John Colombo, Ph.D.

I received my PhD in Psychology (1981) from the State University of New York at Buffalo. After one year at Youngstown State University (1981-1982), and six years (1982-1988) as a research associate with the Bureau of Child Research at the University of Kansas, I joined the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas in 1988, and have been a member of the Department of Psychology since January of 2002.

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Research

My research interests are in the developmental cognitive neuroscience of attention and learning, with a special focus on early individual differences in these areas and how they relate to the typical and atypical development of cognitive and intellectual function. I conduct research in laboratories at the KU Edwards Campus and the KU Medical Center, as well as at the Wakarusa Research Facility in Lawrence

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Students and Postdocs

I generally admit students interested in pursuing a graduate degree in my laboratory through the Developmental or Cognitive doctoral programs in the Department of Psychology. However, I also advise students in the Child Language Doctoral Program and in Clinical Child Psychology. Occasionally, postdoctoral positions are available through federal research or training grants, or through fellowships funded through the Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (F32 mechanism) at NIH.

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Collaborations

I collaborate with a number of faculty members at the University of Kansas and elsewhere. Currently, my collaborations include ongoing research and writing projects with the following scientists at other institutions:

Dr. Susan E. Carlson, A.J. Rice Professor of Dietetics and Nutrition, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA

Dr. Laura Caulfield, Human Nutrition, The Johns Hopkins State University, Baltimore, MD, USA

Nelly Zavaleta, MD, Instituto de Investigaciones Nutricional, Lima (Molina), Peru

Dr. John Richards, Carolina Professor of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

Dr. Derek Houston, University of Indiana School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

Dr. David Thomas, (Department of Psychology), and Dr. Tay Kennedy (Department of Nutrition), Oklahoma State University

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National Service

Secretary of the International Society for Infant Studies (ISIS)

Associate Editor for Child Development, the flagship journal of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)

Fellow, American Psychological Association (Division 7: Developmental Psychology)

Charter Member and Fellow, Association for Psychological Science

Member, Psychonomic Society

Editorial Board member for the following journals

• Infancy
• Infant Behavior and Development
• Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
• Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

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Publications

A list of my publications (with some links to .pdf copies) can be obtained by clicking here.