Click on the names below to read their biographies:

Nicole Russo-Ponsaran, Ph.D. Clark McKown, Ph.D. Rebecca Liebman, M.P.H. Ashley Karls, B.A. Jason K. Johnson, B.A.    

Nicole Russo-Ponsaran, Ph.D.

Research Director Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences Education and Training

• Northwestern University, Ph.D., Neuroscience
• Loyola University Chicago, B.S., Biology
• Certified research reliable in administration of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), and ADOS-2

Areas of Expertise

• Autism spectrum disorders, fragile X syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and language-based learning problems
• Neurophysiology, speech-evoked auditory brainstem response
• Nonverbal awareness, prosody, facial affect
• Social information processing

Research Interests

• Improving objective assessment of functioning for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities
• Direct assessment of social-emotional learning skills and self-regulation in typically-developing and clinical pediatric populations
• Evaluation of intervention efficacy and the development of new treatment programs

Clark McKown, Ph.D.

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Pediatrics Executive Director Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Behavioral Sciences Education and Training

• University of California, Berkeley, PhD, Psychology
• Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Predoctoral internship
• Yale University, BA, Psychology

Areas of Expertise

• Child assessment and therapy
• School consultation
• Academic, social, behavioral, and emotional disorders of childhood
• Social development and friendship

Research Interests

• Typical and atypical social development
• Assessment and treatment of social problems
• Instructional environments and children’s well-being
• Program evaluation

  Rebecca Liebman, M.P.H.

Research Study Supervisor Education and Training

• Fulbright Research Scholarship in Delhi, India
• University of Illinois at Chicago, MPH, Community Health Sciences
• Tulane University, BA, Cultural Anthropology

Research Interests

• Designing culturally-sensitive behavioral interventions for vulnerable populations
• Program development, implementation, and evaluation
• Development of assessment tools

Ashley Karls, B.A.

Research Assistant Education and Training

• National University, B.A in Business Management, Minor in Psychology

Research Interests

• Development of assessment tools to identify children and adolescents at risk for social-emotional difficulties
• Direct assessment of social-emotional learning skills and self-regulation in typically-developing and clinical pediatric populations
• Development/evaluation of treatment programs for executive functioning deficits

In memory of Jason Johnson, B.A.

Research Study Supervisor (2008-2016) Education and Training

• Monmouth College, B.A., Biology and Chemistry

Research Interests:

• Development of assessment tools to identify children and adolescents at risk for social- emotional difficulties
• Direct assessment of social-emotional learning skills and self-regulation in typically-developing and clinical pediatric populations
• Evaluation of intervention efficacy and the development of new treatment programs, specifically facial emotion recognition
• Sociometrics and Peer rejection