Life Span Institute Connections

Monday, June 1, 2026

 Veterans and mental health | One Day One KU
Podcasts and other media | AAU survey on research funding slowdown

A researcher from the University of Kansas has led a large-scale study of veterans to better understand how psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and eating disorders are connected.

The investigation, appearing in the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, relied on the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP), an emerging alternative to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the traditional guide for diagnosing and treating patients.

The findings suggest HiTOP’s use of symptom dimensions may better support more precise, personalized mental health care.

“There are problems with the way we diagnose people with mental health issues,” said lead author Kelsie Forbush, professor of clinical child psychology and a senior scientist with the Life Span Institute. “The current system is categorical, so you either have the mental health condition or you don’t. That can be really problematic for a number of reasons, and it’s especially true for eating disorders.”

👉Read more about the research.

Thanks to dozens of individual donors, the One Day One KU campaign raised $11,418 in 24 hours at the end of April for the KU Life Span Institute. 

This year, the KU Life Span Institute featured the Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors (CARE). Support raised during the campaign will help train the next generation of eating disorder researchers and clinicians. More than 80 gifts totaled $2,894 for CARE. Additionally, $5,000 was contributed as a challenge gift from Nancy Jackson, senior vice president at KU Endowment. 

Also during the campaign, the Hawks for Hope Awards for undergraduate and graduate research at the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment received support through several contributions from the family and friends of Patrick Guthrie, totaling $3,524. 

Thank you to everyone who helped make the campaign a success. You can view a thank you message from the students and staff of CARE on the KU Endowment website.

Congratulations to Michael Amlung, who was promoted to full professor in Applied Behavioral Sciences and senior scientist in the Life Span Institute. The University announced Amlung among 146 individuals approved by Chancellor Girod for promotion and award of tenure.

The “Pioneers in Health” podcast interviewed Christina Holt, interim director of the Center for Community Health and Development, for a discussion about the center, its work, and the power of participatory research and capacity building.

Shea Tanis, director of the State of the States in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities project, is featured and a collaborative partner of "35 Years of Community Living," a podcast recently launched by the National Residential Information Systems Project at the University of Minnesota, ThinkWork Access to Integrated Employment at UMass Boston, and the State of the States at KU. Through data and storytelling, the series explores how community inclusion has shaped the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the country.

Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga, a journalist with the Kansas News Service, interviewed KUCD's Evan Dean for a broadcast media segment sent to area public radio stations on May 12. The interview highlighted how KU researchers are expanding job opportunities for people with disabilities. (no link to broadcast available)

Many Kansas self-advocates and individuals affiliated with Kansas LEND attended the ceremonial signing of SB 84 recently. As noted in a post by the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns, the bill creates a legal framework for supported decision making, a less restrictive alternative to guardianship that allows adults with disabilities to keep their rights while receiving support.

Researchers from the Kansas Center on Disabilities helped host Rebecca Hines, Commissioner of the Administration on Disabilities (AoD) at the Administration for Community Living, for a tour of the center.
Hosted in partnership with the KU Department of Special Education, the visit provided an opportunity to discuss the future of disability supports and services with Hines and the impact of KUCD's work in Kansas and beyond.

Tera Fazzino, Associate Director at the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment will participate in the Washington, D.C., event, "Big Food’s Tobacco Moment: Evidence on the Harms of Ultra-Processed Food," sponsored by the American Journal of Public Health. The journal is promoting a special issue dedicated to the topic this month.

The KU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences newsletter reported that several KU faculty members will present this summer at the national artificial intelligence conference event, Ai4, which last year drew more than 12,000 attendees. The presenters from KU include Amber Rowland, assistant research professor and LSI investigator; Maggie Mosher, assistant research professor; Lisa Dieker, Williamson Family Distinguished Professor of Special Education; and Rick Ginsberg, former dean of the KU School of Education and Human Sciences.

Brandon Miller and Anne Cao, pictured from left to right, were among graduate students and undergraduate students who presented their research during the Cofrin Logan Center's research showcase on April 29. The event, organized by Michael Amlung, annually features research talks, poster sessions and a keynote address. 

An article in the online publication Disability World about New York’s proposed changes to the 2026 budget for the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) in the state included additional information featuring IHDPS research on Long Covid.

Several recent articles about SWOT analysis on Medium have mentioned the Community Tool Box, including this one on positive strategies without threats.

KU Transition to Postsecondary Education was among units celebrating student achievements and graduations in May. TPE, which is led by Dana Lattin, featured short bios of each student completing their program and their plans for the future.

LSI IT staff announced the MyIdentity Services website, where two new software licensing options are now available for faculty and staff:

Microsoft 365 Copilot – integrates AI capabilities into Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word

Teams Premium – enhances meetings with AI-powered, personalized, and secure features

If you’re interested in either of these offerings, click the “claim your license” button under to each option on the MyIdentity site.

KU Mini College, offered by Jayhawk Global, welcomes dozens of alumni and visitors to KU each summer. This year, as part of the event, Director John Colombo will offer a talk on June 3, "Doing Science, Doing Good: 70 Years of Research at the Life Span Institute." The talk will trace the history of the Life Span Institute and the impact of its science. More information and registration is available through Jayhawk Global. 

The Global Autism Interactive Network (GAIN) at KU will offer the ADOS-2 Advanced/Research Training in person, June 10-12, in Kansas City, Kan. The Advanced/Research Training in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) is intended for clinicians and researchers who are regularly using the ADOS-2. Visit the GAIN website for more information.

Staff evaluations: The FY2026 staff performance evaluation process is open, and staff are asked to complete progress on goals and perform self-evaluations by June 30. For assistance, view the Performance Evaluation step-by-step instructions on the KU Human Resources website. Additional deadlines in the performance review process were distributed by email today.

Document the impact of reduced research funding: The American Association of Universities is collecting information from member institutions about how slowed federal spending is disrupting research activities. The AAU survey can be completed by anyone affiliated with a member institution (including KU) to report on the impact of the federal changes in research funding. While submissions were requested by May 29, AAU will continue to accept and collect information; visit the survey on their website. LSI investigators also received an invitation to the survey via email last week.

Collaborative Luncheons survey closing today: Today is the last day to provide suggestions to the Office of Research about the Collaborative Research Luncheons, which are interdisciplinary conversations designed to mobilize a diverse array of scholars around shared societal challenges. Beginning in fall 2026, the events will be designed as One KU experiences, bringing researchers together across campuses. The 2- to 3-minute survey will help planners identify topics that generate broad interest across campuses.

Parking Restrictions: In preparation for the World Cup this summer, KU will require a valid parking permit in all Lawrence campus lots, including those zoned for housing, starting today. Additionally, LSI staff and visitors may have also noticed fencing and closure of of Lot 37, between Haworth and Malott Halls and adjacent to Dole Human Development Building. This closure includes select accessible and reserved stalls, which KU Transportation Services will temporarily relocate during this project. The full lot and sidewalks are expected to reopen by August 3. Additional information can be found on the KU parking website.

Building Access: Beginning today, most academic and administrative buildings on the Lawrence campus will be closed to the public between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. The increased security measures are part of KU’s efforts to ensure a more secure environment during the World Cup.

Faculty and staff who need access to their buildings before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. will need to use their KUIDs and enter through doors with key card readers. Anyone with a KUID card issued before May 2017 or without a card due to loss, theft or damage will need a new card to access buildings outside of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit the Card Center's website to request a new card.

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed: AAU Board Chair and University of Kansas Chancellor Doug Girod and AAU Board Vice Chair and Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels published a joint opinion essay in The Wall Street Journal, “Get the Federal Science Money Flowing,” to draw attention to the issue and its disruption of American science. Three quarters into this fiscal year, Kansas is experiencing a year-over-year drop of $182 million, or a 55% decline in new awards. Read the overview of the funding slowdown’s impact published today on the AAU website.

The end of the single-study story? Science journalist and University of Virginia professor Chris Mooney explored the implications of AI on the future of journalists writing about new scientific findings. In "The scientific 'study story' has a questionable future. That may be a good thing," he notes that the form, commonly sourced to news releases distributed by journal publishers and university news offices, may face a decline in part because of the ease of AI to replace what has been written by journalists. There is great competition to highlight findings, generally; the volume of scientific publications has gone from 4,000 in 1980 to 9,500 by 2025.  

AI citations infiltrating published research: The Lancet has published an analysis of fabricated citations in scientific literature. Writing on LinkedIn, one of the authors of the analysis said the look at 2.5 million biomedical papers in PubMed Central from January 2023 through February 2026 “showed 4,046 references that point to studies that do not exist. Real-sounding titles. Real journal names. Identifiers that lead nowhere. The papers are not real."

AAAS on NSF oversight: On April 24, the Trump administration fired all 22 members of the National Science Board (NSB), the body that oversees the National Science Foundation.

Calling for a “garden” approach to research funding:  Following the recent SCORE study in Nature that concluded that of 3,900 social science papers, results could only be replicated in about half of the studies, neuroscientist Jonathan Jackson wrote in STAT that the findings combine with the complete upheaval in federal funding to point to a need for more diversified and collaborative approaches to scientific research – akin to more of a garden of seeds planted than an ivory tower skyscraper dependent on one big funding source.

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; Drew Rosdahl; linked social media accounts; and KU TPE. Video message from CARE created by Drew Rosdahl.

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