Jenny Saffran

Dr. Jenny Saffran, PhD, Psychology, is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a leading cognitive scientist specializing in language development. She directs the Infant Learning Lab, where her research explores how infants segment, categorize, and interpret the continuous stream of sounds that make up spoken language. Her groundbreaking work on statistical learning has reshaped our understanding of how babies acquire language—starting from birth and even in utero. Through innovative experiments and theoretical insights, Dr. Saffran has illuminated the mechanisms by which young minds detect patterns and structure in linguistic input. Widely recognized for her contributions to developmental science, she continues to influence both academic research and practical approaches to early language learning.