Dr. Elise Pas, Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Pas received her B.A. in Psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton, where she focused on a specialization in applied behavior analysis through her work with students with Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Following her undergraduate studies, she continued her education at the University of Maryland, College Park and attained an M.A. and Ph.D. in School Psychology. As part of her training, Dr. Pas completed practicum work in local school districts across two years as well as a full-year internship as a practicing School Psychologist, with a focus on consultation with teachers to improve student outcomes.
Through a graduate research assistantship, Dr. Pas spent three years working on a federally funded, multi-site randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a social and character education initiative in elementary schools. The work Dr. Pas completed on this project encompassed all aspects of the work required on a large-scale trial, from attaining and tracking consent to running outcome analyses and presenting data to the schools. In addition to this project, Dr. Pas served as a consultant to a local school district and conducted an implementation evaluation of a pre-referral problem-solving process in 17 elementary schools. This work included the development of a logic model and implementation measure, the processing of the data into reports for the schools, and the design and conduct of trainings for school-based professionals.
After attaining her degree, Dr. Pas completed an NIMH-funded postdoctoral research fellowship in children’s mental health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with a focus on school-based prevention programs. Through this experience, Dr. Pas developed further expertise in the three-tiered public health model utilized by the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework, the dissemination and implementation of PBIS state-wide, and the relationship of teacher factors and school context on student outcomes. Dr. Pas has presented her graduate and postdoctoral work at numerous conferences, has sought publication for eight peer-reviewed articles (i.e., either published or under review), has written two forthcoming book chapters, and serves on the editorial board of peer-reviewed journals.