The Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics and Psychometrics (MAP Academy) is awarding $10,000 through a competitive funding opportunity created to enhance the rigor of field-based human subjects research at the University of Nebraska.
These awards were made possible by a grant from the Nebraska Research Initiative.
Now in its third year, the Applied Analytics and Data Infrastructure (AADI) Catalyst Program will provide funding to two faculty members conducting research aimed at advancing early childhood development and public health.
The awards will enable faculty to collaborate with the MAP Academy team, drawing upon its expertise in rigorous analysis and data infrastructure support — and laying the groundwork for future research collaboration.
The following researchers, along with their project teams, have been selected to receive AADI Catalyst awards in the 2025-26 fiscal year:
Principal investigator: Soo-Young Hong, Associate Professor
Affiliation: College of Education and Human Sciences
Campus: University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Project title: “Investigating Facilitators and Barriers of Early Childhood Development and Learning Using Educare Lincoln’s Longitudinal Data”
Principal investigator: Michaela Schenkelberg, Associate Professor
Affiliation: School of Health & Kinesiology
Campus: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Project title: “Evaluating the Utility of a Field-Based Gross Motor Assessment for Young Children with and without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities”
Housed within the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools (CYFS), the MAP Academy promotes the advancement of methodologies, applied analytics and data infrastructure to support and enhance rigorous research within the social, behavioral, health and educational sciences. Experienced faculty and staff work closely with researchers to understand their needs and ensure high-quality data through advanced statistical and methodological approaches.
A call for proposals for additional AADI Catalyst Program awards will open in the fall to support projects in the 2026-27 fiscal year. Program details are available on the MAP Academy’s funding opportunities webpage.