Finding Reading's Genetic Roots
DU Professor Jan Keenan has broken new ground in the field of cognitive psychology. Her research has shown that reading ability is affected by nature, not just nurture alone.
Keenan has been studying language comprehension for nearly her entire 30 years as a professor in DU's psychology department.
Keenan's current work in DU's Reading and Language Lab focuses on identifying the cognitive and genetic components of reading comprehension in twins.
Linking reading and DNA
Why twins? Identical twins share 100 percent of their DNA, and fraternal twins share 50 percent of their DNA. These genetic similarities make it easier for Keenan to isolate environmental and hereditary influences on the study participants.
Although Keenan needs more data before she can draw extensive conclusions, her work is already changing the way we look at reading. "My research is supporting the idea that genetics play a much larger role in reading comprehension than previously thought," she says.
In recognition of the significance of her research, Keenan received DU's 2006 Distinguished Scholar Award.
The long-term impact
Keenan hopes her work will help psychologists understand how genetics affect children's reading ability.
She also believes that as people come to understand the genetic causes underlying reading problems, society will ultimately be less hasty to blame parents and teachers when children struggle to read.
"As we learn that genetics play a role, we'll be able to take some pressure off of parents and also provide them with better tools for helping their kids," she says.
Eventually this knowledge will lead to reform in education policy, Keenan believes. "If you look at education policy today, all of the blame for a child's inability [to read] is placed on schools, parents, teachers. It's all blamed on environment," she says.
In addition to her research, Keenan places plenty of emphasis on her work with doctoral students.
"Jan is very supportive," says Rebecca Betjemann, who received her PhD in psychology from DU in 2005. "She was a huge influence on my entire graduate career. She was the influence, teaching me everything about how you do research in the area of comprehension, getting me involved in conferences and giving me connections with other researchers."
Published on Nov. 27, 2006