It has been four years since Nebraska launched the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior (CB3), an interdisciplinary research facility where faculty from the social sciences, biological & behavioural sciences as well as engineering collaborate to study the brain’s impact on human behaviour.
Thanks to its state-of-the-art facilities, like the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine and the salivary bioscience laboratory, important research has been made in the fields of neuropsychology, early childhood development, sensorimotor function and athletics. CB3 currently works with the Nebraska Athletic Performance Lab and Husker Athletics in maintaining a health and performance data repository that will contribute immensely to studies about concussion, nutrition and body composition.
Many of the faculty members that use CB3 have been awarded research grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Jennifer Nelson, Director of Administration, relates, “The centre was founded with a mission of interdisciplinary research… the research collaborations are only going to [grow further], and that’s exciting.”
In January, medical researcher and runner Cary Savage took office as the new director of CB3. He notes, “I want to enhance that relationship [with Athletics] and really get research started in a bigger way than we’ve had and formalise it more than it’s been.” Savage’s long-term goal is to elevate CB3’s national status further by getting more federal funding from the NIH and the NSF, as well as from other sources. Since assuming office, he has hit the ground running.
Photo from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln website
