Director, Center for Promoting Research to Practice
Dr. Lee Kern has worked in the field of disabilities for more than 25 years as a classroom teacher, behavior specialist, consultant, and faculty member. Her research interests are in the area of interventions for students with behavior problems. She has published numerous articles, book chapters, and three books. Dr. Kern has received approximately $20 million in grants from the Department of Education and the National Institute of Mental Health to pursue research in behavior problems. She is currently Editor of the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions and serves on the editorial board of six educational journals.
Clinical Director
Dr. Noor Syed is a Professor of Practice at Lehigh University, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst- Doctoral (BCBA-D), and a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA). She recently completed her doctoral dissertation at Teachers College, Columbia University and has worked in the field of applied behavior analysis, autism, and developmental disabilities for over 10 years as a Behavior Analyst and General and Special Education teacher. Dr. Syed was chosen as a Top Tier International Partnership Discovery Fellow in the 2018 Inaugural Fellowship Class of the Global Autism Project and she was previously an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Manhattanville College. Her research interests lie in verbal behavior, ethical practices in behavior analysis, and the implementation of behavior analysis to teaching.
Collaborating Faculty
Dr. Linda Bambara is Professor and Program Director of Special Education at Lehigh University. Her expertise in developmental disabilities spans over 30 years, and includes research in the areas of social and communication interventions, self-determination and self-management interventions, and positive behavior supports for individuals challenging behaviors. She has served as PI or Co-PI on grants from the U. S. Department of Education and Autism Speaks and is a former co-PI of ASERT (Autism Service, Education, Research, and Training) a center funded through PA’s Bureau of Autism Service. While at Lehigh, Dr. Bambara also directed two university-based service programs for transition-aged youth and adults with developmental disabilities that focused on integrated employment and community inclusion. Her current research focuses on developing peer-mediated interventions for improving the social-communication skills for adolescents with autism. Dr. Bambara is author of numerous articles, chapters, and books addressing interventions for individuals with autism and developmental disabilities and is on the editorial board of five academic journals. She is former Editor-In-Chief of Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities.
. Christine L. ColeDr. Christine Cole is Professor of School Psychology at Lehigh University. Her research interests are primarily in the area of positive behavioral interventions for challenging behavior. Particular interests include the application of self-management strategies for the treatment of individuals with intellectual and/or pervasive developmental disorders. Her recent research with Dr. Linda Bambara has involved design and evaluation of strategies to enhance social conversation skills of adolescents with autism in authentic school settings. Dr. Cole’s teaching interests include application of evidence-based assessment and intervention, professional issues in school psychology, and single-case research design.
