KU Center Director, Interim Liberal Arts Dean Receives Research Award from International Congress on Infant Studies

The International Congress of Infant Studies (ICIS) honored John Colombo, director of the KU Life Span Institute and interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, with an award recognizing his 35 years of research in the neurodevelopment and cognition of children from infancy through early childhood.

ICIS is the largest scientific society in the world dedicated to the study of human development during infancy and early childhood. Colombo was presented with the Translational Research Award at the 2022 Congress held in Ottawa, Canada, from July 7-10. The Translational Research Award honors those scientists who have successfully moved basic research findings on early human development from the laboratory to the applied world in order to improve the lives of infants and their families.

“I’m proud to see the impact of John’s career recognized with this award,” said Simon Atkinson, vice chancellor for research. “It’s good reason to celebrate not just his research accomplishments, but also the countless scientists he’s mentored and whose research is also part of John’s huge impact on the field.”

Colombo, a KU professor of psychology, has conducted research on individual and developmental differences in attention and studied their consequences for long-term developmental outcomes in typically developing and at-risk populations of infants, toddlers and children. In recent years he has worked to include innovative laboratory measures of neurodevelopment into numerous clinical trials evaluating the effects of nutrients and micronutrients on the development of cognitive function in infants and children. Over the course of his career, he has served as an investigator on federal, foundation and industry grants totaling more than $30 million.

Colombo has led the Life Span Institute since 2007. He has also served as interim vice chancellor for research and has been interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences since 2019.  

Photo: John Colombo with Lisa Oakes, past president of ICIS and professor of psychology, University of California, Davis, at the ICIS conference. Credit: ICIS Twitter, @infantstudies.