Autism often exists alongside co-occurring conditions, such as difficulties with sleep or for some, depression and anxiety. For individuals with autism seeking mental health care, health care providers often have several tools in their treatment toolbox. But most of those have primarily been tested on non-autistic people. So, questions remain as to which treatments work best for the autism community. Professor Micah Mazurek is on the hunt for some answers.

Micah Mazurek is a clinical psychologist, the Novartis U.S. Foundation Professor of Education, and director of the Supporting Transformative Autism Research (or STAR) initiative at the UVA School of Education and Human Development.

Learn more about Micah Mazurek: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/micah-mazurek

Visit STAR: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/supporting-transformative-autism-research

EdLab is a production of the UVA School of Education and Human Development and WTJU 91.1FM. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

When it comes to reducing cardiovascular disease, kinesiology professor Sid Angadi’s research shows how fitness level is much more important than body mass index. And perhaps the best news of all, the researcher’s measurement for fitness is quite generous.

Learn more about Siddhartha Angadi: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/siddhartha-angadi

EdLab is a production of the UVA School of Education and Human Development and WTJU 91.1FM. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

How would you define curiosity? Associate professor Jamie Jirout is on the podcast to help us answer that question and to share what she’s been uncovering about curiosity and how it relates to learning.

EdLab is a production of the UVA School of Education and Human Development and WTJU 91.1FM. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

Learn more about Jamie Jirout's research at the Research in Education and Learning Lab: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/research-labs/research-education-and-learning-lab

After visiting a hospital for care during a mental health crisis—whether a visit to the emergency department or for an in-patient stay—students often jump right back into school. UVA professor and licensed clinical psychologist Lora Henderson Smith discusses her work with school-based mental health professionals aimed at supporting these students during and after their transition back to school.

EdLab is a production of WTJU 91.1FM and the UVA School of Education and Human Development. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

No matter where you are in your professional journey, if becoming a teacher is your goal, the UVA School of Education and Human Development has a pathway to help you make that happen. In this episode of EdLab, Teacher Education Director Jillian McGraw walks us through all the ways pre-service teachers find their way to the teacher education program to pursue their dream of one day leading a classroom of their own.

Visit the Become a Teacher page for more information.

EdLab is a production of WTJU 91.1FM and the UVA School of Education and Human Development. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

Research can help identify policy ideas that improve schools and outcomes for students. But then what? Education policy associate professor Beth Schueler wants to know: What happens after we have evidence that a program or policy benefits schools? How do leaders decide where it gets implemented and for how long?

Learn more about Schueler’s work:

EdPolicyWorks Research Center: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/edpolicyworks

EdLab is a production of WTJU 91.1FM and the UVA School of Education and Human Development. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

Notes go hereWhile schools are some of the safest places for children, any act of violence in schools is one too many, forensic clinical psychologist and professor of education Dewey Cornell reminds us. For nearly 40 years, Cornell has studied school violence prevention and how threat assessment teams can play a pivotal role in keeping schools safe.

Learn more about Cornell’s work:

Youth Violence Project: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/research-labs/youth-violence-project

EdLab is a production of WTJU 91.1FM and the UVA School of Education and Human Development. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

If technology tools can be a powerful way to introduce students to engineering and computer science, how can we get more of those tools into the hands of students? Associate Professor Jennifer Chiu is here to share ways she and her team are working to make that happen. Before joining the faculty at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, Chiu began her career as an engineer and spent several years teaching high school math and science.

Learn more about Chiu’s work:

The STEM Education Research Group: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/research-labs/stem-education-research-group

The Global Center for Equitable Computer Science Education: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/research-labs/stem-education-research-group/global-center-equitable-computer-science-education

EdLab is a production of WTJU 91.1FM and the UVA School of Education and Human Development. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

EdLab is a podcast of the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, where we talk to the people behind the school’s transformative research, innovative teaching, and thriving partnerships. In each episode we aim to demystify some of the big questions being asked in education, policy, health and human services.

What do driving in rush hour traffic, a denied debit card at checkout and teaching have in common? High levels of stress. But according to today’s guest, while two of those experiences are temporary, teachers—especially novice ones—commonly experience overwhelm daily. So, what can be done to help? 

Special education Professor Michael Kennedy and his lab are leveraging generative artificial intelligence to lessen teachers’ mental load and improve their capacity in the classroom. In this episode of EdLab, Kennedy discusses his own learning struggles and how they informed his journey to become a special education professor and work to improve outcomes for teachers and their students.

Professor Michael Kennedy: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/michael-j-kennedy

The Supporting Teachers Through Coaching, Observations, and Multimedia to Educate Students with Disabilities Lab: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/research-labs/supporting-teachers-through-coaching-observations-and-multimedia-educate-students-disabilities

EdLab is a production of the UVA School of Education and Human Development and WTJU 91.1FM. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

There is a lot happening in education. From the stubborn teacher shortages to the conversations about shuttering the U.S. Department of Education. So, what role do schools of education and human development play in this present moment? We are kicking off season two of EdLab with our dean, Stephanie Rowley, who said she thinks about that very question every day.

Stephanie Rowley: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/stephanie-rowley

EdLab is a production of the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development and WTJU 91.1 FM. Ed Lab is produced and hosted by Audrey Breen. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

https://education.virginia.edu/edlab-podcast

EdLab Season Two launches Friday, September 5.

Schools are regularly making important decisions that impact the quality of their students' education. Add technology like artificial intelligence that is advancing lightning fast into the mix and schools are at risk of implementing products that have little evidence of actually working.

So how do they get their hands on the evidence they need to make informed decisions? That question is at the heart of the work conducted by education researchers like Vivian Wong. In this episode, Vivian shares why education research is so important and why now—with the rapid deployment of all kinds of technology, including AI—is a critical time for it to continue.

November 14, 2025 Note: At the time of recording, the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) contract had been canceled along with many other Institute of Education Sciences (IES) research contracts. Since then, the U.S. Department of Education has begun reinstating a subset of those terminated contracts. Public disclosures indicate that the WWC contract has been approved for reinstatement in a limited form, including website operations but not yet the full research-review activities previously conducted. The status and scope of the reinstated WWC contract remain unclear.

Vivian Wong:

For those in education, today’s guest likely needs no introduction. Carol Ann Tomlinson, the William Clay Parrish Professor Emerita at the UVA School of Education and Human Development, is a world-renowned expert in differentiation, an idea that connects to how teachers see and teach each student in their class. 

In this conversation, Carol shares her definition of what exactly differentiation means and how her definition has evolved over time.  

With 21 years of teaching experience, during which she was named Virginia’s Teacher of the Year, Tomlinson transitioned into academia, investing in a generation of future teachers at the UVA School of Education and Human Development. Her scholarship generated hundreds of publications, including books that have been translated into 14 languages. Though officially retired, Carol still works with educators across the US and around the world. 

Looking back over her career, one principal reigns supreme for her when it comes to teaching:  the power of human connection.

https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/carol-ann-tomlinson

Adolescent dating abuse is a topic that, while maybe not entirely taboo, is often a difficult one for many parents and other caregivers to consider. And yet, according to the Center for Disease Control’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, one in twelve adolescence experiences physical dating violence. With a background in public health, Katrina Debnam is focused on preventing abuse in adolescent dating relationships before it happens.

Katrina Debnam: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/katrina-debnam Youth-Nex: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/youth-nex

Resources for Building Healthy Relationships This list of resources was curated and written by Katrina Debnam. This is not an exhaustive list of publicly available resources. The University of Virginia and the School of Education and Human Development do not endorse specific resources.

These hotlines are free, confidential, and open 24 hours a day.

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
• National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
• ChildHelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD (422-4453)

Online Resources There are many resources available online which provide information on healthy romantic relationships and dating violence.

Ujima Inc., The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community -https://ujimacommunity.org/ Serves as a national, culturally-specific services issue resource center to provide support to and be a voice for the Black Community in response to domestic, sexual and community violence.

Break the Cycle - www.breakthecycle.org Break the Cycle inspires and supports young people 12 - 24 to build healthy relationships and create a culture without abuse.

Love Shouldn’t Have to Hurt Teens - https://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/love-teens This American Psychological Association webpage tells teens what dating violence is and how to recognize, it how to avoid it, and what to do if it happens.

National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC) - http://www.nyacyouth.org The National Youth Advocacy Coalition is a social justice organization that advocates for and with young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) in an effort to end discrimination against these youth and to ensure their physical and emotional well-being.

One Love - https://www.joinonelove.org/ One Love empowers young people with the tools and resources they need to see the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships and bring life-saving prevention education to their communities.

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: Dating Violence Fact Sheet - https://www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/about/about-teen-dating-violence.html

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence - https://ncadv.org

Stalking Resource Center of the National Center for Victims of Crime - https://victimsofcrime.org/stalking-resource-center/

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) - http://www.rainn.org/ The nation's largest anti-sexual assault organization (RAIIN) operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline and carries out programs to prevent sexual assault, help victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.

Can a wearable fitness tracker, paired with a mindfulness app, help patients feel more confident about being active after their ACL surgery recovery?

Most active young people who undergo ACL repair surgery are eager to graduate from physical therapy and get back to their activity of choice. But when the day arrives, many don’t quite trust that they are ready.

In this episode of EdLab, researcher Chris Kuenze shares why the mental health aspects of ACL recovery are just as important as the physical recovery and how his pilot study that leverages the Oura Ring and the Headspace app is designed to do support both.

Chris Kuenze: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/chris-kuenze

UVA's Exercise and Sport Injury Recovery Laboratory: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/research-labs/exercise-and-sport-injury-laboratory

EdLab is a production of the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development and WTJU 91.1 FM. EdLab is produced and hosted by Audrey Breen with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

EdLab: https://education.virginia.edu/edlab-podcast

Did you know that some mental health problems are treatable with specific, relatively short-term evidence-based therapies? And if so, how do you know which providers practice these treatments?

Today we're talking with Professor Peter Tuerk, a clinical psychologist who specializes in evidence-based treatments for anxiety spectrum disorders and who serves as director of the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development’s Sheila C. Johnson Center for Clinical Services, a community-facing outpatient and training clinic.

In our conversation, Peter helps us differentiate between general mental health care and evidence-based treatments for specific mental health problems, like the anxiety spectrum disorders he specializes in, that include obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. But according to Tuerk, not enough practitioners are trained in these treatments.

As a practicing clinician who directs the clinic where our graduate students are training to become practitioners, Peter shares how the School of Education and Human Development programs are designed to launch new practitioners into the field well trained in these areas and discuss his efforts to support the learning of professionals already practicing.

Peter Tuerk: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/peter-tuerk

Shiela C. Johnson Center for Clinical Services: [https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/sheila-c-johnson-center-clinical-services ](