Laboratories, Centers, and Clinics
Human Performance Laboratory
The Human Performance Laboratory (HPL) is an interdisciplinary research and service unit. Our programs which span undergraduate to post-doctoral education, translational research, as well as service to the university and local communities.
Health Education and Promotion Labs
Health Behavior & Tobacco Research Lab
Research projects in this lab include examination of health behaviors with an emphasis on substance use behaviors. Many of the projects in the HBTRL focus specifically on examination of tobacco use behaviors including emerging and alternative tobacco use behaviors such as electronic cigarette use/vaping and hookah/waterpipe tobacco smoking.
Occupational Health/Industrial Hygiene Research Lab
Research projects conducted in this lab include activated carbon fiber research for respiratory protection application and quantification of pesticides by gas chromatography. This lab provides laboratory research opportunities for undergraduate and/or graduate students in majors related to science and engineering (e.g., environmental health, chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering).
Mosquito and Vector-Borne Disease Lab
Biological Safety Level- [BSL] 2 Lab for arbovirus work, molecular biology lab for qRTPCR, insectary for rearing mosquito colonies, insecticide resistance testing/field mosquito control operations lab. Student research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate student research are available.
NC School Health Training Center
The North Carolina School Health Training Center is committed to strengthening the quality of Health Education within a coordinated school health program. The Center provides programs throughout the state for teachers, nurses, counselors, administrators, and public health educators to reduce health-risk behaviors in children and adolescents.
Public Health Genomics Lab
Educational intervention regarding autism genetic testing among parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD); Family health history promotion among underserved population; Cancer prevention among young adults. Students who are interested in the field of translating genetics/genomics knowledge and practices to patients and their families affected by genetic conditions (particularly ASD and different types of cancer) are welcome to volunteer in this lab.
We are an interdisciplinary Lab that educates and mentors students and community members in cancer research in an effort to reduce cancer health disparities. We provide students and community members with research experiences that focus on reducing cancer health disparities in the eastern North Carolina (ENC) region.
Water/Wastewater Research Lab
Research activities conducted in this lab include analysis of water samples for fecal indicator bacteria concentrations, calibration of field meters for pH, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, and turbidity. Student research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate water and wastewater related research are available for motivated, mature students.
Human Development and Family Science
Nancy Darden Child Development Center
The Nancy W. Darden Child Development Center (NDCDC) is an early childhood model training facility for the Department of Human Development and Family Science at ECU.
East Carolina University Family Therapy Clinic provides high quality individual, couple and family therapy to the greater Pitt County community, while also providing faculty-supervised training to Family Therapy students in their last year of their master’s program and PhD Medical Family Therapy students.
The Early Educator Support Office at East Carolina University works with lead teachers in NC Pre-K and Developmental Day non-public school classrooms in eastern North Carolina. These teachers hold or are working towards NC Birth through Kindergarten professional educator licenses.
Interior Design and Merchandising
Textile Lab
The Textile Lab, located in Rivers 258, is equipped with different light microscopes for research and educational uses. Two fume hoods are available for sample preparations. Students do hands-on experiential learning activities to explore different fibers, yarns, fabrication or construction, coloration, and finishing applied to textiles. The lab also functions as a textile library for students to select materials for their class projects.
CAD lab & Resource Room
The Department has three Computer Aided Design (CAD) labs available for Interior Design students. These State-of-the-Art provide have individual workstations all with 3-D and 4-D rendering capabilities.
Kinesiology
The Activity Promotion Lab (APL) supports research and teaching in the area of physical activity promotion to improve the health and quality of life of people throughout their lifespan. Physical activity is a behavior that promotes positive health outcomes such as weight management, chronic disease prevention and management, and improved mental health among others.
The Biomechanics lab research focuses on the study related to the science of human movement. The lab utilizes the latest technology to evaluate different scenarios related to movement and its impact on the human body.
The Developmental Motor Laboratory serves as the home of the Adapted Physical Activity (APA) practicums program offering various physical activities to people with disabilities in the community and research involving teacher preparation concerning disability awareness, teaching and inclusion.
Research within VML involves projects that examine visual attention, arousal, mental workload, and visual processing through neuroimaging. The goal of our research program is to understand how vision and cognition control and modulate motor behavior.
Sensory-Motor Integration Laboratory
The Sensory-Motor Integration Laboratory at ECU (SMILe), located in Minges Coliseum, is a state-of-the-art motor control and motor neurophysiology research space focused on advancing our understanding of the basic neurobiological mechanisms of action.
The mission of the Performance Optimization Laboratory (POL) is to help all people perform at their best. Human performance optimization is translational across many populations and tissue (healthy, diseased, and injured) states.
Sport and Community Development Lab
The Sport and Community Development (SCD) lab, housed within the ECU undergraduate Sport Studies and graduate Sport Management programs in Minges Coliseum, provides a space for students and researchers to explore opportunities within sport that have a direct impact on individuals and the local community.
Team-OPPS Lab
The TEAM-OPPS Research Lab is dedicated to Optimizing Psychology in TEAM Performance Settings. Through research we aim to advance knowledge of social factors impacting personal success in sport, military, and performance settings.
Recreation Sciences
The Department of Recreation Sciences’ Center for Biofeedback provides professional development and collaboration opportunities for aspiring and current practitioners to become advanced clinicians and researchers in the areas of biofeedback, health games, and virtual reality.
Sensory & Observation Lab
The Sensory & Observation Lab (SOL) focuses on recreational therapy research and recreational therapy interventions involving aromatherapy, virtual reality, multi-sensory environments (Snoezelen), and wheelchair push biomechanics.
Sailboat Simulator
The purpose of the Sailing Simulation Lab is to use virtual reality sailing simulation (VRSS) as an intervention for individuals with disabilities to increase quality of life and to produce evidence through research in the field of recreational therapy (also known as therapeutic recreation). The lab is a member of the VRSS International Research Consortium comprising of 8 countries and includes 25 members and 7 universities/research institutes.
Social Work
The Virtual Clinical/Immersion/Simulation Lab
The Social Work Virtual Simulation Lab provides an opportunity for students to engage in simulated client experiences to build the necessary competencies to work with a diverse population of clients. It integrates technology and social work education so that students may practice and demonstrate skills and receive critical feedback prior to working with live clients.
The Office of Healthy Aging (OHA) serves as a hub for teaching, research, and service-related activities that advance healthy aging research. OHA further uses these activities to provide evidence-based services for diverse populations of people across the aging population, with a heavy focus on rural communities in southeastern and eastern North Carolina.