Life Span Institute Connections

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

 Chronic pain and substance use | Interim Leader of CCHD announced
Teams and Zoom survey | Q and A with Sean Swindler | One Day One KU

New research shows people who experience chronic pain tend to consume cigarettes and e-cigarettes at higher rates than others. The findings, based on analysis of the National Health Interview Survey from 2014-2023, should inform therapies for both chronic pain and smoking cessation.

“People get caught in this really vicious cycle where pain is driving smoking, smoking makes the pain worse, which makes it really hard to quit,” said co-author Jessica Powers, an assistant scientist with the Cofrin Logan Center for Addition Research and Treatment, and an assistant professor of psychology at KU. “We know pain drives tobacco use. Tobacco has short-term pain-relieving properties, so a lot of people find it helpful in the moment, but it actually causes negative effects in the long term. Tobacco smoking can actually make pain worse and make you more likely to develop a chronic pain condition.”

The study appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Powers said there’s a growing understanding that chronic pain relates to substance-use disorders and addiction.

“In our case, we’re seeing a lot of data showing that those with chronic pain are much more likely to use tobacco — cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other types of nicotine or tobacco products,” she said.

👉Read more about the research. 

With the upcoming retirement of a longtime director, a KU research center focused on community and global health has announced new leadership.

The Center for Community Health and Development (CCHD), a subcenter of the KU Life Span Institute, has named Christina Holt as interim director. Holt, who has been assistant director at the center for six years, will assume the position as interim director as KU senior scientist Vincent Francisco retires from KU in May.

Holt said she is grateful to carry the center’s mission forward, focusing on advancing participatory research and building the capacity for communities to improve and grow. 

“I’ve dedicated my career to supporting those working to create positive change for the collective good,” Holt said. “It is an honor to step into this interim role and help steward and expand the reach and impact of our initiatives." 

Since 2015, Francisco has led CCHD and served as the Kansas Health Foundation Professor of Community Leadership in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science.

As director, he oversaw the center’s continuous designation as a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Community Health and Development and expanded the evidence base for how communities create conditions that promote health and health equity. 

👉Read more about the careers of Holt and Francisco.

Assistive Technology for Kansans, a statewide service program based at the Life Span Institute, will welcome the public to their new space on the KU campus for an open house and equipment demonstration on April 22. The public is welcome to stop by between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. today on the fourth floor of the Dole Human Development Building, 1000 Sunnyside Ave., with a short program offered at 11:30 a.m. Free parking for the event is available to the first 100 people to register for the event and request it. Registration is not necessary to attend, but appreciated by organizers. 

“Our open house is an opportunity to introduce our new location, connect with the community, and celebrate Assistive Technology Awareness Month and National Assistive Technology Awareness Day,” said Abby Azeltine, director of Assistive Technology for Kansans (ATK). “During the event, we’ll highlight the assistive technology programs and services available across Kansas through ATK and help people learn about tools and resources that can make everyday activities more accessible and independent.” 

👉Read more about the open house

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) honored Lauren Bruno of the KU Center on Disabilities with the Early Career Award, which highlights contribution to or achievement in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities by an individual in the early stages of their career.

Shea Tanis was interviewed by the New Hampshire Bulletin and the Denver Post following publication of the latest research from the State of the States in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

National and international media including the Pain News Network, Bharat (India), the Eurasia Review, News Minimalist, Mirage.news have highlighted the recent findings published by Jessica Powers.  

The American Psychological Association recently recognized a study published by KU autism researchers with an Editor’s Choice designation. Co-authored by Senior Scientist Carissa Cascio, “A Cascading Effects Model of Early Sensory Development in Autism," was published in the APA journal Psychological Review and explored early sensory processing and development in people with autism. The APA notes that “Editor’s Choice” papers represent the best science in each area of psychology, reflecting science that is exceptionally important and impactful.

LSI investigator Kathleen Lynne Lane was among researchers honored April 14 at the annual University Research Awards where she received the Irvin E. Youngberg Award in the Applied SciencesIn a video prepared to accompany the presentation of Lane's award, she described her experiences in a Cross Fit gym where each individual is provided support to achieve.  

"I do not feel marginalized, and I feel valued and appreciated in that community, and that's how I think everybody should feel," she said. "I just needed more support ... What I leave behind is, I hope, a path forward for people to continue systematic screening work, to continue Ci3T work, and then ideally building the playing field for future inquiry."

The videos and information about each honoree are available at create.ku.edu.

KUCD’s Lauren Bruno and Ben Edwards hosted a table for KUCD to share information about the center's research, training, and community engagement during KU Baseball’s recent sensory-friendly game for Autism Acceptance Month. Edwards was featured in an interview broadcast at the game, and emphasized the ways that learning opportunities like the annual game can help to “create a society that is ultimately based on acceptance.” View photos through KUCD social media.

For a new series launched this spring, called Six Questions, LSI strategic communications staff are sharing profiles of staff, researchers and graduate students of the Life Span Institute. We explore the individual's role, background, points of pride, and more.

The first in the series features Sean Swindler. Swindler is director of community program development and evaluation at the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (KCART), as well as project manager at the KU Center on Disabilities (KUCD). He has built his career around support for autistic individuals and families. 

Q: Tell us about your role at the Life Span Institute. 

Since 2008, I have run our autism resource center, which is our primary way to assist families from all over the state of Kansas in navigating the very complex system autistic individuals face from early childhood and diagnostics to transition in adulthood.  

I also help with the Kansas Family Support Center was created through a grant from the state of Kansas to allow us to do more direct interventions for families in crisis, for example, or autistic kids in danger of being institutionalized or going into foster care. The Kansas Family Support Center has been an exciting extension of what we've done to really be able to provide additional supports for families.  

Q: What are you most proud of in your work? 

 It is really exciting to get to be a part of some of the innovative work and research that's being done. That includes helping research teams to recruit participants and to work with our community partners. I'm also really excited to be a part of the KU Medical Center LEND team. I am the special education faculty for LEND, and before that, I was the self-advocate faculty member for LEND. 

What I most like doing is talking to families, self-advocates and adults with autism to help them find the resources they need. And I'm the parent of a 24-year-old with autism and intellectual disability. So, I've been in the shoes a lot of these families, and a lot of times the things that they're going through. I can relate to them by pointing to a time when I've had that question or had that struggle as well. 

👉Read the full Q and A with Sean Swindler

To meet their communication and public engagement goals, two Life Span Institute units launched newsletters this spring. On April 15, the Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors (CARE) distributed a newsletter with updates about research projects and an introduction to the One Day One KU campaign. View the newsletter online and sign up to receive future editions.

The Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (KCART) premiered the KU Neurodevelopmental Digest at the end of March to share information about the people, news and ongoing studies at KCART. You can view the newsletter online and sign up to receive future newsletters.

The Assistive Technology for Kansans project has been building out their website content premiered a new equipment loan website and launched new social media. You can follow them on Facebook, and they are establishing a presence on Instagram as well.

A recent survey of Life Span Institute staff, researchers and graduate students showed that a clear majority anticipated disruptions, voiced concern about accessibility and showed that they are concerned about using Teams for research, particularly with outside groups more familiar with Zoom. 

A summary of the survey's responses from 138 respondents is available on Sharepoint. Highlights include:

Life Span Institute administrators are reviewing the information gathered by the survey to determine next steps and plan to inform senior leaders in research and IT of the survey's findings. 

Calendar

Event details

ATK Open house: Assistive Technology for Kansans will celebrate their new demonstration space and Assistive Technology Awareness Day today 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the fourth floor of Dole.

Data and REDCap users group: Join host Lisa Hallberg 12 noon Thursday, April 23 on Zoom (no passcode needed) for the next meetup. Lisa will have a completed draft of the REDCap Orientation Training to share and will offer insights on “consent forms” and eConsent in REDCap.

Addiction seminar: The Cofrin Logan Center presents its third and final spring seminar lecture 11:30-12:30 p.m. Friday, April 24th in 1031 Dole and online via YouTube. Angela Haeny, assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine will present, "Advancing Research to Achieve Health Equity in Addiction." The talk will describe her work addressing inequities that Black adults face when seeking help for addictive behaviors such as craving and substance misuse.

TPE Summer Camp: KU Transition to Postsecondary Education (TPE) is offering 3-day, 2-night residential college experience for rising seniors and 2026 graduates with intellectual disabilities. Deadline to apply is April 26 for the June 8-10 camp. More information is available on TPE’s website. 

Teams Training: The LSI central office is offering the LSI community live Teams training available for two sessions  Tuesday, April 28, 9–10 a.m. on Zoom; (passcode: 332904) and on  Wednesday, April 29, 2–3 p.m. on Zoom (passcode: 332904). The sessions will provide an overview of the new system and give you the opportunity to ask questions. 

Trainee Showcase: The 2026 Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment Trainee Research Showcase will be held on campus Wednesday, April 29, 2026, from 8:30-12:30 p.m. The event will feature six rapid research talks and two poster sessions. Presenters include graduate students, undergraduate students, and research staff from KU, KUMC, and UMKC. Organizer Michael Amlung also said that Jordan Gette of the KU Medical Center Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences will offer a training-focused keynote address.

The Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors (CARE) will be the featured center for the Life Span Institute during One Day One KU. This annual giving event brings the entire University of Kansas community together for 24 hours to create an impact greater than any one of us could do alone. 

The event starts at noon April 28 and runs through noon April 29. Support raised during the campaign for CARE will help train the next generation of eating disorder researchers and clinicians as researchers and students work to reach more people, and to bring hope to individuals who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

During One Day One KU, university staff, faculty and students are among the thousands of people who support the areas most important to them. You can learn more about CARE and the center's hopes for the future in the video below, and explore the campaign. 

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

Writing and editing by Jen Humphrey and Christina Knott.
Image credits: Adobe stock; Christina Knott; KU TPE; Drew Rosdahl.

Please submit news, kudos, achievements and other items for consideration here.

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and are the Title IX coordinators for their respective campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY (for the Lawrence, Edwards, Parsons, Yoder, and Topeka campuses); Director, Equal Opportunity Office, Mail Stop 7004, 4330 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205, 913-588-8011, 711 TTY (for the Wichita, Salina, and Kansas City, Kansas medical center campuses).

The University of Kansas is a public institution governed by the Kansas Board of Regents.