." Principal investigator. (Awards and Honors) 2011
Salute to Scholars Award, City University of New York. (Awards and Honors) 2011
Research Grant for New Investigators, American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation, for "Assessment of Error-Monitoring in Children With Specific Language Impairment." Principal investigator. 2010-11. (Grants and Fellowships) 2010
Doctoral research grant, CUNY Graduate Center, for "Cognitive Control in Children With and Without Specific Language Impairment." Principal investigator. (Grants and Fellowships) 2008
National Institutes of Health Research Travel Award, for attendance at the 28th Annual Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, Madison, Wis. (Awards and Honors) 2007
National Institutes of Health, NIDCD, Grant F31DC009356, for "Cognitive Control in Children With and Without Specific Language Impairment." Principal investigator. 2007-09. (Grants and Fellowships) 2007
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
Hestvik, A., Epstein, B., Shafer, V., & Schwartz, R. G. Syntactic prediction mechanism is detectable with ERPs, not with behavioral measures. Behavioural Measures of Language Acquisition and Language Processing in Typical and Atypical Populations (Venice, May 2020; virtual conference). (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2020
"Five Heads Are Better Than One: Preliminary Results of Team-based Learning in a Communication Disorders Graduate Course." Turning the TaBLes: Team-Based Learning Conference at Brooklyn College. Brooklyn, N.Y., June 2. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2014
Neumann, Y., B. Epstein and V. Shafer. "Content vs. Function Words: An Electrophysiological Investigation of Discourse Processing." American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Orlando, Fla., Nov. 20. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2014
"Clinical Application of Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT)." Master Clinician Series. Brooklyn College. February. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2013
Epstein, B., J. Houy and S. Goodman. "Are Children With SLI Deficient in Error Monitoring?" Abstract for a poster presentation at the New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NYSSLHA) Annual Convention. April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2012
Epstein, B., J. Houy and S. Goodman. "Error Detection and Compensation by Typical Children and Children With Specific Language Impairment." Abstract accepted for a poster presentation at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Atlanta, November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2012
"Psychometrics for Speech and Language Assessment: Principles and Pitfalls." Master Clinician Series. Brooklyn College. October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
Schwartz, R.G., T. Fortunato-Tavares, A. Hestvik, B. Epstein and L. Tornyova. "Eye-Tracking Studies of Structural Assignment and Working Memory in Specific Language Impairment" abstract for poster. Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Biennial Meeting. March-April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2011
Epstein, B., A. Anaya, V.L. Shafer and R.G. Schwartz. "Can SLI Children Detect Cognitive Conflict? Behavioral vs. Electrophysiological Evidence" abstract for poster. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Philadelphia, November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010
Schwartz, R.G., T. Tavares, A. Hestvik, B. (Tropper) Epstein and L. Tornyova. "Structural Assignment in SLI: Group Patterns and Individual Differences for Predicates and Reflexives." City University of London Child Language Seminar. London, June. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010
(Tropper) Epstein, B., V.L. Shafer and R.G. Schwartz. "Electrophysiological Evidence of Deficient Cognitive Control in Children With Specific Language Impairment" abstract for poster. 15th International Congress on Event-Related Potentials of the Brain. Bloomington, Ind., April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
(Tropper) Epstein, B., V.L. Shafer and R.G. Schwartz. "Electrophysiological Evidence of Deficient Cognitive Control in Children With Specific Language Impairment" abstract for poster. 30th Annual Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders. Madison, Wis., June. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
(Tropper) Epstein, B., A. Hestvik, V. Shafer and R.G. Schwartz. "Electrophysiological Evidence of a Working Memory Deficit in Children With Specific Language Impairment" abstract. International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association. Istanbul, June. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2008
(Tropper) Epstein, B., K. Marton, K. Russo Victorino, V. Shafer and R.G. Schwartz. "Research on Executive Functions in Children With SLI" abstract for seminar. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Chicago, November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2008
(Tropper) Epstein, B., L. Sylvia and R.G. Schwartz. "Auditory and Visual Working Memory in Children With Specific Language Impairment" abstract for a poster. New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Saratoga Springs, N.Y., April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2008
(Tropper) Epstein, B., L. Sylvia and R.G. Schwartz. "Updating Working Memory With Auditory and Visual Information in Children With SLI" abstract for poster. International Association for the Study of Child Language. Edinburgh, Scotland, July-August. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2008
Fortunato, T., A. Hestvik, B. (Tropper) Epstein and R.G. Schwartz. "Eye-tracking Studies of Structural Assignment in Children With Specific Language Impairment" abstract for seminar. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Chicago, November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2008
(Tropper) Epstein, B., A. Hestvik, V. Shafer and R.G. Schwartz. "Child-adult Differences in the Working Memory Left Anterior Negativity" poster. Development and Analysis of Neural Systems Supporting Language. New York, October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2007
(Tropper) Epstein, B., A. Hestvik, V. Shafer and R.G. Schwartz. "ERP Evidence for Impaired Processing of Wh-questions in Children With SLI" poster. Boston University Conference on Language Development. November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007
(Tropper) Epstein, B., A. Hestvik, V. Shafer and R.G. Schwartz. "The Processing of Object and Subject Wh-questions in Children With Specific Language Impairment: An ERP Study" poster. 28th Annual Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders. Madison, Wis., June. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007
(Tropper) Epstein, B., A. Hestvik, Y. Neumann, H. Yu, V. Shafer and R. Schwartz. "ERP Studies of Sentence Processing in Children With Specific Language Impairment" seminar. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Boston, November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2007
Hestvik, A., B. (Tropper) Epstein, R. Schwartz, V. Shafer and L. Tornyova. "ERP Measure of Gap-filling in Children With and Without Specific Language Impairment" poster. CUNY Conference on Human Sentence Processing. San Diego, March. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007
Hestvik, A., R.G. Schwartz, V. Shafer, Y. Neumann, H. Yu and B. (Tropper) Epstein. "Brain Responses to Contextually Ungrammatical Verb Inflection in Adults, Typically Developing Children, and Children With Specific Language Impairment" poster. Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting. New York, May. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007
Hestvik, A., R.G. Schwartz, V. Shafer, Y. Neumann, T. Rinker, H. Yu and (Tropper) B. Epstein. "Event-related Potentials to Ungrammatical Verb Inflection in Children and Adults" poster. Boston University Conference on Language Development. November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2006
Professional Leadership
Mentor, Mentoring for Academic-Research Careers (MARC) Program of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2012
Mentor, Student to Empowered Professional (STEP) Program of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2012
Other Professional Activities
Ad-hoc reviewer, International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders. 2013
Ad-hoc reviewer, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.
2013
Ad-hoc reviewer, Journal of Communication Disorders. 2010
Ad-hoc reviewer, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2009
