NeuroVentures Equipment Grant

Paulo Blikstein, Education
Jelena Obradovic, Education

Professors Jelena Obradovic and Paulo Blikstein, both of the Graduate School of Education, will receive funding for wireless biosensing and biofeedback equipment. Obradovic and Blikstein have the common goal of using biosensing in educational settings. However, conventional wired systems are laborious to set up, and are not adapted to K-12 classrooms. With the new equipment, Obradovic seeks to understand the effects of adversity on children’s learning. She will identify the biological, behavioral, and environmental processes that enable some disadvantaged children to demonstrate remarkable resilience, while placing others at risk for maladaptive outcomes. Prof. Blikstein will use the sensors to assess new technologies and learning environments for children developed in his lab. He has been working with at-risk youth to develop hands-on learning tools that can spark interest in science and mathematics as well as generate prolonged engagement with these disciplines. The new, portable biosensing system will create additional opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to be involved in applied research that bridges disciplines of developmental psychology, psychobiology, and education and has real-world implications for children’s health, development, and learning.