A woman demonstrates a painting technique to a boy sitting at a table

Research Rising Progress

Overview

As part of the Research Rising initiative, the Life Span Institute is funding pilot projects broadly involving studies of intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD), including autism, Down Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, and others. This seed grant program is designed to build on KU’s historic and current strengths conducting rigorous research on IDD and improving the lives of individuals and families affected. The overarching goal of this program is to support the competitiveness of planned external research proposals.

Progress

Research Rising is a five-year initiative investing more than $12 million in four interdisciplinary projects that will address critical challenges facing humanity. The projects, which align with one or more of KU’s five strategic research areas, will strengthen emerging areas of research at the university, including advancing research in intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Scientists at the KU Life Span Institute have conducted research on intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for more than 70 years.  

Researchers hired

As part of the Research Rising initiative to strengthen emerging areas of research at the university, two new faculty have been hired, with additional faculty recruitment in progress. 

Carissa Cascio, Ph.D., was recruited to KU with the support of Research Rising in 2025.  A professor of psychology and senior scientist in the Life Span Institute at KU, she directs the Laboratory for Affective Sensory Research (LASR). The LASR focuses on the link between sensory and affective brain systems and their influence on autism characteristics, including social difficulties, co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions, and repetitive patterns of behavior.

"It’s estimated that as many as 90 percent of children with autism experience sensory processing disorder, compared to about 5 to 17 percent of the general population," Cascio said, describing her research.

Kourtney Nigh, Ph.D., also joined KU in 2025, where she is the lead clinical research assessment specialist and diagnostician at the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (KCART) and director of the Global Autism Interactive Network (GAIN). GAIN is a professional development program aimed at enhancing skills in assessing Autism Spectrum Disorder, with potential to meet the needs of autism screening nationwide.

 

A woman and her son gaze intently at each other while held in an embrace
A young girl with Down Syndrome who has with long curly hair wearing a yellow dress makes a silly face
A woman adjusts a graduation cap on a young woman in a wheelchair who is wearing a graduation gown

Awards and Training

As part of the Research Rising award, the Life Span Institute offered support for pilot projects in 2025 that broadly involved studies of intellectual developmental disabilities (IDDs). The seed grant program was designed to build on KU’s historic and current strengths conducting rigorous research on IDDs and improving the lives of individuals and families affected by them. The overarching goal of the program was to support the competitiveness of planned external research proposals.

Additionally, with Research Rising funding, the Life Span Institute offered a grant development "boot camp" in 2025. Four early career investigators completed the program, which included support for the recipients from a team of senior faculty with strong track records of external funding.