Participate in Research

Explore Our Current Studies for Children and Adults

For more than 40 years, Boys Town National Research Hospital has been translating research into premier clinical care. Our studies in neurological and behavioral health, hearing and language development are improving the care provided to children, adults and communities in Omaha and around the country.

Current studies are recruiting for all ages and include in-person and virtual opportunities. Participants will be compensated for their time.

If you would like researchers to contact you when you are a good match for a research study, go to our Participate in Hearing and Communication Research page to be added to our research recruitment volunteer database. When you are contacted, the researcher will explain the study and you may decide if you want to participate.

Sign Up for Our Research Participant Databases

Hearing, Speech/Language, Neuroimaging

Sign Up for Our Research Studies

Hearing

Principal Investigator: Chris Stecker, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to help us better understand how our brains understand and locate sound. This study lasts between 1-3 hours and can be done in one or multiple sessions.
- Who: Adults with normal hearing
- Ages: 19 – 55 years
- Compensation: $20/hour (cash)
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Boys Town Medical Campus – Downtown
- Requirements: Participants must have normal hearing with no known neurological or cognitive disorders and be native speakers of American English.
Contact: spatialhearing@boystown.org or 531-355-6763 to find out if you’re eligible and to get scheduled.

Principal Investigator: Gabrielle Merchant, Au.D., Ph.D.
We are evaluating a new system for testing hearing status that is being developed to use for monitoring hearing and noise-induced hearing loss in military settings. We are comparing the new device to a system commonly used in clinical settings.
- Who: Adults with normal hearing or some hearing loss.
- Ages: 19 – 69
- Compensation: $20/hour (cash)
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Boys Town Medical Campus – Downtown
- Requirements: Participants must not have an active ear infection. Participation requires 1-2 visits that each last 1-2 hours.
Contact: auditory.processing@boystown.org or 531-355-6373
Sign-Up Online:

Principal Investigator: Ellen Peng, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to investigate how children locate sounds and understand speech in everyday indoor environments. This is done by using virtual reality in the lab.
- Who: Children and adults with Normal Hearing
- Ages: 7-30 years
- Compensation: $15/hour
- Tasks: A total of 1-2 visits for each study, each visit lasting 2-2.5 hours.
- Visit Type: Mostly In-Person; Some components may be Virtual
- Location: Boys Town East Hospital Campus
- Requirements: Participants must be fluent in English-speaking (not necessarily native English speaker) who are typically developing. Participants cannot have a diagnosed developmental disability including Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down Syndrome.
Sign Up

Principal Investigator: Adam Bosen, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to identify the auditory and cognitive factors that determine speech understanding ability in individuals with cochlear implants. Participants will listen to speech in clear or degraded listening conditions and then repeat back what they hear. In addition, participants will complete a variety of cognitive and listening tasks to assess memory and hearing sensitivity.
- Who: Adults with cochlear implants or normal hearing
- Age:
- Compensation: $15 per hour (in-person), $15 Amazon eGift Card for each hour (virtual)
- Time: 1 to 3 hours per session
- Visit Type: Virtual and In-person
- Requirements:
Contact: Adam.Bosen@boystown.org

Principal Investigator: Ryan McCreery, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to identify and understand what type of intervention can help children better understand in noisy environments, such as classrooms. Participants will be asked to repeat words and sentences in quiet and noisy situations and play memory and attention games. Hearing tests will be given to those who have not had one in the past six months.
Study details
- Who: Children with or without hearing loss
- Age: 6-12 years
- Compensation: $15 per hour (cash or Amazon gift card)
- Time: 3 to 4 hours total (1 to 2 visits)
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Boys Town Medical Campus – Downtown
  Requirements: Children with hearing loss who have permanent mild to severe hearing loss in both ears (hearing aids not required), no diagnosis of cognitive delay and English as their primary language.
Contact: 531-355-6533; apclab@boystown.org

Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham
Purpose/Overview: The goals of this study are to understand how a child's brain works during attention, memory, and language tasks, and whether hearing loss affects how these processes occur in the brain.
Tasks: Participants will complete noninvasive imaging with magnetoencephalography (MEG) during a series of cognitive and language tasks, MRI, neurobehavioral testing, and an audiogram.
- Who: Children with and without hearing loss
- Age: 7-15 years
- Compensation: Up to $170
- Time: 3-4 visits of 1-3 hours each
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Children with bilateral mild-to-severe hearing loss who wear hearing aids and children without hearing loss.
Contact: 531-355-8937; CASI.Lab@boystown.org
Principal Investigator: Lori Leibold, Ph.D.
Co-PI: Heather Porter, Ph.D.
Purpose of Study: We are currently conducting research to understand how speech, language and hearing develops across the lifespan. You can read more at Project Include Study.
- Who: Children and adults with normal hearing. Participants can have Down syndrome or not have Down syndrome
- Ages: 5-65 years
- Compensation: $20/hour
- Time: Two sessions of 1.5 hours
- Visit Type: In-Person
- Location: Boys Town National Research Hospital Downtown Campus
Contact hadl@boystown.org

Principal Investigator: Kaylah Lalonde, Ph.D.
Purpose of Study: Researchers at Boys Town National Research Hospital are studying how lip reading helps children understand speech.
- Who: Children with permanent hearing loss in both ears
- Ages: 7-12 years
- Visit Type: In-Person
- Location: 555 N 30th Street, Omaha
- Requirements: receive hearing test; listen to people talking and repeat what they say
- Compensation: $20/hour
Contact: Call 531-355-6664 or email avspeech@boystown.org

Sign Up: https://www.boystownhospital.org/research/hearing-speech-perception/audiovisual-speech-processing/participate
Principal Investigator: Gabrielle Merchant, Au.D., Ph.D.
We are conducting a research study about how sound travels through ears. We hope to learn how that is different when an ear has something wrong with it. We can use this information to improve how we diagnose and care for patients with ear disorders.
- Who: Children with normal hearing
- Ages: 6 months to 4 years
- Visit Type: In-Person
- Location: Visits typically occur in the research mini-RV at your home address and occasionally at the Boys Town Medical Campus – Downtown
- Requirements: Participation requires 5 weekly visits (15 - 60 minutes) to assess ear health and hearing status using quick, non-invasive tests. You may be asked to participate in additional brief monitoring visits on a monthly basis. • Compensation: $10 per half-hour (Amazon gift card or cash)
- Compensation: $10 per half-hour (Amazon gift card or cash)
Contact tapp.lab@boystown.org or (531) 355-6697
Principal Investigator: Kathryn Wiseman, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A
The purpose of this study is to understand how children’s ability to hear complex sounds relates to their language development. Participants will complete a hearing test, listen to sounds, words and sentences, answer questions about what they hear, and push a button, point to pictures or touch a screen when sounds play.
- Who: Children who are deaf/hard of hearing
- Ages: 6-13 years
- Compensation: $20 per hour
- Time: 4-5 hours, 1-2 visits
- Visit Type: In-Person
- Location: Boys Town Medical Campus - Downtown
- Requirements: Children with permanent hearing loss in both ears (two hearing aids required) or children who wear at least one cochlear implant, no history of cognitive delay, no history of motor delay, English is primary spoken language and no exposure to secondary spoken languages.
Contact: 531-355-6658 or catlab@boystown.org
Principal Investigator: Kathryn Wiseman, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A; Tiana Cowan, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
The purpose of this study is to learn about language input and hearing device use in bilingual children who are deaf/hard of hearing who listen to and speak both English and Spanish at home. Children will complete vocabulary and hearing testing, while parents/guardians will complete questionnaires and surveys about their child.
- Who: Spanish/English bilingual children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their parents/guardians
- Ages: 5-13 years
- Compensation: Child: $20 per hour (1st visit only); Parent/guardian: up to $56 for survey completion and $20 per hour (2nd visit only)
- Time:
- Visit Type: In-Person
- Location: Boys Town Medical Campus - Downtown
- Requirements: Children with permanent hearing loss in both ears (two hearing aids required) or children who wear at least one cochlear implant, no history of cognitive delay, no history of motor delay, primarily communicate with spoken language, are exposed to both Spanish and English and parent/guardian is comfortable reading in either Spanish or English.
Contact: : English - 531-355-6625, Spanish - 531-355-6350; suresh.portillo@boystown.org
Principal Investigator: Stephen Neely, D.Sc
Standard hearing tests don’t always explain the kinds of hearing difficulties people experience in daily life. We’re evaluating new quick tests that may be useful in quantifying hearing difficulties and exploring hearing aid benefit.
- Who: Adults with normal hearing or some hearing loss
- Ages: 19-90+
- Compensation: $20/hour (cash)
- Visit Type: In-Person
- Location: Boys Town Medical Campus - Downtown
- Requirements: Participants must be native speakers of English and have no known/diagnosed neurological or cognitive disorder. Participation requires 1 appointment that lasts 1-2 hours.
Contact: auditory.processing@boystown.org or 531-355-6373
Sign-Up: https://quickhearingtests.timetap.com/

Language/Speech/Reading

Principal Investigator: Angela AuBuchon, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to understand how early experiences with listening may relate to later skills that support reading and memory. Children and teens will be asked to play a game of computerized whack-a-mole. They will then be given sequences of the “mole hole" locations to remember.
- Who: Children and teens who have a cochlear implants and are native English speakers
- Age: 7-15 years
- Compensation: $15/hour and mileage (if over 50 miles)
- Time: 1 visit of 1 hour and 30 minutes
- VisitType: In-person
- Location: Boys Town Medical Campus – Downtown (testing on Boys Town Campus may be accommodated)
- Requirements: Children should be 7 – 15 years old. They should be native speakers of English who use spoken English as their primary mode of communication. They should be cochlear implant users who experienced severe to profound hearing loss before 1 year of age. Children should have normal or corrected to normal vision (including red/green colorblindness).
Contact: btnrh-wmll@boystown.org

Principal Investigator: Katherine Gordon, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to identify teaching strategies that help children learn and remember school-based vocabulary. Guided by a researcher, participants will play word-learning games and through participation have the potential to add school-based words to their vocabulary.
Study details
- Who: Children with delayed language development
- Age: 4-6 years; 7-10 years
- Compensation: $10-15/hour, total up to $215-$220 (Amazon eGift Card)
- Time:
- Visit Type: Virtual
- Requirements: Parental concern of lower language/vocabulary skills than same age peers or diagnosis of language delay/disorder; Normal hearing, no diagnosis of neurological conditions or intellectual disabilities.
Contact: 531-355-5006; Stephanie.Uglow@boystown.org

Principal Investigator: Tina Grieco-Calub, AuD, PhD
Co-Intestigator Investigator: Katherine Gordon, PhD
The purpose of this study is to identify the effect background noise has on children’s ability to learn and remember new words. Guided by a researcher, participants will complete a hearing screening, complete problem-solving and language tasks, and play word-learning games over the course of 4 sessions.
- Who: Children with typical hearing development, Children who have not received speech-language services within 6 months
- Age: 4-6 years old
- Compensation: $20/hour for the initial assessment, $10/hour for each subsequent session for a total of up to $50-$70 (eGift Card)
- Time:
- Visit Type: In-person
- Requirements: Exposure to English by one parent/guardian from birth, normal hearing, no speech-language services within the past 6 months, no diagnosis of neurological conditions or intellectual disabilities.
Contact: 531-355-5006; stephanie.uglow@boystown.org

Principal Investigator: Ron Pomper, Ph.D.
This project investigates how children learn new words and involves learning made-up names for different types of aliens. The purpose is to better understand which words are difficult to learn so that we can develop extra educational supports to ensure all children have the vocabulary they need to succeed in school. Participants will receive research-based language and cognitive assessments, and results of this testing can be shared with you.
- Who: Children with typical language, delayed language development, and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
- Age: 5-10 years old
- Compensation: $25/visit, total up to $75 (check or eGift Card)
- Time:
- Visit Type: Virtual (via Zoom)
- Requirements: Primarily English-speaking, normal hearing, no diagnosis of neurological conditions or intellectual disabilities.
Contact: 531-355-5695, email ronald.pomper@boystown.org
or sign up at https://redcap.link/phono-net-signup

Neurological Imaging and Neurobehavioral

Principal Investigator: Gaelle Doucet, P.D.
The purpose of this study is to use brain imaging and cognitive information to understand how changes in the brain are related to thinking and memory abilities as we age and how this can vary from person to person. The participants will be asked to fill out questionnaires, play computer games and have a free brain MRI scan.
- Who: Healthy Adults
- Age: 19-88 years
- Compensation: $50 (cash or Amazon eGift card
- Time: A total of 4 hours organized in 1 to 2 visits.
- VisitType: In-person
- Location: Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Participants must not have any metal in the body or have been diagnosed with a neurologic or psychiatric disorder.
Contact: 531-355-8914 or BRAIC.lab@boystown.org
Sign-up: https://www.boystownhospital.org/research/institute-human-neuroscience/brain-architecture-imaging-cognition/participate

Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham
Purpose/Overview: The goals of this study are to understand how a child's brain works during attention, memory, and language tasks, and whether hearing loss affects how these processes occur in the brain.
Tasks: Participants will complete noninvasive imaging with magnetoencephalography (MEG) during a series of cognitive and language tasks, MRI, neurobehavioral testing, and an audiogram.
- Who: Children with and without hearing loss
- Age: 7-15 years
- Compensation: Up to $170
- Time: 3-4 visits of 1-3 hours each
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Children with bilateral mild-to-severe hearing loss who wear hearing aids and children without hearing loss.
Contact: 531-355-8937; CASI.Lab@boystown.org

Principal Investigator: Gaelle Doucet, Ph.D.
The aim of this study is to use brain functional imaging results to understand the brain changes related to puberty and how they can lead to the onset of psychiatric disorders. Participants will be asked to fill out questionnaires, play computer games, and have a free brain MRI scan.
- Who: Healthy Teens and Young Adults
- Age: 12-25 years
- Compensation: $50 (cash or Amazon eGift card)
- Time: A total of 4 hours organized into 1-2 visits
- VisitType: In-person
- Location: Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Participants must not have any metal in the body or have been diagnosed with a neurologic or psychiatric disorder.
Contact: 531-355-8914 or BRAIC.lab@boystown.org
Sign-up: https://www.boystownhospital.org/research/institute-human-neuroscience/brain-architecture-imaging-cognition/participate

Principal Investigator: Brittany Taylor, Ph.D.
Purpose/Overview: Radon is a natural gas that can build up in homes, especially in eastern Nebraska and Iowa. Despite its environmental toxin status and high exposure rates in the US, there are still many questions about its effect.
This study aims to determine if everyday radon exposure has an impact on the development of neural and immune systems in children and teens.
- Who: Healthy Kids and Teens
- Age: 8-15 years
- Compensation: Kids receive $50 cash per visit; Parents receive a $20 Amazon giftcard for completing a free home radon test, plus the complete report of the home radon results
- Time: A total of 4 hours organized into 2 visits
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Institute for Human Neuroscience - Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Participants must not have any metal in the body (including dental work like crowns, braces, spacers) or have been diagnosed with a neurologic or psychiatric disorder.
Contact: 531-355-8942; IHN.Neurodiversity.lab@boystown.org
Sign up!

Principal Investigator: Max Kurz, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to see how successful gait therapy (physical therapy focused on improving walking) is for individuals with cerebral palsy. Participants will utilize traditional therapeutic techniques or training with a robotic exoskeleton. Results from the therapy may differ between individuals, so the study will also look at how the brain works in order to better understand those differences. Adults who do not have cerebral palsy will be used as a comparison group.
- Who: Children and adults with and without cerebral palsy
- Age: 11-30 years
- Compensation: Participants without cerebral palsy: $50 per baseline assessment visit – baseline assessment total up to $150; Participants with cerebral palsy: $50 per baseline assessment visit – baseline assessment total up to $300 (if baseline assessment completed before and after gait therapy/outcome assessment)
- Tasks
- Time:
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Participants with cerebral palsy cannot have had orthopedic surgery within the past six months, and they must have some ability to walk with or without assistance. Participants who do not have cerebral palsy cannot have other developmental conditions, such as autism, Down Syndrome, traumatic brain injury, etc. All participants cannot have any non-removeable metal in their body.
Contact: 531-355-8951; Max.Kurz@boystown.org; Sarah.Baker@boystown.org; Eibhlis.Moriarty@boystown.org

Principal Investigator: Max Kurz, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to examine how adults with Down syndrome age. Participants will do simple visual and tactile tasks in a non-invasive magnetoencephalography (MEG) imaging instrument and undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan during which they can sleep or watch a movie. A neuropsychological assessment involving a few questions and games will be conducted with Down syndrome participants.
- Who: Adults with and without Down syndrome
- Age: 19-45 years
- Compensation: $50 Amazon eGift Card, per visit
- Time:
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Participants cannot have an additional neurological/psychological diagnosis, such as dementia. No metal components in the head or mouth (braces, permanent retainers, etc.).
Contact: Max.Kurz@boystown.org; Eibhlis.Moriarty@boystown.org

Principal Investigator: Tony Wilson, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to understand how the healthy brain matures and how hormones influence this development. As children mature into adolescence and adulthood, both their brains and cognitive abilities change dramatically. This study aims to identify those changes using non-invasive brain scans, neuropsychological and cognitive assessments, and saliva samples. Participants will receive a printed picture of their brain.
Study details/Visit: https://diconlab.org/participate
- Who: Healthy Children
- Age: 6-15 years
- Compensation: $50 per visit
- Time: Approximately 3 hours per visit (typically 2 visits per year)
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Institute for Human Neuroscience - Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Healthy children who are willing to participate and have never been diagnosed with a psychiatric or neurological disorder.>
Contact: 531-355-8920
Visit: https://diconlab.org/participate

Principal Investigator: Tony Wilson, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to measure the effects of aging on brain activity and to use a therapeutic technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Participants will have electrodes placed on their heads while completing a numbering ordering task, then they will undergo a non-invasive magnetoencephalography (MEG) scan while performing visual and attention tasks.
Study details: https://diconlab.org/participate
- Who: Right-handed adults
- Age: 19-35 years; 55-72 years
- Compensation: $80 per visit (3 visits)
- Time: 2.5 hours per visit
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Institute for Human Neuroscience - Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Participants must be right-handed, with no history of substance abuse or dependence.
Contact: 531-355-8920;
Visit: https://diconlab.org/participate/

Principal Investigator: Tony Wilson, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to investigate how HIV affects brain activity, cognitive functioning and aging in people who have HIV as compared to those who do not. Non-invasive brain imaging instruments will be used, and participants will complete a variety of mental activities.
Study details: https://diconlab.org/projects/
- Who: Adults with HIV and Adults without HIV
- Age: 19-80+ years
- Compensation: $75 per visit
- Time: 3 hours per visit (3 visits)
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Institute for Human Neuroscience - Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Have not had a stroke or been diagnosed with any neurological or psychiatric disorders; Able to complete a series of mental tasks; Are not pregnant.
Contact: 531-355-8945; cindy.beaumont@boystown.org
Visit: https://diconlab.org/participate/

Principal Investigator: Tony Wilson, Ph.D.
The purpose of this study is to investigate how chronic cannabis use affects brain activity and cognitive functioning differently in people who are living with HIV compared to those who are not living with HIV. Non-invasive brain imaging instruments will be used, and participants will complete a variety of mental activities.
Study details: https://diconlab.org/projects/
- Who: Adults who Regularly use Cannabis
- Age: 19-80+ years
- Compensation: $75 per visit
- Time: 3 hours per visit (3 visits)
- Visit Type: In-person
- Location: Institute for Human Neuroscience - Boys Town Campus
- Requirements: Have not had a stroke or been diagnosed with any neurological or psychiatric disorders; Are able to complete a series of mental tasks; Are not pregnant; Regularly use cannabis.
Contact: 531-355-8945; cindy.beaumont@boystown.org
Visit: https://diconlab.org/participate/

Principal Investigator: Brittany Taylor, Ph.D.
Purpose/Overview: Radon is a natural gas that can build up in homes, especially in eastern Nebraska and Iowa. Despite its environmental toxin status and high exposure rates in the US, there are still many questions about its effect. This study aims to determine if everyday radon exposure has an impact on mental health in children and teens.
Goals for the study include:
Goal 1: How does radon affect brain function related to processing emotions in otherwise healthy children and teens?
Goal 2: Are these changes in brain function related to mental health outcomes like anxiety?
Study details:
- Who: Healthy Kids and Teens
- Age: 12 – 17 years
- Compensation: Participants will receive $50 for each visit to the Institute, $20 for completing the radon test kit, and $20 for completing the pollution wristband kit.
- Requiements:
Contact: 531-355-8942; IHN.Neurodiversity.lab@boystown.org
Sign up: https://www.boystownhospital.org/research/institute-human-neuroscience/neurodiversity/current-studies

Free Online Hearing and Language Screenings (Ages 3-18)

Are you concerned about your child’s talking, listening, reading or writing skills?

Childhood language problems are common, but they often go unrecognized. Finding out about struggles with spoken language as early as possible is important. Additionally, good hearing is important in development of language skills. If your child is 3-18 years old and you have concerns, your child may benefit from a free online language and hearing screening with us.

Free Online Language and Hearing Screening – Boys Town Hospital

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