In this first episode of Season 7, Laura A. Rodriguez O’Dwyer, member of the SPD podcast and secretary of the New York Circle of Translators, interviews Dr. Adolfo Garcia, a neuroscientist, musician, translator, and language teacher whose PhD dissertation focused on a Neurolinguistic Model on Translation Equivalence and whose postdoctoral research was centered on cognitive neuroscience on bilingualism. He is the creator of the “International Conference on Translation, Interpreting, and Cognition series.” His contributions have been recognized by the Linguistic Association of Canada and the United States, the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires, the Alzheimer’s Association, and Harvard’s Ig Nobel awards. He also received the Early Career Award, from the Society for the Neurobiology of Language; and the UpLink Top Innovator Award, from the World Economic Forum.

Our guest will unravel the neurological differences between translation and simultaneous interpretation, give you some useful insights on how to strengthen your memory, teach you about the importance of breaks, and much more.

Dr. Garcia does not only explain highly complex scientific concepts in a masterful way, but he also gives us useful tips on how to apply state-of-the art research to improve our memory and take better care of our brain. Furthermore, should your curiosity about the mysteries of the brain and our profession get sparked, Dr. Garcia has generously provided us with more resources to quench your thirst for knowledge.

Adolfo García, Ph.D., specializes in the neuroscience of language. He serves as Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Center (Universidad de San Andrés, Argentina), Senior Atlantic Fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute (University of California, San Francisco), and Associate Researcher at Universidad de Santiago de Chile. He is also co-founder of Include, a global network for cross-linguistic research on brain health; and creator of TELL, a speech testing app. Between 2019 and 2023 he served as President of the Translation, Research, Empiricism, Cognition (TREC) network. He has obtained funds from multiple international agencies, including a USD 8.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health on linguistic markers of dementia. He has authored more than 200 publications, including over 30 on the neuroscience of bilingualism, translation, and interpreting. A highlight in this space is The Neurocognition of Translation and Interpreting (2019, John Benjamins). He is the creator of the “International Conference on Translation, Interpreting, and Cognition series”, with initial editions in Argentina (2017), Germany (2019), Italy (2021), Chile (2023), and Norway (2025). His science communication milestones include a TEDx talk with a live audience of 12,000 persons, the TV show “Of brains and words,” the video series “Language, brain, and body,” the radio column “Mind and communication,” and the documentary “Impulso sonoro” (Canal Encuentro), and the video interview series “Minds between languages” (focused on cognitive aspects of translation and interpreting). His contributions have been recognized by the Linguistic Association of Canada and the United States, the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires, the Alzheimer’s Association, and Harvard’s Ig Nobel awards. He also received the Early Career Award, from the Society for the Neurobiology of Language; and the UpLink Top Innovator Award, from the World Economic Forum.

About the interviewer

Laura Rodriguez O’Dwyer earned her M.A. in Translation and Interpreting at Hunter College, New York City, in 2024. She is a translator and interpreter for English, German and Portuguese into Spanish, as well as a language instructor for German, English, and Spanish. Currently, she serves as the Secretary of the New York Circle of Translators and used to be part of the board of the Argentine Association of Translators and Interpreters.

Where to find us:

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Gabriela Escarrá
SPD Administrator (2024-2026)

Edna Lucía Santizo
SPD Assistant Administrator (2024-2026)

Email: podcast.ataspd@gmail.com

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