Dr. Dorien Nieuwenhuijsen is Associate Professor in Spanish Linguistics. She is Director of Studies of the Undergraduate School Languages, Literature and Communication (TLC) at Utrecht University.  

Her research is focused on the historical development of Spanish, especially Spanish syntax, and on variation and change in contemporary Spanish, in Spain and Spanish America. She is particularly interested in the role internal and external factors play in linguistic variation and change. To recollect her data she uses large digital language corpora and she takes a special interest in the opportunities these digital tools offer for the study of historical linguistics.

She takes part in the research project "Diccionario histórico de las perífrasis verbales del español. Gramática, pragmática y discurso (III). Perífrasis formadas a partir de verbos superléxicos y de movimiento" (MICINN PID2019-105415RB-I00), University of Barcelona.

She is a member of the research group Grup de Gramàtica i Diacronia (Gradia) recognised as 'consolidated' by the Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR) of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2017 SGR 1337).

She takes also part in the research project "Procesos de lexicalización y gramaticalización en la historia del español: cambio, variación y pervivencia en la historia discursiva del español" (PROLEGRAMES) (MICINN PID2020-112605GB-I00), Complutense University of Madrid.