Adrielli Tina Lopes Rego

My name is Adrielli (/adɾiɛˈli/) and I just started my PhD in the project “Understanding Reading Comprehension” with Prof. Dr. Martijn Meeter and Dr. Menno van der Schoot. The main goal of my PhD is to build a computational model of reading comprehension by expanding an already existing model of reading, the OB1-reader, to not only simulate word recognition but also meaning construction during reading. I use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to integrate semantics into the model.

The project consists of four major steps. First, I investigate (i) how comprehension processes affect the timing of eye movements during reading and (ii) the brain’s evoked responses on an average reader using eye-tracking and EEG data. Then, I will explore (iii) what processing differences underlie differences in reading comprehension skills and (iv) whether different kinds of comprehension problems can be linked to different model parameters. A more long-term application of the project is to inspire pedagogy practices and support diagnosing of reading difficulties.

About my background, I am from Brazil and I moved to the Netherlands in 2017 to follow a Bachelor’s program in Linguistics at the University of Amsterdam. I then did a Research Masters in Human Language Technology here at the VU. My research focuses on language processing and learning in the brain, using frameworks and methods from psycholinguists and NLP. I currently live in the faraway land of Den Helder with my partner and our enthusiastic dog, with whom I often catch a frisse neus by strolling along the beach.