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Lab

Projects

The Children's Vocabulary Project, 2017-2022

Karla McGregor, PI

Funding provided by the National Institutes of Health

The objective of this project is to discover how children's word learning changes over developmental time.

The Language and Me Project

Karla McGregor, PI, Sara Hart, Co-PI

Funding provided by the National Institutes of Health

The Language and Me Project is designed to explore gender differences in the need for and receipt of language services. We know boys are twice as likely to receive language intervention as girls.

Improving STEM Outcomes for Young Children with Language Learning Disabilities by Intervening at the Intersection of Language and Scientific Thought, 2017-2022

Karla McGregor PI, Amanda Van Horne, Susan Wagner Cook, Renee Cole, Co-PIs
Funding provided by the National Institutes of Health

The purpose of this project is to test interventions that have the potential to ameliorate language as a barrier to science learning.

Early Word Learning, 2011-2022

Munro and Baker, PIs 
Funding provided by the University of Sydney 

We are fortunate to have an ongoing collaboration with Drs. Natalie Munro and Elise Baker in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney. We have been particularly active in exploring word learning in typical toddlers and those who are late to talk. Our long-term goal is to inform early identification and interventions for children at risk for developmental language disorders, broadly defined.

Meet The Team

Karla McGregor, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Senior Research Associate

Karla McGregor is a Senior Scientist and the Director of the Word Learning Laboratory in the Center for Childhood Deafness, Language, and Learning at Boys Town National Research Hospital. She is also a Professor Emerita at the University of Iowa, a Fellow of the American Speech, Language, Hearing Association, and a clinical speech-language pathologist with board certification in child language. She loves words, dogs, and a good cup of tea.

Timothy Arbisi-Kelm, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate

Tim earned his Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and completed a postdoctoral training in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests are in phonological and lexical development, and the role of prosody in language disorders.

Nichole Eden, M.A., CCC-SLP, Research Language Speech Pathologist

Nichole is a certified speech-language pathologist with a background in early language intervention. She received her degree from the University of Iowa.

Jacob Oleson, Ph.D., Lead Biostatistician

Jacob is an Associate Professor in Biostatistics, Director of Graduate Studies, and Director of the Center for Public Health Statistics for the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. He conducts both biostatistical methodologic research and collaborative clinical research for a variety of research ventures.

Margo Appenzeller, Ph.D, Lab Manager

Margo Appenzeller is the Word Learning Lab Manager. She earned a Ph.D. in Specialized Education Services at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing who taught children in early intervention to elementary to high school in various settings.  Outside of work she enjoys socializing with family and friends, reading a good book, or working on her Duo Lingo streak.

Colin Guibault, M.S., CCC-SLP Research Language Speech Pathologist

Colin Guibault is a licensed and certified research speech-language pathologist with a background in adolescent language intervention, neurologic communication disorders, and cognitive wellness research. He has been a practicing speech-language pathologist for over seven years. He takes great pride and joy in providing service for others and would be hard-pressed to pass on a conversation to deepen a relationship, especially over a cup of coffee.

Emma Hennessey, Research Assistant

Emma assists team members with data collection and analysis. She is currently completing a bachelor's degree in psychology at Creighton University. In her free time, she enjoys painting and photography. 

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