OUR HISTORY

The Institute for Human Neuroscience (IHN) was established in 2021 by Boys Town National Research Hospital to extend the organization’s mission and create a world-class research program. Through the IHN, Boys Town aims to advance knowledge of cognitive neuroscience and apply this science to change the way America cares for children and families

Boys Town is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization that has been working to understand and improve the lives of vulnerable families for over a century. The organization was founded in 1917 by Father Edward Flanagan. Father Flanagan was known as a visionary for his time in many ways, and he was particularly innovative in pioneering the implementation of research-based methods in the healthcare and psychological rehabilitation of orphaned or neglected children. These fundamental values upon which Boys Town was founded have persisted long after Father Flanagan’s death in 1948. In the 1970s, Boys Town became coed and established a hospital to provide clinical services to children and families. In the 1980s, the hospital developed a significant research arm and adopted the name Boys Town National Research Hospital. Since then, the hospital has grown into a world-renowned audiology, hearing science, and neuroscience research organization with multiple programs that have informed many high-impact national policy decisions regarding clinical services for children and adults.  

Today, the Institute for Human Neuroscience seeks to pioneer discoveries in the field of human cognitive neuroscience for not only children, but for individuals of all ages.  Our research focuses on understanding human brain development, brain function, brain structure, and brain dynamics. IHN also aims to provide groundbreaking discoveries, unique opportunities, and resources to investigators interested in neuroscience and specific psychiatric and neurological diseases.