Directory » FLORINA ERBELI, PH.D.
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Dr. Florina Erbeli is an associate professor with tenure in the Department of Educational Psychology at Texas A&M University.
Background: Dr. Erbeli received her Ph.D. in special education from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. She completed her postdoctoral training at Florida Center for Reading Research and Department of Psychology at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. She joined the faculty in the Department of Educational Psychology at A&M as an assistant professor in 2018.
Teaching: Dr. Erbeli teaches graduate courses in reading development and literacy for students with diverse instructional needs.
Research: Dr. Erbeli's research focuses on dyslexia, typical and atypical reading development, and predictive factors of reading achievement. Her work has been published in several top-tier peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Scientific Studies of Reading, Reading Research Quarterly, Child Development, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry). She has been involved in projects receiving $7.9 million in external funding ($3.9 million sub-awarded to Texas A&M) from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institutes of Health.
Awards: Dr. Erbeli has received numerous department-, college-, and international-level early career research awards for innovative research and outstanding promise to the field (e.g., The Rebecca L. Sandak Young Investigator Award - Society for the Scientific Studies of Reading; Early Career Researcher Award - International Dyslexia Association). She has been named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science.
Editorial and Other Service: Dr. Erbeli is an editorial fellow for early-career psychologists of the Journal of Educational Psychology. She also serves on the editorial board of the British Journal of Educational Psychology and consulting editorial board of the Journal of Learning Disabilities. Together with Dr. Rick Wagner, she served as a guest editor for a special issue in Scientific Studies of Reading in 2023. She is a voting member at her flagship society, Society for the Scientific Study of Reading.
Background: Dr. Erbeli received her Ph.D. in special education from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. She completed her postdoctoral training at Florida Center for Reading Research and Department of Psychology at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. She joined the faculty in the Department of Educational Psychology at A&M as an assistant professor in 2018.
Teaching: Dr. Erbeli teaches graduate courses in reading development and literacy for students with diverse instructional needs.
Research: Dr. Erbeli's research focuses on dyslexia, typical and atypical reading development, and predictive factors of reading achievement. Her work has been published in several top-tier peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Scientific Studies of Reading, Reading Research Quarterly, Child Development, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry). She has been involved in projects receiving $7.9 million in external funding ($3.9 million sub-awarded to Texas A&M) from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institutes of Health.
Awards: Dr. Erbeli has received numerous department-, college-, and international-level early career research awards for innovative research and outstanding promise to the field (e.g., The Rebecca L. Sandak Young Investigator Award - Society for the Scientific Studies of Reading; Early Career Researcher Award - International Dyslexia Association). She has been named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science.
Editorial and Other Service: Dr. Erbeli is an editorial fellow for early-career psychologists of the Journal of Educational Psychology. She also serves on the editorial board of the British Journal of Educational Psychology and consulting editorial board of the Journal of Learning Disabilities. Together with Dr. Rick Wagner, she served as a guest editor for a special issue in Scientific Studies of Reading in 2023. She is a voting member at her flagship society, Society for the Scientific Study of Reading.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Journal Articles
2025
Bishop, M. E., & Erbeli, F. (2025). Dysgraphia unwritten: An interview with Dr. Steve Graham. Intervention in School and Clinic. [published with student]
AWARDS
2023 Rising Star of the Association for Psychological Science.
2023 Dina Feitelson Research Award, International Literacy Association.
2021 Early Career Researcher Award, International Dyslexia Association.
2021 Early Career Research Excellence Award, College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University.
2020 Outstanding Research Award, Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University.
2019 The Rebecca L. Sandak Young Investigator Award, Society for the Scientific Study of Reading.
2017 Travel Award, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, Florida State University.
2015 The Janette Klingner Award, International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities (IARLD).
OTHER NOTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2025 Editorial Fellowship for Psychologists for the Journal of Educational Psychology.
2024 Top Downloaded Article 2022 published in Reading Research Quarterly.
2024 Top Cited Article 2022-2023 published in Journal of Research in Reading.
2023 Top Cited Article 2021-2022 published in Developmental Science.
2022 Meta-Analysis Training Institute Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.
2020 ADVANCE Faculty Success Fellowship, Dean of Faculties, Texas A&M University.
2019 Kay and Jerry Cox Fellowship, Texas A&M University.
2013, 2012, 2011 Dissertation Fellowship, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2002 Austrian Academic Exchange Service (OeAD) Fellowship, Austria.
2001 German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Fellowship, Germany.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
The Future of Student Support: AI-empowered Digital Twin Campus and Virtual Coach for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Li, X. (PI), Luo, W. (Co-PI), Ye, X. (Co-PI), Lee, S. (Co-PI), Erbeli, F. (Co-PI), Yang, T. (Co-PI), Liu, H. (Co-PI) (2025 – 2026). The Future of Student Support: AI-empowered Digital Twin Campus and Virtual Coach for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ASCEND – Targeted Proposal Teams (TPT) Funding Program, Texas A&M University. Proposed amount $100,000 – funded.
Diagnostic Identification of Language and Reading Disorders Among Bilingual Learners.
Fitton, L. (PI), Goodrich, J. M. (PI), Erbeli, F. (Co-I), Adlof, S. (Co-I), & Crosby-Quinatoa, E. (Co-I) (2024 – 2029). Diagnostic identification of language and reading disorders among bilingual learners. National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01). Grant Award No. 1R01HD114547-01A1, total award $3,100,178. Sub-award with the University of South Carolina. Texas A&M University sub-award $1,501,766.
Project Success: Supporting Underrepresented Children through Community, Equity-based Instruction, and School-based Supervision of Teachers.
Watkins, L. (PI), Erbeli, F. (Co-PI), & Whiteside, E. (Co-PI) (2023 - 2028). Project Success: Supporting Underrepresented Children through Community, Equity-based Instruction, and School-based Supervision of Teachers. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Leadership Personnel competition (84.325M). Grant Award No. H325M230040, total award $1,109,162.
Collaborative Intervention Design: Doctoral Training Program Partnership with TAMU, UTN, UNE.
Erbeli, F. (PI) , Goodrich, J. M. (Co-PI), Thompson, J. L. (Co-PI), & Ganz, J. (Co-PI) (2021 - 2026). Collaborative Intervention Design: Doctoral Training Program Partnership with Texas A&M University, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Nebraska. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Leadership Personnel competition (84.325D). Grant Award No. H325D210073, total award $3,719,875. Sub-award with the University of Tennessee. Texas A&M University sub-award $1,246,090.
Remapping Reading Profiles of Children with Reading Disabilities Using Machine Learning Techniques.
Erbeli, F. (PI), Qian, X. (Co-I), & Liu, T. (Co-I). (January 2020 – December 2021). Remapping Reading Profiles of Children with Reading Disabilities Using Machine Learning Techniques. Funded by T3 Triads for Transformation Program, Texas A&M University. Total award $30,000.
A Machine Learning Approach for Identification and Risk Prediction of Reading Disability Status.
Erbeli, F. (PI), Wang, Z. (Co-I), & Wijekumar, K. (Co-I). (January 2020 – December 2021). A Machine Learning Approach for Identification and Risk Prediction of Reading Disability Status. Funded by Catapult Seed Grant Program, College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University. Total award $30,000.
Effective Early Literacy Screeners for English Language Learners.
Newell, K. (PI), Koh, P.W. (Co-I), & Erbeli, F. (Co-I). (October 2018 – May 2020). Effective Early Literacy Screeners for English Language Learners: A Collaborative Research and Training Project. Funded by Catapult Triad+ Seed Grant Program by the College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University. Total award $10,000.
COURSES TAUGHT
EPSY 691. DOCTORAL RESEARCH
2024, 2023, 2022
SPED 611. MULTICULTURAL AND BILINGUAL SPECIAL EDUCATION
2024, 2023, 2022, 2021
SPED 617. ADOLESCENT LITERACY ACROSS THE CONTENT AREAS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019
SPED 630. EARLY LITERACY FOR STUDENTS WITH DIVERSE INSTRUCTIONAL NEEDS
2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018
SPED 685. DIRECTED STUDIES
2024, 2023