Wagner said the center will conduct several studies involving large numbers of volunteers. In one of these, FSU researchers will identify a sample of 500 Florida families with members who have severe reading problems. In addition to educational and psychological testing, DNA samples will be taken from the volunteers to examine possible genetic components of their learning disabilities.
FSU also plans to perform a large-scale study of twins.
"We will be searching for 9,000 sets of twins from throughout the state," Wagner said. "After we identify them, we will seek parental permission to access their school records. Specifically, we will be looking for variability in their reading skills."
In addition to Wagner, nearly two dozen faculty members and post-doctoral researchers from FSU's departments of psychology and communication disorders, College of Education, and Florida Center for Reading Research, as well as four molecular geneticists from the Yale University School of Medicine, will participate in five major research projects under the NIH grant.
"For more than 20 years, Rick Wagner has been a leading scholar in the areas of learning disabilities, dyslexia and cognitive psychology," said Joseph K. Torgesen, director of the Florida Center for Reading Research. "I am delighted that he will have the opportunity to put his expertise to use in overseeing such important research into the study of dyslexia."
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Contact: Richard K. Wagner
rkwagner@psy.fsu.edu
850-644-1033
Florida State University
11-Jul-2006