Martina Mellana

I am a PhD student in the Multimodal Language Department (MLD) at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, supervised by Prof. Aslı Özyürek, Dr. Sharice Clough, and Dr. Marina Ruiter. My research investigates how individuals with neurogenic communication disorders, such as aphasia, Alzheimer's disease, and amnestic mild cognitive impairment, use multimodal language to support their communication, focusing on gesture form, comprehension, and interaction. I investigate these questions using a combination of behavioral methods, virtual-reality paradigms, kinematic analyses, and computational measures.

I hold a Bachelor's degree (cum laude) in Speech and Language Therapy from the University of Turin, where I graduated with a thesis on conversational support for people with aphasia. I then completed a Master's degree (cum laude) in Cognitive Sciences and Decisional Processes (Track: Applied Cognitive Neuroscience) at the University of Milan. My master’s thesis, conducted in the MLD, examined the role of gesture in individuals with mild cognitive impairment.

Before starting my PhD, I gained clinical experience as a Speech and Language Therapist, working with adults with neurogenic communication disorders in Italy. I later joined the MLD as a research assistant. I am also involved in ongoing projects on multimodal communication facilitation in people with aphasia and their social inclusion.

Here is my CV.