I am interested in gaining a better understanding of the ways in which environmental factors influence cognitive development and shape neuroplasticity to identify ways to ensure students timely and adequately develop the neurocognitive abilities they will need to succeed academically and in the future, with the goal of using this knowledge as a tool to address educational disparities and strive to close the achievement gap.

Santillan, J., Chang, G., Yoncheva, Y.N., & McCandliss, B.D. (2011). Electrophysiological and Psychophysical Responses to Speech Sounds: Native Language Experience Shapes Perception. Poster presentation at the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience poster session at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC.

Santillan, J. & Prasada, S. (2011). The role of Linguistic Cues in The Acquisition of Generic Knowledge About Novel Objects. Oral presentation at the 39th Annual Hunter College Psychology Convention and the 15th Annual N.E.U.R.O.N. Conference, New York, NY.

Santillan, J., Seiver, E., & Gopnik, A. (2010). Children’s Explanations and What They Reveal About Their Conceptions of Free Will: A Developmental Approach. Oral presentation at the 10th Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, Charlotte, NC.

Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation,2012
Promising Scholar Award, University of Oregon, 2012
Livingston Welch Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research, Hunter College, 2012
BP-Endure Fellowship, NIH Pre-Baccalaureate Training Program, 2011-2012
Career Opportunities in Research Fellowship, NIMH Pre-Baccalaureate Training Program, 2010-2011