Kelsey Kirk, Author at Newsroom

‘State of the Institute’ highlights growth, goals at MMI

Dean and Director Karoly Mirnics, MD, PhD, spoke about primary care, clinical goals and research growth among other topics during his annual “State of the Institute” address.

Nov 11, 2025

Karoly Mirnics, MD, PhD, dean and director of the Munroe-Meyer Institute

Longtime MMI advocate was an example of giving back to community

Ron Niederhaus, a long-time member of the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities, died in October at age 79.

Nov 7, 2025

SOAR conference aids self-advocates

The three-day conference offered presentations led by individuals with disabilities. Topics focused on how to advocate for yourself on personal and systems levels.

Nov 6, 2025

Members of the SOAR conference planning team, back row from left&colon; Kim Falk, Rachael Serena, Maribel Garcia, Emily Costello and Mark Shriver&period; Front row, from left&colon; Kellie Ellerbusch and Melanie Davis&period;

Trick-or-Treat event draws largest crowd yet

The event, in its eighth year, drew its largest crowd ever with nearly 750 guests. At times, a line of costumed kiddos — and some adults — snaked around the sidewalk.

Nov 6, 2025

Adrian Mendoza, dressed as Stitch, collects candy during the Munroe-Meyer Institute's trick-or-treat event&period;

Growing the Care Coordination Program to better serve patients and families at MMI

As health care becomes more complex, our care coordination team ensures that no one feels lost navigating medical appointments, referrals from health care providers and support systems.

Oct 30, 2025

Maggie Neujahr, manager of the MMI Care Coordination Program

Customized training sessions aid other educators

The goal is to continue working with early childhood centers and afterschool programs, while also expanding into new training areas and positively impacting more students.

Oct 15, 2025

Kari Price leads a training exercise at the Learning Community Center of North Omaha&period;

Solness helps NICU parents cope with stress, supports infant development

Cara Solness, PhD, assistant professor in the Munroe-Meyer Institute Department of Psychology, works in the NICU to help parents navigate the stressors of having their infant hospitalized.

Oct 14, 2025

Cara Solness, PhD, assistant professor in the MMI Department of Pyschology

Cornhole offers confidence, fun in new MMI league

More than a dozen teams participated in the Munroe-Meyer Institute’s unified cornhole offering through Special Olympics Nebraska.

Oct 14, 2025

Matt Frohm launches a bean bag toward a cornhole board in the gym at the Munroe-Meyer Institute&period;

MMI Voices: My child turned 21. Now what?

Parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities often find there are few or no services for their children once they become adults. The Munroe-Meyer Institute has been working diligently to change this narrative by building a bridge across the gap in services.

Sep 30, 2025

Sam Montemarano, MMI occupational therapist

Community, Inside UNMC

Virtual reality offers healthy challenge to camp participants

The Munroe-Meyer Institute’s HABIT Camp brought an added element – four campers participated using brain-computer interface.

Sep 16, 2025

Connor Strobel plays a virtual reality game during HABIT camp at the Munroe-Meyer Institute&period; The camp is designed to allow children with cerebral palsy and other conditions to work on using both hands to complete a task in the form of play&period;