We are your concierge for all things developmental research and training.
The Neurodevelopmental Assessment and Training Core (ND Core) is part of the Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences (DevSci). The ND Core supports DevSci’s 'Healthier Earlier' mission by connecting researchers to cutting-edge tools and fostering robust developmental science.
We open doors for your research by making it easy and economical to branch into developmental science or expand your technical capabilities.
Please find a list of our services below. Our most widely-used service is direct assessment of participants across the lifespan. Read on to learn more about what we offer!
Direct Participant Assessment
We assess cognition (how people think and solve problems) and executive functions (how people manage their actions), in populations from infancy through adulthood. Cognitive assessments often include asking participants to complete puzzles or recognize patterns.
We use standardized and also bespoke research measures to assess all aspects of human behavior. This may include how children regulate their emotions, how caregivers respond to child behavior, or how children experience signs of early mental health problems. These measures often use questionnaires, observations, and direct assessments.
We assess language and communication across the lifespan. We can administer targeted measures of one area of language, such as vocabulary words a child uses, or general measures that assess children’s overall communication ability. Both caregiver questionnaires and direct assessments are used.
Direct participant assessment within clinical trials plays a pivotal role in evaluating the efficacy and safety of medical interventions, providing invaluable data to assess patient responses, treatment outcomes, and potential areas for refining intervention strategies or protocols.
In pilot studies, using developmental assessments helps researchers understand how well interventions aimed at different stages of development work, allowing them to improve their methods and better support growth in future studies.
Assessments are important in research studies, helping us understand how individuals grow and learn, and find ways to support their development when needed.
We provide comprehensive grant writing support, guiding individuals and organizations through the process of crafting compelling proposals to secure funding for their projects or initiatives.
We offer access to cutting-edge equipment such as EEG and eye-tracking technology, along with dedicated research staff support, to facilitate precise data collection and analysis for your research projects.
We offer specialized training and workshops to equip researchers with the necessary skills and knowledge for effectively implementing developmentally sensitive measures in their studies.
We offer a range of bespoke services that are tailored to your research needs
Some of our most popular services are detailed below.
Contact us today to learn more!
Send an inquiry email to ndcore@northwestern.edu.
Complementary consultation meeting with Core staff.
Start using the Core services.
Do you have questions about our services? Contact us to learn more about our services and how to request them.
