Curriculum Vitae

Ryan A. Cannistraci, Ph.D.

EDUCATION
2021 Ph.D. Experimental Psychology, Cognitive and Developmental Sciences
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Dissertation Title: Audiovisual speech processing: Implications for speech
perception and language development

2017 M.A. Experimental Psychology

University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Thesis Title: Do you see what I mean? The role of visual speech information in
lexical representations

2014 B.A. Psychology

Millersville University

ACADEMIC POSITIONS
2021-Present Visiting Assistant Professor, Lafayette College

2017-2021 Graduate Teaching Associate, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

(Instructor of Record)

2014-2021 Graduate Research Assistant, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Infant Language and Perceptual Learning Lab

2014-2020 Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

GRANT FUNDING
2020-2021 University of Tennessee Yates Dissertation Fellowship

2014 Neimeyer-Hodgson Student Research Grant, Millersville University

HONORS AND AWARDS

2020-2021 University of Tennessee Yates Dissertation Fellowship
2018 University of Tennessee NeuroNet Travel Award
2018 University of Tennessee Graduate Student Senate Travel Award
2016 University of Tennessee Graduate Student Senate Travel Award
2015 Poster Award, UTK Psychology Celebration
2014 Outstanding Senior Psychology Major Award, Millersville University
2014 Induction into Psi Chi, International Honor Society in Psychology

REFEREED PUBLICATIONS
Kalashnikova, M., Singh, L., Tsui, A. S.-M, Burnham, D., Cannistraci, R. A., Chen, H., . . . &
Woo, P.J. (accepted pending data collection). The development of tone discrimination in
infancy: Evidence from a cross-linguistic, multi-lab report. Developmental Science.
 Ryan A. Cannistraci, Ph.D. — Curriculum Vitae 2

Hay, J. F., Cannistraci, R. A., & Zhao, Q. (2019). Mapping non-native pitch contours to
meaning: Perceptual and experiential factors. Journal of Memory and Language, 105,
131-140.

Cannistraci, R. A., Dal Ben, R., Karaman, F., Parvanezadeh Esfahani, S., & Hay, J. F. (2019).
Statistical learning approaches to studying language development. In Horst, J. and von
Koss Torkildsen, J. (Editors). International Handbook of Language Acquisition.
Routledge.

Coppinger, B., Cannistraci, R. A., Karaman, F., Kyle, S. C., Hobson, E. A., Freeberg, T. M., &
Hay, J. F. (2017). Studying audience effects in animals: what we can learn from human
language research. Animal Behaviour, 124, 161-165.

CURRENT PROJECTS
Manuscripts in preparation (writing stage)
Cannistraci, R. A., & Hay, J. F. (in preparation). Individual differences in attention predict
audiovisual minimal pair learning in 14-month-olds.

Cannistraci, R. A., Buss, A. T., & Hay, J. F., (in preparation). Using dynamic neural field
modeling to uncover individual differences in infants’ audiovisual binding of the McGurk
effect.

Cannistraci, R. A., Eschman, B. T., Freeberg, T. M., & Hay, J. F. (in preparation). Using
Tinbergen’s four questions to guide language development research: Borrowing lessons
learned from Ethology.

Cannistraci, R. A., & Hay, J. F., (in preparation). McGurk fusions in infancy: A meta-analysis
outlining the rates at which infants perceive the McGurk Effect.

*Data Collection Halted (Covid-19)

*Cannistraci, R. A., Defenderfer, J., Hay, J. F., & Buss, A. T. (in preparation). Adult’s
audiovisual speech perception manifested across neural and behavioral levels of
analysis: Using dynamic neural field models to uncover individual differences.

*Cannistraci, R. A., Buss, A. T., & Hay, J. F., (in preparation). Longitudinal correspondences
between audiovisual speech perception, phoneme discrimination, and vocabulary
outcomes.

REFEREED CONFERENCE PAPER PRESENTATIONS

Cannistraci, R. A., Buss, A. T. & Hay, J. F. (2022, July). Infants' individual differences in
perceiving the McGurk Effect. Paper presented at the XXIII Biennial Conference for the
International Congress on Infant Studies, Ottawa, CA.

Cannistraci, R. A. & Hay, J. F. (2019, March). Experience with native language prosody
influences object-label associations in infancy. Paper presented at the 90th Eastern
Psychological Association Meeting, New York, NY.

Hay, J. F. & Cannistraci, R. A. (2018, July). The contrastive use of lexical tones: The choice of
lexical tones matters. Paper presented at the XXI Biennial Conference for the
International Congress on Infant Studies, Philadelphia, PA.
 Ryan A. Cannistraci, Ph.D. — Curriculum Vitae 3

Hay, J. F., Cannistraci, R. A., Moore, D., Graf Estes, K. (2017, April). Mapping lexical tones to
meaning: The role of native language prosody. Paper presented at the Biennial
Conference for the Society for Research in Child Development, Austin, TX.

Hay, J. F., Zhao, Q., & Cannistraci, R. A. (2016, May). Mapping lexical tones to meaning from
a perceptual cues perspective: When prosody outweighs salience. Paper presented at
the XX Biennial Conference for the International Congress on Infant Studies, New
Orleans, LA.

REFEREED CONFERENCE POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Cannistraci, R. A., Buss, A. T. & Hay, J. F. (2021, April). Infants' individual differences in
perceiving the McGurk Effect. Poster presented at the Biennial Conference for the
Society for Research in Child Development.

Cannistraci, R. A., & Hay, J. F. (2020, July). Individual differences in attention predict
audiovisual minimal pair learning in 14-month-olds. Poster presented at the XXII Biennial
Conference for the International Congress on Infant Studies, Glasgow, UK.

Cannistraci, R. A., Buss, A. T. & Hay, J. F. (2020, July). Infants' individual differences in
perceiving the McGurk Effect. Poster presented at the XXII Biennial Conference for the
International Congress on Infant Studies, Glasgow, UK.

Cannistraci, R. A., & Hay, J. F. (2019, October). Learning minimal pair object-label
associations from audiovisual speech. Poster presented at the 11th Biennial Meeting of
the Cognitive Development Society, Louisville, KY.

Cannistraci, R. A., Hay, J. F., & Buss, A. T. (2019, July). A Dynamic Neural Field Model of the
McGurk Effect and incongruous audiovisual speech stimuli. Poster presented at the 41st
Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Montreal, Canada.

Cannistraci, R. A. & Hay, J. F. (2018, July). Audiovisual speech influences lexical retrieval for
correctly pronounced and mispronounced words. Poster presented at the XXI Biennial
Conference for the International Congress on Infant Studies, Philadelphia, PA.

Cannistraci, R. A., Hay, J. F., & Buss, A. T. (2018, June). A Dynamic Field Theory account of
audiovisual speech perception: Explaining the McGurk Effect and perception of
incongruous audiovisual stimuli. Poster presented at Expanding the Field 2018: Multi-
disciplinary Developmental Dynamics, Norwich, UK.

Zhao, Q., *Cannistraci, R. A., Hay, J. F. (2015, March). Flexibility in infant word mapping: The
role of pitch contour and acoustic salience. Poster presented at the Biennial Conference
for the Society for Research in Child Development, Philadelphia, PA.
*Presenting author

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Society for Research in Child Development
International Congress of Infant Studies
Eastern Psychological Association
Cognitive Science Society
Cognitive Development Society
 Ryan A. Cannistraci, Ph.D. — Curriculum Vitae 4

SERVICE
2021 Tennessee State University Psychology Symposium Poster Judge
Organizer: Dr. Kiesa Kelly

2021 Tennessee STARS Undergraduate Mentoring Program

Organizer: Dr. Kalynn Schulz

2020 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and

Creative Achievement (EURēCA) Poster Session Judge
Organizer: Dr. Tyler Wall

2020 International Congress on Infant Studies, Review Panel 7 – Cognitive

Development Reviewer
Committee Organizers: Dr. Shannon Ross-Sheehy & Dr. Kiley Hamlin

2019 Eastern Psychological Association, Cognitive Section Review Committee

Committee Organizer: Dr. Shaun Cook

2019 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and

Creative Achievement (EURēCA) Poster Session Judge
Organizer: Dr. Christina Ergas

2018 Eastern Psychological Association, Cognitive Section Review Committee

Committee Organizer: Dr. Shaun Cook

2018 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and

Creative Achievement (EURēCA) Poster Session Judge
Organizer: Dr. Christina Ergas

2018 UTK Psychology Graduate Student Association, Brain Awareness Month

Organizer: Dr. J. Alex Grizzell

ADDITIONAL TRAINING
2021 Designing, Running, and Analyzing Experiments in R; Coursera Online Class
Offered by UC San Diego
Professors: Dr. Scott Klemmer & Dr. Jacob O. Wobbrock

2019 CDS Pre-Conference Workshop: Open Developmental Science

Workshop Organizer: Dr. Sabine Doebel

2018 Dynamic Field Theory Bootcamp. University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

Workshop Organizers: Dr. John Spencer & Dr. Gregor Schöner

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Visiting Assistant Professor: Lafayette College
Design and Analysis I Fall 2022, Spring 2022
*with lab section

Lifespan Development II Spring 2022

*with lab section
 Ryan A. Cannistraci, Ph.D. — Curriculum Vitae 5

Quantitative Methods in Psychology Fall 2021 (x2)

Lifespan Development I Fall 2022, Fall 2021

Graduate Teaching Associate (Instructor of Record): University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Sensation and Perception (Co-Instructor) Spring 2021 (x2)

Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019,
Fall 2018, Summer 2018, Spring
2018, Fall 2017

General Psychology, Breakout Section Leader Spring 2017 (x2), Fall 2016 (x2)

Graduate Teaching Assistant: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Research and Theory in Child Development Fall 2020, Spring 2016

Adolescent Development Spring 2015

Sensation and Perception Spring 2015 (x2), Fall 2015 (x2)

Executive Function Special Topics Seminar Fall 2014

Cognitive Basis of Behavior Fall 2014 (x2)

Undergraduate Tutor: Millersville University

Statistics & Experimental Design I Spring 2014

Statistics & Experimental Design II Spring 2014

Sensation and Perception Spring 2014