Life Span Institute Connections

Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026

Global Health  |  Addiction Research |  Discoveries at Juniper Gardens recognized
New Awards |  LSI people in the media | Events and opportunities 

Hello! 

After navigating the gauntlet that is the 1000 days of January, I'm happy to offer the first edition of LSI Connections to be published during the spring semester. As such, it is full of upcoming events, seminars and other opportunities that we've collected that span today through the beginning of March. Also included is a roundup of LSI, university and national news items of interest to the research community, and highlights from announced external funding awards. 

A couple of people have reached out about recordings of the 2026 Collaboratory. Unexpectedly, sessions were not recorded this year, for which I apologize. I'm aware that for employees who work far from the Lawrence campus, viewing recorded sessions provides the only way to participate. While it's not a substitute for recordings, the next several editions of Connections will include resources, tips and other information you can use that were a part of the event or an outcome from it. 

A rodent in Pennsylvania saw its shadow earlier this week. However, I am celebrating that the snow is melting and there's one hour and 14 minutes more of daylight than we had on Dec. 21, the winter solstice. Longer days offer the illusion that there's somehow more time to balance a never-ending to-do list and needed rest. As you inch toward completing your own goals this winter and spring, I look forward to connecting with many of you about the good, meaningful work you pursue. -Jen

Jen Humphrey
Associate Director for Strategic Communications

When a disease outbreak occurs, such as COVID-19 or the Ebola virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) works with local and national partners to contain the threat. Leaders need more than medicine to slow the spread: They need tools to organize, respond and adapt in real time. 

Such tools are at the heart of a partnership between the WHO and its designated Collaborating Centre for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas.

The KU Collaborating Centre works to monitor and evaluate efforts and to build capacity for collaborative action, with partners in organizations and communities around the world. The Center for Community Health and Development (CCHD), based at the KU Life Span Institute, has been designated a WHO Collaborating Centre for more than 20 years. In fall 2025, the WHO officially renewed the KU center’s designation for the next four years in a letter to KU Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. 

👉 Read more about the collaboration.

Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, part of the Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas, is the focus of a special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Education and Treatment of Children.

The issue pays tribute to strides the center has made to improve children’s social well-being and academic achievement over the past 60 years as well as its accomplishments in scholarly research and training early career scientists. Juniper Gardens was established in the mid-1960s, when residents of Kansas City, Kansas, partnered with KU faculty to address “common problems related to parenting, teaching and community life” in a low-income neighborhood. Today, Juniper Gardens' mission remains the same — to improve the quality of care children receive through sustained partnerships and rigorous research.

👉 Read about Juniper Gardens research and accomplishments . 

If you knew the world was ending tomorrow, how likely would you be to get up at 5 a.m. to go to the gym? Would you still choose to go to work? Would you pass on dessert? Even when the world isn’t ending, it’s difficult to forgo free donuts in the break room — though we might regret it later.

Excessive discounting of future rewards has been linked to increases in depression, anxiety, and substance use, making it an area of research key to encouraging healthy, long-term choices.

Richard Yi, director of the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, has been studying this element of behavioral economics called delay discounting — the tendency to choose smaller rewards over larger ones when the larger reward is in the future.

👉 Read about delay discounting research 

KU Marketing launched the website Created by KU in January by focusing on the work of Deanna Hanson-Abromeit in “Doctor's Note: KU research unlocks the medicine in music,” which weaves together audio-visual components and text on research that spans the Lawrence and KU Medical Center campuses. Created by KU is a platform that will offer depth stories of KU research aimed at public audiences.

The research of Calissa Leslie-Miller from the Department of Clinical Child Psychology has been highlighted in articles such as "Parents are asking AI about their kids: Here’s why experts say 'pause'" (Times of India) and "When to use AI for parenting advice, says researcher, and when it can have ‘dangerous consequences’" (CNBC).

In "KU research advances functional fitness to help people with mobility limitations build strength," the Lawrence Times featured a new project led by Lyndsie Koon. Attendees of the Adaptive Athletes in Motion program interviewed included former LSI staff Martha Hodgesmith and Jeanette Spencer.  

The New Jersey Education Report quoted Jenny Kurth, professor and chair of the Department of Special Education, in an article that profiled one autistic child’s experiences at a school that places in him in the school district’s most restrictive environment.

The UC Davis Mind Institute announced Matt Mosconi, director of the BRAIN Lab and the Kansas Center on Autism Research and Training, as one of five distinguished lecturers for the spring semester.  Mosconi will present "Identifying Subgroups of Autism Based on Family Traits" on March 11. Talks are later shared on the UC Davis MIND Institute's YouTube channel.

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) announced the 2026 Association awards. Congratulations to Karrie Shogren, KUCD Director and Ross and Marianna Beach Distinguished Professor in Special Education, who received the 2026 Education Award, and to Lauren Bruno, assistant research professor at KUCD, who will receive the Early Career Award. Both will be honored at the at the 150th AAIDD Annual Meeting to be held June 22-24, 2026 in Chicago.

The following awards were announced by the KU Office of Research from October - December 2025. The Office of Research lists grants by investigator, project title and sponsor.

Christopher Cushing, "NRSA Training Core," University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute. This award supports graduate student Calissa Leslie-Miller's project, "Dyadic Health: The Impact of Daily Health Literacy on Parent and Adolescent Health Behaviors.” Cushing is the primary mentor for her project.

Meghan Davidson, "Bridging practice to research: Using a Delphi method to build a consensus-developed checklist for gestalt language processing," sponsored by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. At KU, Davidson leads the Comprehension and Language Learning (CALL) Lab and is an assistant professor in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences & Disorders.

Kelsie Forbush, "Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence 5: DRPPM," sponsored by the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute. The award supports Forbush's mentorship of Denver Brown's project, "Using Network Science to Examine Temporal Relationships between 24-Hour Movement Behaviors and Depression in College Students.”

Forbush also received support for "Help for Overcoming Problem Eating (HOPE): A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Single Session Intervention for Binge-Spectrum Eating Disorders," from the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science. The award will support the work of graduate student Sonakshi Negi.

Jenny Kurth, "SKIES (Skills and Knowledge for Interdisciplinary Preparation of Special Education and Speech-Language Professionals)," sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The funding will support graduate students in special education and speech-language pathology. 

Dana Lattin, "University of Kansas TPE Expansion - Developing, Enhancing and Implementing High Quality Kansas CTPs," sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The funding will support professional development for Kansas educators, increase outreach to families across the state and facilitate expansion of the Transition to Postsecondary Education program, and support the development of similar comprehensive transition programs at Wichita State University Tech and Benedictine College in Atchison.

Valerie Mazzotti, "National Technical Assistance Center on Transition for Students and Youth With Disabilities." Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, the grant will ensure work toward improving student outcomes continues.

Panying Rong was awarded support from the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute to support Rong's project, "Translating the concept of personalized medicine into clinical care for progressive communication disorders in neurodegenerative diseases."

Alison Zagona, "Collaborative Approaches to Impactful Special Education Leadership,” sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The funding supports a program designed to boost collaboration among universities to prepare a new generation of leaders in special education.

Funding restored:  The AAU, which among other entities lobbied Congress for investment in research, issued statements this week thanking Congress for rejecting proposed cuts to key scientific research agencies, for including a small increase to the budget of the National Institutes of Health, and for staving off large proposed cuts to funding for the National Science Foundation and several other agencies.

Communication of Research Impact: In a recent newsletter, the AAU noted that the way that institutions justify and communicate their research – demonstrate public impact – is now central to whether they can access, sustain, and grow those investments. Those that can clearly explain why their research matters are going to be better positioned with funders, legislators, industry partners, and the media.

“...The takeaway for leaders is simple but urgent: stabilizing research funding is not the finish line. It is an invitation and a test. Institutions that invest now in clarifying, disciplining, and amplifying their research stories will be the ones best positioned to compete for dollars, influence policy, and restore public confidence in higher education’s role in society.”

Indirect costs study and talking points: The AAU reported that universities on average are reimbursed less by the federal government for the indirect research costs they incur than private industry contractors and federal laboratories. The commissioned report also shows that universities use their own institutional funds to subsidize a significant portion of the costs involved in performing research. Additionally, data from the National Science Foundation's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics showed that universities invested more in campus-based research and development ($30.2 billion) than state and local governments ($6.1 billion), businesses ($6.4 billion), and other nonprofits ($7.0 billion) combined, in FY24.

Advisory councils: Thirteen National Institutes of Health advisory councils, which must review grant applications before funding is awarded, are on track to have no voting members within the year, according to Nature. That means the ability of those institutes to issue new grants could soon be frozen.

Strategic plan: NIH has announced its first strategic plan for disability health research. View the NIH PowerPoint presentation via SharePoint (PDF).

Lack of grant review: In an article about academics pivoting to new areas of research because of federal changes in funding, The Hill reports that while universities were affected by the cancelation of 383 clinical trials in the past year, some researchers, particularly in education research, have seen their submitted proposals ignored altogether or never reviewed.

Section 504 lawsuit: STAT News (subscription required) and the ARC of the United States announced this week that Kansas is among nine states challenging Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as unconstitutional; if successful, the states could legally reject the requirement that they must fund services in the “most integrated setting.” The states are asking that the entire Section 504 rule be judged unlawful, halt enforcement, and stop policing of state actions that place people with disabilities at “serious risk” of institutionalization.

AI slop in academic publishing: The Atlantic (subscription required) wrote about the increasing challenges of "AI slop" across the academic publishing landscape. The author describes not just hallucinated citations but also entire papers written by large language models being submitted that are drowning peer reviewers and journal editors. It also describes how AI-assisted submissions with embedded instructions work around AI screeners to rank the papers more highly.

On the road: To help represent the Life Span Institute at presentations, tabling and other events, we now have two tablecloths available. The fabric drapes over a standard 6-foot banquet table. To reserve for an event, contact Alyssa Cool, alyssa.cool@ku.edu.

Events calendar

Event details:

Provost candidate presentation: Today at 3 p.m. in Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union, Donna Ginther, director of IPSR, will offer a presentation as the fourth candidate for the position of Provost/Chief Academic Officer for the University of Kansas and Executive Vice Chancellor of the Lawrence Campus. For those unable to join in person, the presentation will be live-streamed on the position search webpage. 

Visiting scholar: Jim Rehg, Founder Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne, will present “Leveraging AI to Measure and Model Social Communication," 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9th in Youngberg Hall, room 248, with an option to view on Zoom (code 1234). Flyer available on SharePoint (PDF). Presented by the Global Autism Interactive Network (GAIN) and the Life Span Institute.

Collaborative Research Luncheon: Data Science, offered by the Office of Research Friday, Feb. 10 from 12-1:30 p.m. in the Burge Union, Forum A. Join Donna Ginther (IPSR), E Durham (Libraries) and Jonathan Brumberg (Psychology and Life Span Institute investigator) for a conversation with Jeff Thompson (KU Medical Center Chief Research Informatics Officer). Each Collaborative Research Luncheon features a panel of experts, table-based conversations, and opportunities for networking. Register here.

New Directions for Addiction Neuroscience: On Feb. 13, join a conversation with Joshua Gowin, associate professor, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, 9:30-11:00 a.m., in Dole Human Development Center, room 1031. Zoom option also available (code: 633993) but in-person attendance is recommended. Following, Gowin will present "Behavioral & Neurobiological Underpinnings of Substance Use Disorders” at 11:30 a.m., also in 1031 Dole. The talk, the first of the Cofrin Logan Center’s 2026 spring seminar series, will also be live-streamed via the center’s website. 

Research Rising Candidate:  Kim Carpenter will present "Co-occurring anxiety and ADHD in autistic children: clinical impact and practical applications," 12 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 at the KU Medical Center and on Teams (code: Ps7Ci6fv). View flyer on SharePoint (PDF). Carpenter, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University, is a clinical neuroscientist specializing in the complex brain-behavior relationships in young children with autism and associated disorders.

Health Guide Discussion: The KU Medical Center's Multidisciplinary Advocates and Researchers Group (MARG) will offer "Creation and Dissemination of a Health Guide for Women with IDD," 9 a.m. Feb. 19 on Teams (code: fGHQRE), presented by Allyson McCain and Whit Downing of the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Research lab talent show: The Community Health Improvement Program (CHIP-ID) at the KU Medical Center will offer the Be Bold Talent Show, 1:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Medallion Theater, 300 W. 39th Street in Kansas City, Mo. Register for event; view flyer on SharePoint. CHIP-ID is dedicated to advancing the health of individuals with intellectual disabilities through evidence-based physical activity, nutrition, and weight management interventions.

Shake, Rattle & Roll: Music Brain Play in Early Childhood, an interactive event for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, will be offered 5:45-7:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 4th at the Lied Center of Kansas Pavillion. The event is presented by professors Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, Christina Svec and Rebecca Lepping, with Lied Center Education Director Hanan Misko and a performance by the Lawrence Children's Choir. RSVP to event (webform); view flyer on SharePoint (PDF).

Save the date: On April 24 from 2-3:30 p.m., the Department of Clinical Child Psychology will welcome Andres De Los Reves, professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, for a talk on improving communication of science. Among many roles, De Los Reves is editor of the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and author of "Discrepant Results in Mental Health Research."

REDCap Resource: Research Design and Analysis staff encourage REDCap users and research team data collaborators to explore their REDCap user page. Information about future meetings will also be included in LSI Connections. 

Zoom platform to phase out by June 1:  Last week, KU Information Technology announced that Microsoft Teams will become the sole enterprise-supported web-conference platform for virtual meetings, classes and webinars for the Lawrence and Edwards campuses. Effective June 1, KU IT will no longer provide enterprise licensing or provisioning for Zoom Pro or Zoom Webinar. KU IT offers resources to support the change on the Zoom to Teams Transition webpage.

Chancellor in Topeka: On Jan. 21, the Chancellor presented to the House Higher Education Budget Committee about how KU creates economic growth, provides healthcare to Kansans and conducts research that benefits society. On the morning of Jan. 26, he Town Hall: The next KU Town Hall will be livestreamed via the KU Provost website at 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19. A recording of the prior Town Hall, held last Thursday, is available on the site as well.

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

Writing and editing by Jen Humphrey, Christina Knott and Brendan Lynch (KU News)
Image credits: Adobe stock; Christina Knott; KU Marketing; Brian Goodman

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.