Dominie Madonna Writt has extensive education and experience in psychology, neuroscience, marine mammal behavior and cognition. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in psychology with an emphasis on cognitive and comparative neuroscience from the University of Southern Mississippi. She has taught at both the University of Kansas and Osceola High School. Her research focuses on using event-related potentials to study signal processing and communication in bottlenose dolphins.

1. Dominie Madonna Writt, M.A., A.B.D.
C/O MARINE MAMMAL BEHAVIOR & COGNITION LAB, USM 118 COLLEGE DRIVE #5025, HATTIESBURG, MS 39406 ▪ DOMINIE@CETSCI.COM
Education
Ph.D. in Psychology Anticipated: 2012
University of Kansas – Lawrence, KS (Dissertation Chair: Jim Juola)
Emphasis – Cognitive & Comparative Neuroscience
University of Southern Mississippi (Dissertation Chair: Stan Kuczaj, II)
Emphasis - Neurophysiology & Marine Mammal Cognition
University of Cincinnati (Acoustics & Neurophysiology Advisor: Peter M. Scheifele)
Division of Neurotology & Bioacoustics, Medical Center
M.A. in Cognitive Psychology 2003
University of Kansas – Lawrence, KS
Emphasis - Neurophysiology & Language Development
Postgraduate Work 1997
University of Kansas School of Education - Secondary Science
Emphasis - Secondary Science Education Masters Program
B.A. in Biology (Honors) 1996
University of Kansas - Lawrence, KS
Emphasis – Animal Behavior (Comparative Cognition)
Teaching Experience
Academic Year
Research Methods University of Kansas, Psychology Department, Instructor 2004
Brain & Behavior University of Kansas, Continuing Education, Instructor 2002 - 2004
Cognitive Psychology University of Kansas, Continuing Education, Instructor 2002 - 2004
(Including Course Text Co-Authorship)
Statistics University of Kansas, Psychology Department, TA 2003
Research Methods University of Kansas, Psychology Department, TA 2002
Biology Osceola High School, Kissimmee, FL, Instructor 1998/1999
Ecology Osceola High School, Kissimmee, FL, Instructor 1998/1999
Earth Space Science Osceola High School, Kissimmee, FL, Instructor 1998/1999
FCAT Math I Osceola High School, Kissimmee, FL, Instructor 1997/1998
Related Professional Experience
Tutor–Psychology, Statistics University of Kansas & Independent, Lawrence, KS 2003 – 2008
Lab Assistant Infant Cognition Lab, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 2003 – 2004
Animal Educator Sea World, Guest Education, Orlando, FL 1997
Research Internship–Cognitive EPCOT Center, Living Seas, Orlando, FL 1997
Tutor–Math, Science, English Lawrence Junior High School System, Lawrence, KS 1995 - 1996
Disabled Student Assistant Professional Note-Taker, Lawrence, KS 1994 - 1995
SCUBA Instructor Key West Pro Dive, Key West, FL 1993
Honors and Awards
Frederic Fairfield Award for Innovative Research Methods 2009
Golden Key Honors Society 2008-2010
Graduate School Honors Fellowship, University of Kansas 2001, 2005
Excellence in Undergraduate Biology, University of Kansas 1996

2. Writt CV, page 2
Professional Service and Activities
Supervision/Advising
Co-Advisor (Acting), Master’s Degree Student, Patrícia Rachinas-Lopes, Institute of Higher Applied
Psychology (ISPA), Lisbon, Portugal—Master's Thesis: Measuring Neurophysiological Markers of Acoustic
Signal Processing in Bottlenose Dolphins with a Non-Invasive Device (Successfully Defended: January, 2010)
Supervisor, Master's Thesis Research Project, Patrícia Rachinas-Lopes, ISPA, Instituto Universitário—
Biopsychology Division, Lisbon, Portugal (2008-2010)
Career Counseling, Undergraduate Student, Lyndsey Adams, Grand Valley State University (2006)
Mentor, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Sarah Ivy, University of Kansas (2003)
Writing Guide, Doctoral Student, Otilia Blaga, M.A., Cognitive Psychology, University of Kansas (2003)
Supervisor, Honor’s Thesis Research Project, Cinnamon Smith, University of Kansas (2001-2002)
Supervisor, Honor’s Thesis Research Project, Megan Migliazzo, University of Kansas (2000-2001)
Leadership
Judge, Frederick Fairfield Memorial Award, 19th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals,
Tampa, Florida, USA (2011)
Head, Annual University of Kansas ―Mind Lecture Series‖ (2006)
President, Association for Women in Science (AWIS), Ad Astra (2005-2006)
Student Representative to the Faculty, Cognitive Psychology, University of Kansas (2005)
Transportation Coordinator, Annual University of Kansas ―Mind Lecture Series‖ (2004, 2005)
President-Elect, Association for Women in Science (AWIS), Ad Astra (2004-2005)
Primary Creator, Cognitive Neuroscience Presentation for Children Participating in Neurophysiological
Research at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (2002)
Manager, Animal Behavior Lab, Biology Department, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas (1996)
President/Founder, D & W Maba Lab—Biology Club, Lawrence, Kansas (1987-1989)
Editing/Writing
Web-Master & Publicist, Association for Women in Science (AWIS), Ad Astra (2004-2006)
Author, Cognitive Psychology Course Text, 3rd Edition Revisions, KU Continuing Education (2004)
Coordinator, Science Appreciation Initiative—Collective Effort of Students, Teachers, & Parents to Better
Educate Children in Science, Osceola High School, Kissimmee, Florida (1998)
Editor-In-Chief, Osceola Science Education Newsletter—Weekly OHS Student-Written Newsletter to
Parents that Highlighted the New Topics Learned & Opportunities Available for Child & Adult Science
Education in Surrounding Areas, Kissimmee & Orlando, Florida (1998)
Editor-In-Chief, ―Earth’s Art‖, Not-for-profit Wildlife Magazine, Lawrence, KS (1986-1987)
Instruction
Proctor & Coordinator, Cognitive Psychology Proseminar, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (2002)
Instructor, Designer, & Team Leader, Practical Mathematics—Making Math More Accessible for At-Risk
High School Students through the Development of Individual Business Plans in a Simulated Economy,
Osceola High School, Kissimmee, FL (1998)
Instructor, Experimental Math Program for Students At-Risk for Failing the Florida Minimum
Competency Exam (FCAT), Osceola High School, Kissimmee, Florida (1998)
Facilitator, Brain & Behavior Online Learning Links, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (2004)
Designer, Web-Master, Neuroscience Child Education Initiative—Audio-Visual Presentation & Website
for Brain Games & Online Links to Neuroscience Resources for Children, Lawrence, KS (2001-2002)

3. Writt CV, page 3
Professional Memberships
Society for Marine Mammology (SMM)
European Association for Aquatic Mammals (EAAM)
Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)
American Psychological Association (APA)
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Association for Women in Science (AWIS)—Former president, Ad Astra
Professional Skills
Statistical Analysis: SPSS, SAS
Modeling & Multivariate Analysis: HLM, Lisrel, Prelis, Proc MI
Electrophysiological Data Collection & Analysis: Neuroscan, Acknowledge, Synergy
Online Education Tools: Blackboard, Impacta, Lectora
Computer Programming/Web Development: Visual Basic, C++, PASCAL, Matlab, HTML, Dreamweaver
Spectrographic Analysis: RAVEN, Audacity, GoldWave, PRAAT
Office Management: Access I & II, Excel I & II, Word I &II, Power Point I & II, Quick Books
Acoustic Recording: Anechoic Chamber DAT Recording, Microtrak Digital Recording, Hydrophones
Acoustic Payback: Lubell EV-UW30, Berhinger MX 802A, M-Audio Quattro USB Audio Interface
Underwater Photography: Canon EOS SLR, Ikelite Housing with Substrobe MV
Certifications: SCUBA, Dive Master & Instructor—Trained in Rescue & Recovery, First Aid
Research Ethics Board Approval: IRB-HSCL (Institutional Review Board-Human Subjects Committee, Lawrence)—
Primary Investigator: 1) ERP Investigation of Infant Directed Speech; 2) ERP Investigation of Semantic Processing in
Adults & Children, IACUC (Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee)—Primary Investigator: ERP Investigation
of Signal Processing in Tursiops truncatus
Public Service
Public Outreach/Science Research Zoomarine, Algarve, Portugal 2009
Career Week Guide, Science Hillcrest Elementary School, Lawrence, KS 2007
Career Day Mentor, Science Pinckney Elementary School, Lawrence, KS 2006
Bravo Flight Leader Kansas STARBASE Youth Education Program, Topeka, KS 2005
Fundraiser & Participant LiveSTRONG Ride for the Roses, Austin, TX 2005
Volunteer Local Election Committee, Lawrence, KS 2004
Volunteer Habitat for Humanity, Lawrence, KS 1999-2001
Volunteer Lawrence Community Theater, Lawrence, KS 2000
Volunteer LINK Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen, Lawrence, KS 1999
Coordinator Educational Outreach Program, Sea World, Orlando, FL 1998
Substitute Guest Educator Science Education, EPCOT Living Seas, Orlando, FL 1997
Teacher’s Aide Central Jr. High School, Lawrence, KS 1996
Judge Douglas County Science Fair, Lawrence, KS 1995
Member Committee for the Protection of the Gulf-Ecosystem, Key West, FL 1993
Student Mentor English as a Second Language Program, Lawrence, KS 1989-1990

4. Writt CV, page 4
Presentations & Invited Talks
Writt, D. M., Lopes, P. R., Kuczaj, S. A. II, Scheifele, P. M., dos Santos, M. E. (2011). Neurophysiological
Indices of Signal Processing in Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): Advancing Cetacean Cognition
and Communication Research. 19th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Tampa, FL,
USA.
Writt, D. M., Lopes, P. R., Kuczaj, S. A. II, Scheifele, P. M., dos Santos, M. E. (2010). Advancing
Communication Research in Cetaceans: Electrophysiological Indices of Signal Specific Cognitive
Processing in the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). 38th Annual Symposium of European
Association for Aquatic Mammals, Lisbon, Portugal.
Writt, D. M., Lopes, P. R., Kuczaj, S. A. II, dos Santos, M. E., Scheifele, P. M. (2009). Identification of
endogenous event-related potentials in the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin: Applications for communication
research. 18th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Quebec City, Canada.
Lopes, P. R., Writt, D. M., Kuczaj, S. A. II, dos Santos, M. E., Scheifele, P. M. (2009). A procura dos
marcadores neurofisiológicos neurofis no processamento de sinais nos golfinhos-roazes: Resposta
cognitiva a estimulos de tons raros. (The search for neurophysiological markers of signal processing in the
Atlantic bottlenose dolphin: Cognitive response to rare tone stimuli). Projecto Delfim, Symposium on the
Biology and Conservation of Marine Mammals (Biologia e Conservação de Mamíferos Aquáticos), Peniche,
Portugal.
Writt, D. M., Lopes, P. R., Kuczaj, S. A. II, dos Santos, M. E. (2009). A method for multi-channel event-
related potential recording in cetaceans. Presented at the Psychology and Neurosciences symposium, 4th
Meeting of the Portuguese National Association of Experimental Psychology (Psicologia e Neurociências, 4º
Encontro Nacional da Associação Portuguesa de Psicologia Experimental), Lisboa, Portugal.
Writt-Haas, D. M. & Atchley, R. (2005). The influence of agent animacy on children’s sentence processing
at the verb: An ERP investigation. Society for Research on Child Development, Atlanta, GA.
Colombo, J., Shaddy, J., Blaga, O., Anderson, C., Writt-Haas, D.M., Kannass, K. (2005). Attention and time
estimation in human infants: Estimation and processing of time intervals in 4- and 9-month-olds. Society
for Research on Child Development, Atlanta, GA.
Writt-Haas, D.M. (2004). First language acquisition: The role of maternal vocalizations to prelinguistic
infants, Cognitive Psychology Proseminar, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.
Writt-Haas, D. M., Ivy, S., Atchley, R.A. (2004). Electrophysiological evidence of semantic processing
differences between children and adults based on agent animacy. Conference on Human Development,
Washington DC.
Writt-Haas , D. M., & Atchley, R.A. (2004). The influence of subject animacy on verb comprehension: An
ERP investigation. Fourth International Conference on the Mental Lexicon, Windsor, Canada.
Writt-Haas, D. M. (2003). Toward a Neurophysiological Model of Language Development: The effect of
subject animacy on ERP language processing correlates in children and adults. (Invited Talk). Child
Language Proseminar, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

5. Writt CV, page 5
Presentations & Invited Talks (continued)
Writt-Haas, D. M., Ivy, S., Atchley, R.A., & Migliazzo, M. (2002). An ERP study exploring the influence of
agent animacy on sentence processing in adults and children. Third International Conference on the
Mental Lexicon, Banff, Canada.
Writt-Haas, D. M. (2002). Toward a neurophysiological model of language development: The effect of
subject animacy on ERP language processing correlates in children and adults. (Invited Talk). Cognitive
Psychology Proseminar, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.
Writt, D. M. (1996). Parental behavior of the largemouth bass in natural and captive populations: Effects
of brood developmental stage and male size. Biology Honors Colloquium, University of Kansas,
Lawrence, KS.
Writt, D. M. (1995). Parental behavior of the largemouth bass in natural and captive populations.
American Fisheries Society Annual Conference, Kansas Chapter, Manhattan, KS.
Publications
Writt, D. M., Lopes, P. R., dos Santos, M. E., Scheifele, P. M., Kuczaj, S. A II. (in preparation). A method
for multi-channel event-related potential (ERP) recording in odontocetes. To be submitted to Aquatic
Mammals.
Writt, D. M. & Kuczaj, S. A. II. (in preparation). Expanding methods for communication research in
dolphins and other odontocetes: The role of the endogenous event-related potentials (ERP). To be
submitted to The Journal of Comparative Cognition.
Writt, D. M., Lopes, P. R., Kuczaj, S. A. II, Scheifele, P. M., dos Santos, M. E. (in preparation). Cortical
processing of tone stimuli in the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): Identification of
endogenous event-related potentials (ERPs). To be submitted to The Journal of Experimental Biology.
Writt, D. M., Lopes, P. R., Kuczaj, S. A. II, dos Santos, M. E., Scheifele, P. M. (in preparation).
Neurophysiological indices of cognitive processing following whistle playback: The application of
event-related potentials (ERP) to communication research in the common bottlenose dolphin
(Tursiops truncatus). To be submitted to Journal of Comparative Physiology a-Neuroethology Sensory
Neural and Behavioral Physiology.
Juola, J., Atchley, R.A., & Writt-Haas, D. M. (2005). Cognitive Psychology. The University of Kansas,
Continuing Education, Lawrence, KS.
Writt Haas, D. M. (2003). Toward a neurophysiological model of language development:
Electrophysiological evidence of semantic processing differences between children and adults based
on agent animacy. Master’s Thesis. The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

6. Writt CV, page 6
Research
Identification of Electrophysiological Indicators of Distress in Wild Odontocete Cetacean Populations:
Impact of Anthropogenic Noise (pending)
o Primary Investigator
o Co-Investigator, Peter M. Scheifele, Ph.D.
Electrophysiological Indicators of Acoustic Self-Recognition in the Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops
truncatus) – Continuing Research (2009–current)
o Primary Investigator
o Co-Investigator, Patrícia Rachinas-Lopes, M.A.
Identifying Endogenous Event-Related Potentials in Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) Using Multi-Channel
Recording Techniques – Continuing Research (2008-current)
o Co-Investigator
o Primary Investigator, Peter M. Scheifele, Ph.D.
Identification of ERP Components that Reflect Processing Related to Presentation of Nonsense Signals and
Fragmented Whistles in the Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) – Dissertation Research (2010)
o Primary Investigator
o Research Assistant, Patrícia Rachinas-Lopes
Complex Signal Processing in the Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): Electrophysiological
Indicators – Dissertation Research (2010)
o Primary Investigator
o Research Assistant, Patrícia Rachinas-Lopes
Identification of Endogenous Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) in the Common Bottlenose Dolphin
(Tursiops truncatus): Cortical Processing of Simple Tone Stimuli - Dissertation Research (2010)
o Primary Investigator
o Research Assistant, Patrícia Rachinas-Lopes
The Effect of Neurophysiological Data Collection on the Behavior of Common Bottlenose Dolphins
(Tursiops truncatus) – Dissertation Research (2010)
o Primary Investigator
o Research Assistant, Patrícia Rachinas-Lopes
Development of New Technology and Methods for Multi-Channel ERP Recording in Marine Mammals –
Dissertation Research (2009)
o Primary Investigator
o Research Assistant, Patrícia Rachinas-Lopes
The Relationship between Personality and Trainability in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) - Meta-
analysis (2008)
o Primary Investigator
Observations of Dolphins off the Coast of Utila, Honduras: Behavior Related to Boat Presence and Human
Interaction – Marine Mammal and Behavior Cognition Lab, USM Research (2007)
o Research Assistant
o Primary Investigator, Deirdre Yeater, Ph.D.
Effect of Infant-Directed Speech on Infant Attention and Language Development – Independent Research
(2005)
o Primary Investigator

7. Writt CV, page 7
Research (continued)
Attention and Temporal Estimation in Infancy – KU Lifespan Institute Research (2004)
o Research Assistant
o Primary Investigator, John Colombo, Ph.D.
Semantic Processing Differences in Normal Adult and Children Populations Based on Agent Animacy:
Neurophysiological Evidence – Master’s Thesis Research (2002)
o Primary Investigator
Cuing Using the Divided Visual and ERP Paradigms Combined – KU Psycholinguistics Lab (2002)
o Research Assistant
o Primary Investigator, Ruth A. Atchley, Ph.D.
Syntactical Communication in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins - Marine Mammal and Behavior Cognition
Lab, USM Research (1997)
o Research Assistant
o Primary Investigator, Mark Xitco, Ph.D.
o Co-Investigators, John Gory, Ph.D. & Stan A. Kuczaj II, Ph.D.
Cognitive Abilities Related to Complex Problem Solving in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins - Marine
Mammal and Behavior Cognition Lab, USM Research (1997)
o Research Assistant
o Primary Investigator, John Gory, Ph.D.
o Co-Investigators, Mark Xitco, Ph.D. & Stan A. Kuczaj II, Ph.D.
Escape Behavior of the Mosquito Fish in a Controlled Environment – Independent Research (1996)
o Primary Investigator
Parental Behavior of Largemouth Bass in Natural and Captive Populations: Effects of Brood
Developmental Stage and Male Size - Honors Thesis Research (1996)
o Primary Investigator
o Co-Investigator, Jodee Hunt, Ph.D.