Core Center for Communication Disorders

A grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD provides core support for researchers funded by NIDCD or related divisions of the National Institutes of Health. The Core Center for Communication Disorders is based at BTNRH, but includes faculty members at Creighton University, the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL), the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). Walt Jesteadt serves as Program Director. The Core Center provides support in three areas.

Laboratory Computing and Biostatistics

This core, directed by Dr. Stephen Neely, provides support for real-time data collection, development of software for data analyses, and acoustic calibrations for research laboratories. Support for experimental design and statistical analyses is provided through a subcontract with the Department of Biostatistics in the College of Public Health at UNMC. Software developed by members of the core staff and others at BTNRH is available at http://audres.org.

Research Synergy

This core, directed by Drs. Barbara Morley and Mary Pat Moeller, will organize workshops, colloquia and other activities to facilitate interactions among interested individuals from the more than 30 potential collaborators at BTNRH, Creighton, UNMC and UNL.

Human Research Subjects

This core, directed by Dr. Michael Gorga, provides support for subject recruitment and compliance with best practices regarding research involving human subjects. The core maintains a database of individuals in the greater Omaha area who have expressed an interest in participating in research studies related to hearing and communication disorders. It also provides other support services related to IRB and NIH applications and progress reports, along with quality-assurance measures related to consent and assent processes. If you would like more information, please contact the Research Subjects Core Coordinator at 402 498-6705.

Participating Faculty

The Core Center for Communication Disorders provides support for NIDCD grants held by Drs. Dominic Cosgrove, Michael Gorga, Michelle Hughes, Douglas Keefe, Yesha Lundberg, Mary Pat Moeller, Stephen Neely, and Patricia Stelmachowicz at BTNRH, David He at Creighton, and Jordan Green and Tiffany Hogan at UNL/UNMC. We have a much larger group of faculty members who have the potential to receive NIDCD support. Contact information and a summary of current or recent funding for the current and potential research base are given in the following table.

Name	Institution	Email/Phone	Web site	Current/Recent Funding
*Monita Chatterjee, PhD*	BTNRH	Monita.Chatterjee@boystown.org 402-452-5069	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC004786; Complex Auditory Processing with Cochlear Implants NIH-NIDCD/7R21DC011905; Voice Pitch Processing by Normally-Hearing and Cochlear-Implanted Children
*Dominic Cosgrove, PhD*	BTNRH	Dominic.Cosgrove@boystown.org 402-498-6334	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC004844; Usherin: Structural and Functional Analysis NIH-NIDDK/ 2R01DK055000; Molecular Aspects of Alport Renal Disease Progression NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC006442 (Subaward); Matrix Otopathology FFB/NNRI; NNPC-GT-0710-0054-BTNRH-FR; Efficacy of UshStat Vectors in Shaker1 Mice
*Anna Dunaevsky, PhD*	UNMC	adunaevsky@unmc.edu 402-559-1071	Web site	NIH-/5R01NS057667; Dynamics of Cerebellar Purkinje Cell Dendrites
*Michael Gorga, PhD*	BTNRH	Michael.Gorga@boystown.org 402-498-6604	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC002251; Cochlear Nonlinearity and Auditory Function in Humans NIH-NIDCD/3R01DC002251; Cochlear Nonlinearity and Auditory Function in Humans (Diversity Supplement) NIH-NIDCD/5P30DC004662; Human Research Subject Core
*Jordan Green, PhD*	UNL	jgreen4@unl.edu 402-617-7064	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC009890; Bulbar Motor Deterioration in ALS NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC006463; Early Speech Motor Development
*Richard Hallworth, PhD*	CUMC	richardhallworth@creighton.edu	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R21DC008995; Determination of Metabolic State of Hair Cell Mitochondria by FLIM
*David He, MD, PhD*	CUMC	davidhe@creighton.edu 402-280-1409	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC004696; Biophysics and Development of Cochlear Hair Cells NIH-NIDCD/5R21DC009908; Regeneration of Stereocilia of Cochlear Hair Cells
*Tiffany Hogan, PhD*	UNL	thogan2@unl.edu 402-472-3911	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R03DC009667; The Lexicon and Phoneme Awareness
*Michelle Hughes, PhD*	BTNRH	Michelle.Hughes@boystown.org 402-452-5038	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC009595; Physiology as a Potential Predictor of Perception in Cochlear Implants
*Kristen Janky, PhD*	BTNRH	Kristen.Janky@boystown.org 402-498-6535	Web site
*Walt Jesteadt, PhD*	BTNRH	Walt.Jesteadt@boystown.org 402-498-6704	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5P30DC004662; Core Center: Administration Core NIH-NIDCD/5T32DC000013; Research in Human Communication and Its Disorders NIH-NIDCD/5T35DC008757; Short-Term Research Training for AUD Students
*Sherri Jones, PhD*	UNL	Sherri.Jones@unl.edu 402-472-5496	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/R01DC006443; Genetic Basis of Gravity Receptor Dysfunction in Mice; ECU-DoD Partnership: Operation Re-entry North Carolina; Sensory Reweighting in Trauma or Blast Induced Dizziness
*Timothy Jones, PhD*	UNL	Tjones13@unl.edu 402-472-5100	Web site
*Douglas Keefe, PhD*	BTNRH	Douglas.Keefe@boystown.org 402-498-6733	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC010202; Wideband Clinical Diagnosis and Monitoring of Middle-Ear and Cochlear Function
*William Kimberling, PhD*	BTNRH	William.Kimberling@boystown.org 402-498-6713	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC003544; Autosomal Dominant Non-Syndromic Hearing Loss
*Siu-Kit (Eddie) Lau, PhD*	UNL	slau3@unl.edu 402-554-3861	Web site
*Ken L. Kramer, PhD*	CUMC	KenKramer@creighton.edu 402.280.2763	Web site
*Christopher Kratochvil, MD*	UNMC	ckratoch@unmc.edu 402-552-6006		NIH-NIMH/5K23MH066127; Pharmacological Treatment of ADHD in Young Children
*Dawna Lewis, PhD*	BTNRH	Dawna.Lewis@boystown.org	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R03DC009675; The Impact of Minimal Hearing Loss on Functional Auditory Skills in Children
*Yesha Lundberg, PhD*	BTNRH	Yesha.Lundberg@boystown.org 402-498-6607	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC008603; Otoconia Development and Maintenance
*Ryan McCreery, PhD*	BTNRH	Ryan.McCreery@boystown.org 402-498-6668	Web site
*Mary Pat Moeller, PhD*	BTNRH	MaryPat.Moeller@boystown.org 402-452-5068	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC006681; Word Learning in Infants with Hearing Loss NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC009560; Moderators and Outcomes in Children With Mild to Severe Hearing Impairment
*Dennis Molfese, PhD*	UNL	dmolfese2@unl.edu 402-472-7976	Web site	NIH-NICHD 1R43 HD062072: Integration of High-Density EEG and Hemodynamic Measures to Investigate Neural Functioning. NIH-NIBIB 1R01EB007684: NEMO: Robust Methods For Knowledge Representation, Data Mining And Integration
*Barbara Morley, PhD*	BTNRH	Barbara.Morley@boystown.org 402-498-6584	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC006907; Transient Expression of Cholinergic Markers in the PVCN
*Stephen Neely, DSc*	BTNRH	Stephen.Neely@boystown.org 402-498-6751	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC008318-05; Cochlear Mechanics, Wave Propagation, and Compression NIH-NIDCD/5P30DC004662; Core Center: Lab Computing Core
*Kanae Nishi, PhD*	BTNRH	Kanae.Nishi@boystown.org 402-498-6354	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R03DC009334; Auditory Training for Persons with Difficulty Understanding Speech in Noise
*You-Wei Peng, PhD*	BTNRH	You-Wei.Peng@boystown.org 402-498-6523	Web site	NIH-NCRR/5P20RR018788; The Molecular Biology of Neurosurgery Systems: COBRE Proj
*Kayla Pope, JD, MD*	BTNRH	Kayla.Pope@boystown.org 402-498-6762	Web site
*Sonia Rocha-Sanchez, PhD*	CUMC	ssanchez@creighton.edu 402-280-5098	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R03DC009989; Role of Supporting Cells in Cochlear Hair Cell Regeneration
*Nicholas Smith, PhD*	BTNRH	Nicholas.Smith@boystown.org 402-452-5070	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R03DC009884; Hearing Status and Prosody in Mother-Child Speech
*Shelley Smith, PhD*	UNMC	ssmith@unmc.edu 402-559-5314	Web site	NIH-NCRR/5P20RR018788; The Molecular Biology of Neurosurgery Systems
*Garrett Soukup, PhD*	CUMC	garrettsoukup@creighton.edu 402-280-5754	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC009025; Role of Micrornas in Mammalian Ear Development and Neurosensory Specification
*Patricia Stelmachowicz, PhD*	BTNRH	Pat.Stelmachowicz@boystown.org 402-498-6522	Web site	NIH-NIDCD/5R01DC004300; Optimizing Amplification for Infants and Young Children
*Nick Stergiou, PhD*	UNO	nstergiou@unomaha.edu 402-554-3247	Web site	NIH-NICHHD/5K25HD047194; Nonlinear Analysis of Postural Function in Infants
*Ronald Thompson, PhD*	BTNRH	Ronald.Thompson@boystown.org 402-498-1254	Web site
*Wallace Thoreson, PhD*	UNMC	wbthores@unmc.edu 402-559-2019	Web site	NIH-NEI/5R01EY010542; Regulation of Photoreceptor Neurotransmission
*Edward Walsh, PhD*	BTNRH	Edward.Walsh@boystown.org 402-498-6701	Web site	NIH-NCRR/5P20RR018788; The Molecular Biology of Neurosurgery Systems NSF/IOS-0823417; Auditory Performance in Tigers
*Lily Wang, PhD*	UNL	LwWang4@UNL.edu 402-554-2065/a<>	Web site
*Michael Weston, PhD*	CUMC	michaelweston@creighton.edu 402-280-5030	Web site	NIH-NCRR/5P20RR018788; The Molecular Biology of Neurosurgery Systems: Project 6
*Tony Wilson, PhD*	UNMC	tony.w.wilson@gmail.com 402-552-6431	Web site
*Marisa Zallocchi, PhD*	BTNRH	Marisa.Zallocchi@boystown.org 402-498-6374	Web site

Core Center for Communication Disorders

Laboratory Computing and Biostatistics

Research Synergy

Human Research Subjects

Participating Faculty

Boys Town National Research Hospital