Thank you for your interest in our research!

We have several research studies that are currently enrolling participants - particularly families who have at least one family member with a condition like autism, language impairment, or another neurodevelopmental disorder. Initial involvement in our studies can be completed from the comfort of your own home via online surveys!

Please don't hesitate to contact our research team with any questions you may have.

Email: michaelson-lab@uiowa.edu
Phone: 319.335.8882

 

Genetics of Neurodevelopmental conditions
Genetics of Language Disorders
Language Ability Study
SPARK Study

 

Genetics of Neurodevelopmental Conditions (devGenes)

Your mental health, talents, and abilities are all connected. Join this research and make a difference by helping us understand how the brain impacts quality of life.

What's Involved?

 

 

You and your family can join our study today:

  • Step 1: Register by going to the following website: https://redcap.link/devGenes.
  • Step 2: Share your unique perspective on your mental health, personality, and activities through online surveys.
  • Step 3: Give a DNA sample (e.g. saliva sample). We’ll send you a kit in the mail. 
  • Additional steps (optional): Complete an interview and some assessments and games. You may also be asked to participate in an IQ test and an MRI session (brain scan). These additional steps bring additional compensation (e.g. gift cards, payment by check, etc.).  

Genetic Study of Language Disorders

Your DNA could help us better understand the genetics of language disorders!  We are currently recruiting participants who have been diagnosed with:

  • Language impairment
  • Expressive language disorder
  • Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder
  • Phonological/articulation disorder
  • Reading disorder
  • Dyslexia
  • Apraxia
  • Other developmental disorders of speech and language

Participation takes roughly 20 minutes and can be completed in the comfort of your own home.  

If you or your family member is interested in participating, please email us at michaelson-lab@uiowa.edu.

Language Abilities Study

Language Booth

The study of language genetics needs a rapid, scalable assessment which can detect a wide range of ability levels. We are developing a web-based language screening tool composed of a mixture of established and new assessments with an eye to detecting meaningful variation in the language ability of adults.

Booth
Our first deployment of the language screener was in a soundproof booth in a hospital clinic waiting room. We expect participants to return and take screener multiple times, so a mood survey was included to see how mood might be reflected in performance on the various tasks.
 
 

 

Click Here to Learn More!
SPARK Logo

 

You’re invited to register with SPARK, a large, online research partnership that seeks to improve the lives of people with autism through research. 

The goal of SPARK is to accelerate autism research in order to gain a better understanding of causes and treatments for autism. By building a community of tens of thousands of individuals with autism and their biological family members who provide behavioral and genetic data, SPARK will be the largest autism research study to date.

 

 

 

Click here to learn more!