News
Watson-Thompson lauded for service learning work
The KU Center for Civic and Social Responsibility honored Jomella Watson-Thompson with one of its 2016 Faculty and Student Excellence in Service Learning Awards presented April 7 on the KU-Lawrence campus. ...
Schroeders establish research award for young LSI investigators
As a newly minted Ph.D. in the late 1960s, Stephen Schroeder received dozens of small grants from his own institution before grabbing the academic equivalent of the brass ring – a major grant from a federal agency. The time and effort it took left an impression. ...
National education initiative becomes affiliated research center
LAWRENCE — The Schoolwide Integrated Framework for Transformation Center has become the Life Span Institute’s 14th affiliated center. ...
Major study will untangle complexities of kids’ response to trauma
LAWRENCE — Before reaching age 5, up to 45 percent of children in the United States experience “significant and non-normative” trauma such as maltreatment, chronic stress caused by poverty, exposure to violence at home or in the community, or a parent suffering from an alcohol, drug or psychological problem. ...
Study: Most K-12 online learning content does not meet needs of students with disabilities
LAWRENCE — Online education is growing rapidly, reaching millions of students every day. However, a Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities at the University of Kansas study has found the majority of online educational products are not designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities and struggling...
Could daily dose of DHA help prevent premature births?
A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study led by University of Kansas Medical Center researchers could lead to a reduction in early preterm births -births before 34 weeks of gestation - which are a major burden on the health care system and a concern for mothers worldwide. ...
A new NIH-funded study will determine if DHA supplements can prevent premature births
A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study led by University of Kansas Medical Center researchers could lead to a reduction in early preterm births -births before 34 weeks of gestation - which are a major burden on the health care system and a concern for mothers worldwide. ...
Award to fund research on brain-computer interface control of communication device
LAWRENCE — University of Kansas neuroscientist Jonathan Brumberg has been awarded a $25,000 New Century Scholars Research Grant by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation to develop and test a brain-computer interface (BCI) that will directly control commercially available augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices for individuals with profound speech and motor...
Diabetes self-management, support improve health outcomes in underserved communities
LAWRENCE — Even in communities with barriers to health care, exercise opportunities and healthy food, residents with diabetes saw improved health outcomes when they participated in programs that took a coordinated care approach to diabetes self-management. ...
World Bank, Peace Corps, United Nations: Work Group strengthens international connections
Three prominent international groups recently partnered with the KU Work Group for Community Health and Development. ...
New report focuses on improving online learning among students with disabilities
Researchers with the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities have issued an in-depth analysis of the online education policies in all 50 states and five U.S. territories with recommendations for improving online and blended learning for students. ...
New director named for Fragile X project
Shelley Bredin-Oja has been named the full-time project coordinator for Fragile X longitudinal research directed by Steve Warren, effective April 1. Bredin-Oja earned her Ph.D. at KU in 2012 in speech-language-hearing and worked in Marc Fey’s Language Intervention Lab at KUMC until February 2015 when she became a part-time associate...
What works and what doesn’t: Francisco leads analysis of health systems improvement
The KU Work Group for Community Health and Development has received a one-year $276,00 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to identify and understand benchmarks of success among improvement initiatives aimed at community health systems. Researchers will pull together a team of practitioners and researchers to study community health...
Community Toolbox: TEDx event “reimagines” a toolbox
The Community Tool Box, a project of the Work Group on Community Health and Development, was featured in a TEDxKC event held in Kansas City on Aug. 29. Christina Holt, associate director for Tool Box Services, participated in a two-minute “speed interview” at the KU Edwards Campus and played a...
Women of Distinction Calendar honors 25 with ties to KU
LAWRENCE — Twenty-five women with ties to the University of Kansas are featured in the 2015-2016 Women of Distinction calendar. The Emily Taylor Resource Center for Women & Gender Equity, which produces the poster-sized calendar, will host a reception to honor the women and their achievements Monday, Aug. 31. ...
KU researchers join project aimed to examine ACA coverage for individuals with disabilities
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW)- University of Kansas researchers will be a part of a $2.5 million grant projected to examine the Affordable Health Care Act and its effects on individuals with disabilities. ...
ADA commemoration turns spotlight on LSI researchers
The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) marked its 25th anniversary on July 25 with commemorations held across the country including at the University of Kansas. ...
Community health researcher returns to lead Work Group
Following the August 14 retirement of long-time director Steve Fawcett, Vincent Francisco will head up the Work Group for Community Health and Development and hold the Kansas Health Foundation Professorship in Applied Behavioral Science. ...
Greening a food desert in Wyandotte County
KU community health and development research staff are on the ground in Wyandotte County helping build healthier communities one tienda—or neighborhood store—at a time. ...
Think-and play-like a scientist
If you want to sharpen your decision-making ability, argumentation skills and learn about science—all while playing a video game—then Reason Racer is for you. Reason Racer (reasonracer.com) is an online, multiplayer competitive game that engages middle school students in understanding scientific argumentation, the kind of higher- level thinking that is...
New leader announced for community health research group
Vincent Francisco has been selected to oversee the leadership team at the KU Work Group for Community Health and Development, one of 14 affiliated research centers of the University of Kansas Life Span Institute. ...
Researchers win grants on employment of people with disabilities
LAWRENCE — Researchers from three programs affiliated with the University of Kansas Life Span Institute were awarded Empower Kansas grants earlier this month in Parsons by UnitedHealthcare, one of the three managed-care organizations that provide services to Medicaid consumers in Kansas. ...
Children with autism can learn to be social, trial shows
When Debra Kamps, senior scientist at the University of Kansas Life Span Institute, first began researching how to improve the social and communication skills of children with autism in natural settings like schools in the 1970s, it was hard to find children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who were in...
There's a map for that: Campus activity routes expand accessible health options
The University of Kansas campus offers its students, faculty and staff many ways to stay healthy. Now a new set of campus activity routes add another option for those with disabilities. ...
David Ekerdt named director of Gerontology Center
David J. Ekerdt became the new director of the Gerontology Center in January. Ekerdt, the interim director of the Gerontology Center and professor of sociology, was appointed after a national search. ...
Social media helps students learn scientific argumentation better than peers, study shows
Adults often bemoan the amount of time young people spend staring at a screen and browsing social media. But social media can not only be a way to teach students elements of the scientific process, those who took part in a program to learn scientific argumentation through social media learned...
Community Tool Box receives $250K grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
LAWRENCE — Talk about timely. In 1995, when the Internet’s popularity was soaring, the University of Kansas Work Group for Community Health and Development launched the Community Tool Box website — a free resource to help communities at home and abroad improve health and development. ...
Permanent director named for CRL
Mike Hock, interim director of the Center for Research on Learning since July 2014, has been named permanent director of the LSI-affiliated center. ...