Mobile Research Laboratory

Mobile Lab
Mobile Research Laboratory Increases Access to Diverse Research Participants


The Clinical and Translational Research Support Core of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) provides shared instrumentation to IDDRC investigators, including a mobile research laboratory called the Community Access Mobile Evaluation Laboratory (CAMEL).




Advantages: Research staff can bring evaluation equipment to potential research participants rather than having them travel to the Shriver Center in Waltham.

  • Extends opportunity to participate to those previously unavailable due to distance, time, transportation issues, or inconvenience
  • Facilitates establishment of new research partnerships with schools and other facilities unable to participate due to lack of testing space
  • Potentially increases the diversity of the participant pool

Equipment: The equipment included in the lab is essential for a comprehensive evaluation of behavioral, cognitive and sensory functioning in persons with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

  • Computer-based and tabletop behavioral evaluation and research protocol implementation
  • Electrophysiological measurement of neurophysiological correlates of behavior, including assessment of sensory functions (vision, hearing, etc.)
  • Otoacoustic emissions, essential for hearing evaluations for individuals whose understanding of instructions is limited
  • Eye movement and visual attention analysis
  • Video recording of participants’ interactions with staff and/or research procedures
  • Full access to participants with physical disabilities

For additional information, see the CAMEL webpage.

Funded by: NICHD (3 P30 HD 004147-37S1) and HRSA (1 C76HF16095-01-00)