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Dr. M. (Michal) Korenar

Assistant Professor in Linguistics with a Focus on Language Learning in Diverse Populations
Faculty of Humanities
Capaciteitsgroep Nederlandse Taalkunde

Visiting address
  • Spuistraat 134
  • Room number: 420
Postal address
  • Postbus 1637
    1000 BP Amsterdam
  • Profile

    I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dutch Studies, where I coordinate the MA program in Dutch as a Second Language and Multilingualism. Additionally, I hold a position at Amsterdam UMC, within Liesbeth Reneman's Lab and the Alzheimer Centre Amsterdam

    I earned my PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Reading with a doctoral thesis on structural brain changes induced by bilingual experiences, funded by Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie ITN. I was a member of the Bilingualism in the Brain Lab, where I also secured my first posdoctoral position.

    Subsequently, I received Fulbright Fellowship and worked as postdoc at Pennsylvania State University in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Creativity Lab. There, my research focused on the influence of bilingualism on the dynamics of brain networks related to creativity.

    With my combined expertise in neuroscience and linguistics, I am deeply fascinated by the brain's adaptability in acquiring and utilizing multiple languages, and I am passionate about exploring how this understanding can be applied for societal good. One of my recent pursuits, in collaboration with colleagues from Amsterdam UMC, involves investigating whether bilingualism can rewire our brains to postpone the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, a project for which I received the Amsterdam UMC Career Bridging Grant.

  • Publications

    2023

    2022

    • Korenar, M., Treffers-Daller, J., & Pliatsikas, C. (2022). ‘Verbal salad’ is good for you: demystifying mixing of two languages. Manuscript submitted for publication. In Myths and facts about multilingualism The Center for the Advancement of Languages, Education and Communities.

    2020

    • Treffers-Daller, J., Ongun, Z., Hofweber, J., & Korenar, M. (2020). Explaining Individual Differences in Executive Functions Performance in Multilinguals: The Impact of Code-Switching and Alternating Between Multicultural Identity Styles. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, Article 561088. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.561088

    2019

    • Korenar, M. (2019). Prins of boswachter? Interpretatie van subjectanaforen in het Nederlands als tweede taal. Acta Universitatis Carolinae. Philologica, 2018(4), 113-129. https://doi.org/10.14712/24646830.2018.59

    2018

    2016

    • Korenar, M. (2016). Sensorimotor Behaviour Reflects Lexical and Grammatical Aspect in Czech: An Eye Tracking Study. Poljarnyj vestnik, 19(2016).

    2015

    2022

    • Korenar, M., Treffers-Daller, J., & Pliatsikas, C. (2022). Structural neural correlates of habitual code-switching practices in bilinguals. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/2zebp
    • Korenar, M., Treffers-Daller, J., & Pliatsikas, C. (2022). Two languages in one mind: insights into cognitive effects of bilingualism from usage-based approaches. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/v2x5n

    2021

    2022

    • Korenar, M. (2022). Bilingualism as a dynamic, brain-changing experience: a sMRI study. Poster session presented at Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC) day, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

    Prize / grant

    • Korenar, M. (2023). The role of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Code-Switching – A Combined TMS-fMRI Study.
    • Korenar, M. (2022). Bilingualism as a protective factor against Alzheimer’s disease: modulating grey matter networks in the healthy and diseased brain.
    • Korenar, M. (2022). Best Poster Award.

    Membership / relevant position

    • Korenar, M. (2022-2024). I am affiliated (null aanstelling) with the Amsterdam UMC (locations AMC, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, and VUmc, Alzheimercentrum (…), Amsterdam UMC.

    Media appearance

    Talk / presentation

    • Korenar, M. (speaker) (1-11-2023). Bilingualism: A Journey of Brain Transformation, University of Konstanz.
    • Korenar, M. (speaker) (29-9-2023). MRI as a powerful tool for language sciences, Universiteit Leiden, Leiden.
    • Korenar, M. (speaker) (5-6-2023). Bilingualism as a brain-changing experience - learning languages for healthy brain?, University of Groningen.
    • Korenar, M. (speaker) (7-3-2023). Bilingualism: A Tale of Brain-changing Experiences, Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands. https://www.ru.nl/cls/news-events/vm/research-groups/events-from-groups/2023/bilingualism-tale-brain-changing-experiences/
    • Korenar, M. (speaker) (7-2-2023). Bilingualism as a dynamic, brain-changing experience, Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism, University of Reading.
    • Korenar, M. (speaker) (27-11-2022). Bilingualism: A Tale of Brain-changing Experiences, University of Florida. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjnYsAvq1lg&ab_channel=UFLanguageandBrain
    • Korenar, M. (speaker) (3-10-2022). Do code-switching practices change the structure of bilinguals’ brain?, UiT Arctic University of Norway.

    Others

    • Korenar, M. (participant), Treffers-Daller, J. (participant) & Pliatsikas, C. (participant) (29-9-2022 - 1-10-2022). Linguistics Prague 2022, Prague. Oral presentation titled: "Structural brain changes brought about by switching practices in Czech-English bilinguals". Authors: Michal Korenar, (…) (participating in a conference, workshop, ...).
    This list of publications is extracted from the UvA-Current Research Information System. Questions? Ask the library or the Pure staff of your faculty / institute. Log in to Pure to edit your publications. Log in to Personal Page Publication Selection tool to manage the visibility of your publications on this list.
  • Ancillary activities
    No ancillary activities