John Colombo, PhD, is director of the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and a professor of psychology at the University of Kansas (KU) in Lawrence, Kansas. Dr. Colombo received his doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
In addition to being an active participant in the Brain, Behavior, and Quantitative Science doctoral program in the Department of Psychology at KU, Dr. Colombo is affiliated with three interdisciplinary doctoral programs: Child Language, Clinical Child Psychology, and Neuroscience. He has also served as director of the KU research institute for many years and the principal investigator on numerous clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, as well as private companies and foundations.
Dr. Colombo’s research studies have included the measurement and evaluation of neurocognitive development in infancy and early childhood in both typically developing as well as at-risk populations of infants and young children. In recent years he has worked to include innovative laboratory measures of neurodevelopment into clinical trials evaluating the effects of nutrients and micronutrients on the development of cognitive function.
The International Congress of Infant Studies (ICIS) recently honored Dr. Colombo with the organization’s Translational Research Award for his more than three decades of research. ICIS is the largest scientific society in the world dedicated to the study of human development during infancy and early childhood. The award honors scientists who have successfully moved basic research findings on early human development from the laboratory to the applied world. Dr. Colombo was recognized not only for his own research accomplishments but also for mentoring, over the years, the many scientists whose research has had a significant impact on enhancing the lives of infants and their families.
Dr. Colombo has authored or coauthored six books, more than 100 peer-reviewed chapters and articles, and has been an invited speaker at national and international symposia. He serves on the editorial boards of several medical journals including the International Journal of Pediatrics, Infancy, Child Development, and Infant Behavior and Development.