Monika Molnar
PhD
Dr. Monika Molnar is an Associate Professor in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto and Director of the BAM Research Group. She earned her PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders from McGill University. An interdisciplinary developmental scientist, she investigates neurocognitive development in monolingual and bilingual children and adults, with a mission to promote equity in clinical care by shaping inclusive theories and assessment practices. She is an advocate for Open Science and Open Education and serves on the incoming advisory board for Women in Cognitive Science Canada+.
Research & Scholarly Activities
Dr. Molnar’s research examines how cognitive mechanisms shape spoken language processing and the early skills that support reading development. Her work is grounded in the view that the ways we learn and use spoken and written language cannot be understood in isolation from broader cognitive systems.
Guided by a biopsychosocial perspective, she examines the dynamic interplay of neurobiological, cognitive, and behavioural processes in language and literacy development. She also adopts a nuanced view of language experience, recognizing that differences associated with monolingual and bilingual acquisition are shaped by context, input, and opportunity, rather than reflecting inherent advantages of one over the other. Both monolingual and bilingual learning environments offer valuable developmental pathways.
Dr. Molnar integrates behavioural, physiological, neural, community-based, and AI-driven methods to investigate the mechanisms underlying spoken and written processing across development, with the goal of informing theory and clinical practice.
Research Foci:
- Monolingual and bilingual development
- Cognitive mechanisms of spoken language processing
- Foundations of early reading development
- Equitable and culturally responsive assessment and intervention
- Language and cognitive outcomes following pediatric stroke
Teaching, Funding & Awards
Dr. Molnar teaches graduate-level courses, including Child Language Development and Assessment, and contributes to the development of professional development courses in her program. She supervises undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral trainees. She is dedicated to improving teaching and learning practices, has completed the Healthcare Leadership Program at the Rotman School of Management, and holds a Certificate of Effective University Instruction from the Association of College and University Educators. Dr. Molnar is committed to innovation in education, using inclusive, evidence-based approaches to support all learners.
Her research and trainee supervision are supported by Tri-Agency funding, including multiple active grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
Active Research Funding:
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N/A
Awards:
- 2025 | Temerty Faculty of Medicine Early Career Mentorship Award
- 2024 | Editor’s Award – Perspectives of ASHA Special Interest Groups
- 2023 | Excellence in Teaching Award
- 2021 | Dr. Patty Rigby Award for Early Career Excellence in Supervision and Mentorship
- 2019 | NSERC Early Career Research Award