Center for Perception and Communication in Children
Research Cores
The Core Research Services and Facilities at Boys Town National Research Hospital provide access to scientists at Boys Town and other scientific institutions to cutting edge equipment and resources. Our mission is to facilitate and advance research in communications, hearing, and cognition.
Administrative Core
The Administrative Core, under the direction of Lori Leibold, Ph.D., manages a variety of program resources within the Center for Perception and Communication in Children (CPCC). In addition to general oversight, the Administrative Core is responsible for the following activities:
- Supporting clinical-translational research through management of a mentorship program for Boys Town National Research Hospital junior investigators, funding to support pilot projects as well as maintaining a broad network of intellectual resources.
- Conducting reviews of scientific progress in collaboration with project mentors, the CPCC Executive Committee and External Advisory Committee.
- Monitoring project and core budgets, while planning for long-term sustainability of core resources.
- Ongoing collaboration with regional research and community partners such as the Great Plains IDeA-CTR Network, the Nebraska INBRE and other Central Region COBRE programs.
Participant Core
Through the Human Subjects Core (HSC), the Center for Perception and Communication in Children has implemented an innovative and effective solution to challenges of standardized testing, recruitment of special populations and regulatory compliance. Under the direction of Krystal Werfel, Ph.D., the Participant Core provides services and expertise to support investigators at all stages with clinical measurement training and administration, human subjects recruitment, and IRB and other regulatory support.
In Phase II of the COBRE grant, the Participant Core will continue to provide critical clinical measurement support, expand recruitment and testing of children with developmental language disorders, update and integrate internal databases, and implement plans to expand access to its services.
Technology Services Core
The mission of the Technology Core (TC), under the direction of G. Christopher Stecker, Ph.D., is to provide custom software, hardware, training and data management support to investigators conducting research in communications, hearing and cognition. Key goals for Phase II of the COBRE grant are to foster technical innovations stemming from, and contributing to, continued scientific innovation, and to expand access to our resources.