Friday, Oct. 17, 2025

Director Letter  |  Disability inclusion grant  |  Supporting autistic children |
LSI people in the media  | Literacy Bridges |  University updates | Events and opportunities | Kudos

Have a news story, publication, event or staff highlight for us? Submit it by 5 p.m. Oct. 23 here.

In recent months, we have become aware through various meetings with leadership and from what has also been reported to us from other meetings held across the institution that the structure and function of KU’s major designated research centers (including LSI) have come under scrutiny. To many of us, such scrutiny implies that the value of LSI in understanding our role in supporting the success of KU is underappreciated or misunderstood. 

In response to this, I thought it worthwhile to raise and address this issue publicly. Here, my aim is to provide some background that might help everyone understand this situation, and to provide some talking points to help others articulate the nature of the LSI and how it supports KU’s overall success. I think it important for all of us to be familiar with these talking points, should we find ourselves in situations where the research center model might be discussed.  Please note that, throughout this column, I’ll make points relevant to LSI specifically but that, in many cases, my points might also be relevant other KU designated research centers.

Some History and Context

The LSI is one of 11 officially designated research centers that are recognized by and report to The Office of Research (all the other centers are listed at here).  Designated centers such as the LSI were established separately over time in response to exceptional and sustained productivity in multi- or interdisciplinary realms. That said, they are all structured differently, provide different levels of services, have different indirect cost return policies, and exist/survive on the basis of very different revenue streams, and perhaps because of this heterogeneity, centers have rarely joined to provide a cohesive voice within the institution. In addition, such heterogeneity does not sit well within bureaucracies, as it is typically not amenable to blanket policies and one-size-fits-all solutions. To administer them effectively, one needs to know and understand them in depth and as individual units, appreciate their history, and address their needs and accomplishments separately.

Key Talking Points:  Addressing Concerns and Articulating Value

The primary concern involves the existence of LSI (and research centers) having an “unfair advantage.”   From what I can tell, this complaint can refer to three conditions:

“PIs at LSI receive better quality research support services than PIs who are not in centers”

The reality:

Faculty associated with LSI (and other centers, I presume) are privileged because they “just get to do research.”  

The reality:

LSI (and other centers) receive budgets from the Office of Research to support these areas of inquiry that are not afforded to other units.  

The reality:

Summary and Conclusion

Every other AAU member is situated in a state with a larger population (and tax base) than KU.  Given the fiscal limitations of a small state, KU cannot afford to be everything to everyone and has to be selective about its investments.  Michael Crow (former Vice Provost at Columbia University, and now president at Arizona State), has long argued that, strategically, institutions like KU should not strive to be everything to everyone, but rather focus on developing extraordinary strengths in distinct areas to achieve national visibility.  

So, to summarize…LSI’s structure, funding, and success are not accidents—they are deliberate, evidence-based outcomes of sustained productivity, external accountability, and interdisciplinary collaboration on the cutting edge of translational research. As questions about fairness or structure arise, I ask you to share this history and these facts:

-John

John Colombo, PhD
Professor of Psychology
Director, Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies

KU researchers have secured a grant to expand work on creating career pathways in research for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

The research team at the Kansas University Center on Disabilities (KUCD) at the Life Span Institute will expand its Inclusive Research Learning Series, engaging with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other universities and research teams to ensure research is driven by the values of people with disabilities.  The project will test and expand tools to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in planning, conducting and disseminating research as co-equal partners on disability research teams.

The three-year, $750,000 grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research will help KUCD test, explore and adaptively develop inclusive research practices. Traditionally, research in disability has not included people with disabilities as members of research teams. KUCD has worked to change that by advancing inclusive research, in which people with lived experiences are employed and part of the entire research process, striving to make this the industry standard.

👉 Read more about this KUCD project.

Three KU Life Span Institute researchers are developing a KU-based literacy center as part of efforts to improve overall reading proficiency under the statewide initiative, Blueprint for Literacy.  

Suzanne Myers and Jocelyn Washburn, co-directors of the KU Center for Research on Learning, and Trina Spencer, director of Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, are collaborating with support of a Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) award of $321,000 of seed funding for the project. 

Spencer will focus on guiding the development of resources and materials for preschool through third grade, and Washburn will guide the development of resources and materials aimed at grades 4-12.  

"We're creating content to help educators, families and students in their efforts to improve literacy development and growth for all Kansans," said Myers, who is directing the project. "Some resources will be useful for these groups to access and use on their own, or in collaboration with literacy experts they will be able to access through Literacy Bridges in the future. The wider dream is to create useful and practical resources for educators, families and students to use, regardless of where they are."

Literacy Bridges will also be informed by the statewide needs assessment underway since spring 2025. Analysis and results from the assessment will be reported to KBOR at the end of the year, and the findings may influence future investment in the project.  

Sensory processing disorder has been estimated to occur in as much as 90% of children with autism, compared to occurring in an estimated 5-17% of the general population. 

Some symptoms of autism may result from early differences in sensory development, according to Carissa Cascio, senior scientist at the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training, who helped develop the “cascading effects model” to help explain this effect. 

Sensory processing disorder is a broad term to describe challenges associated with the intake of sensory signals from the environment and how they are integrated with each other to inform behavior, Cascio explained. 

“It's an umbrella term that can describe a lot of different things, much like autism,” she said. “A lot of times, this shows up as hypersensitivity,” Cascio said. 

The cascading effects model focuses on how these sensory inputs create differences in children’s behavior compared to their neurotypical peers. It explains that early differences in how a child senses the world can set off a chain reaction and, over time, gradually shape the way they explore, learn, and connect with others. 

Research on autism in children has usually looked more at attention or social cognition. But Cascio said these complex behaviors depend on a great deal of sensory processing, a process that begins as early as in utero. 

👉 Read more of the conversation with Carissa Cascio.

KUCD's Communications Specialist Austin Myers and Research Assistant Ryan Henley attended the 2025 Seeking Opportunities for an Advocacy Revolution, or SOAR, at the University of Nebraska, where they presented stories of self-advocates and led a group discussion about the importance of advocating for oneself and the barriers people face. The two presenters were among several KUCD team members to attend the conference, including Ski Adams, Ben Edwards, Brad Linnenkamp and KUCD director Karrie Shogren. View photos at the conference, taken by SACK's Phillip McGruder.

In September, REDCapCon, the annual REDCap server software conference held for REDCap administrators around the world, honored Lisa Hallberg of LSI's Research Design and Analysis unit. The organization recognized her for outstanding leadership and service to the organization's members, including service on committees and for developing training materials.

Lisa Didion, assistant professor of special education and an investigator affiliated with the KU Center on Disabilities is one of 12 faculty to be honored through the KU Spotlight on Faculty Excellence, which celebrates faculty contributions in research, scholarship and creative activity. Each honoree is recognized during a KU Athletics event. Didion will be the featured researcher during the Dec. 14 KU women's basketball game.

The KU Office of Research honored Bailey Allred, a postdoctoral researcher at the KU Center on Disabilities, during National Postdoc Appreciation Week with a feature about Bailey and her focus on including the perspectives of those with disabilities in research and education practices.

The KU Department of Applied Behavioral Science honored Steve Fawcett, Kansas Health Foundation Emeritus Distinguished Professor, with the department's Distinguished Alumni Award Sept. 19. Fawcett, who co-developed the Community Tool Box, presented a talk titled “A Reflection on Community Research and Action as an Evolving Practice" at the event. View photos shared by CCHD.

Shea Tanis, who directs the State of the States in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, welcomed two dozen stakeholders to the Oread Hotel on Sept. 30 for the Technology First for Kansans workshop. She was joined by Abby Azeltine, director of Assistive Technology for Kansans and representatives across disability policy, services and agencies from across the state to discuss planning and innovation to drive Kansas' effort to become a "technology first" state. The workshop was funded through a grant announced in August.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers visited Altoona Elementary School in Altoona, Wis., in September, bringing attention to efforts to foster meaningful learning experiences for students with disabilities developing through a partnership between SWIFT Education Center and the School District of Altoona. 

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee shared testimony from Research Aide Sean Tyree in the article "Five Key Moments: Hearing on Barriers to Work for People with Disabilities." Speaking on his employment at KUCD, Tyree said, "It has given me a real purpose in my life, because I’m able to help others that are in the same situation that I was in when I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel between all these different services and support systems that we have to navigate to get the necessary support to receive competitive, integrated employment and things of that nature."

KCUR and Kansas News Service highlighted ongoing research led by Evan Dean, associate director of community services at the KU Center on Disabilities. In an update to lawmakers, Dean stressed the need for more transparency about the Kansas disability waitlist, where some Kansans with disabilities may wait as long as 10 years for services. A public dashboard could convey important information about the waitlist to stakeholders and collect geographic and demographic information for analysis.

In September media from across the country published remarks from Carissa Cascio of the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Treatment following claims about the causes of autism announced by the federal government. In "Trump and RFK Jr. are making claims about autism. What do medical experts say?" Cascio was among experts who described what is known about the causes of autism. 

F.D. Flam, a Bloomberg science columnist who is host of the podcast "Follow the Science," interviewed Tera Fazzino, associate director of the Cofrin Logan Center, and featured Fazzino's research in "What if everything we think about obesity is wrong?"  by  and in "Are ultraprocessed foods truly addictive?" 

Congratulations to the following researchers on their awards, which were announced by the KU Office of Research in August and September. Each is listed by investigator, project title and sponsor:

Michael Amlung, "Contextual factors influencing cannabis use and behavioral economic demand in the natural environment," National Institutes of Health.

Abby Azeltine, "Kansas State Plan for Assistive Technology (AT State Grant)," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and "Kansas Deaf Blind Equipment Distribution–Assistive Technology for Kansans KS iCan Connect," Federal Communications Commission.

Tera Fazzino, American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Award, American Psychological Association

Alison Gabriele, "Examining the role of individual differences and syntactic constraints in the processing of reflexives in L1 and L2 English: an ERP investigation," Language Learning: Journal of Research in Language Studies.

Christina Holt, "Developing a Common Kansas Maternal Health Action Agenda," United Methodist Health Ministry Fund.

Lyndsie Koon, "Cooking skills to improve long-term weight loss in young adults with intellectual disabilities," University Of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute.

Jerry Schultz, "Kansas Prevention Collaborative (KPC) Community Documentation Evaluation Initiative," Kansas Department For Aging And Disability Service.

Research Achievement Awards: The KU Office of Research seeks nominations for the 2026 research achievement awards. The Life Span Institute has had strong representation in these awards in the past few years. Awardees are honored at a banquet held in the spring at the Jayhawk Welcome Center attended by colleagues from across the university. Categories include the Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards, the Steven F. Warren Research Achievement Award, and the KU Research Achievement Awards for unclassified professional staff and postdoctoral researchers. Nominations can be made beginning Nov. 1 through the new Funding & Award Opportunities portal, kumc.infoready4.com (KU login required).

Insurance enrollment open: All employees are reminded to visit the State Employee Health Benefits' portal and make 2026 benefits selections. Visit the Open Enrollment Resource page and click on the MAP Portal or the University MAP Portal. If it's your first time, you'll be prompted to set up a password.

Required training: All staff are required to complete annual training assigned in MyTalent by Nov. 14. All employees are to complete IT security module, "Information Security and Acceptable Use," and the module established by the Office of Civil Rights & Title IX. Designated Campus Security Authorities will also be assigned the Clery Act Training for CSAs. An optional, recommended course, "Fostering Respect and Belonging," is also available.

Staffing changes announced in the Office of Research: Several Life Span Institute administrators and staff participated in peer review meetings arranged by the KU Office of Research with a panel from the National Council of University Research Administrators. Following the visit, the office announced several staffing changes:

The KU Center on Disabilities invites the LSI community to the KUCD Fall Festival, 4-6 p.m. Thursday, October 23 at JRP Hall, 1122 West Campus Road. The event offers a chance to meet KUCD researchers and staff and learn about their work. Refreshments, activities, and raffle prizes offered. Register for the event.

Join Lisa Hallberg and colleagues for REDCap user group meetings on the second Tuesday of each month. The next one will be noon Tuesday, Nov. 11 via Zoom (passcode: 2025).

Clinicians and researchers involved in the diagnostic assessment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may be interested in upcoming GAIN workshops on Oct. 24 and  Nov. 7. Visit the GAIN website for more information. 

Save the date for the next Life Span Institute Collaboratory, to be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 at the Jayhawk Welcome Center. This annual event welcomes all Life Span Institute researchers, staff, postdocs and graduate students for a day of presentations, learning and networking. 

If you would like to assist with planning for 2026, please reach out to Jen Humphrey.

Howard Wills, senior scientist at Juniper Gardens Children's Project, offered this recognition of Jamie Jones, associate director for project development, and Kensey Colaco, grant coordinator:

"I want to take a moment to recognize the exceptional project development leadership and support provided by Jamie Jones and Kensey Colaco at LSI. Their expertise and dedication were key to our team’s success in submitting a major grant yesterday.

While our team has submitted countless grants over the years, this one stood out for the incredible teamwork and speed required—it was completed in the shortest timeline I’ve experienced in my 25 years at LSI. With very little advance notice about this competition, Jamie and Kensey truly 'built the plane while flying it,' guiding us through every step with professionalism and skill.

From budget preparation to ensuring compliance and managing countless moving parts, they were amazing collaborators. Their efforts showcased the very best of what our project development team represents—competence, skill, and a genuine commitment to getting the job done.

I am certain we could not have submitted this proposal without them. As we work hard to secure external funding that supports LSI and KU in building healthy communities (in this proposal, the Kansas communities of rural teachers and students), we are reminded how fortunate we are to have such outstanding project development professionals.

Thank you, Jamie and Kensey, for your incredible work!"

-Howard Wills, Senior Scientist

Note: Has someone at LSI gone above and beyond? If you'd like to highlight them, please submit your highlight here. 

Connections is produced by strategic communications staff at the Life Span Institute for affiliated researchers, staff and students. 

Writing and editing by Jen Humphrey, Mike Krings and Christina Knott.
Image credits: Christina Knott, Drew Rosdahl, KUCD, KU Marketing, Adobe 
Please submit news, kudos, achievements and other items for consideration here.

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