Kent State University Research Team

Brian R. Barber, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Kent State University. His research, for which he and his colleagues have received over five million dollars in funding, focuses on effective prevention and intervention strategies for behavior, cognitive behavioral strategies, and setting factors affecting implementation in alternative education settings. Dr. Barber teaches graduate courses in special education research, literature synthesis and meta- analysis, and special education law, as well as undergraduate and continuing education courses in classroom and behavior management and evidence-based practices for students with high-incidence disabilities. He has authored several professional articles, book chapters, and policy briefs and has presented his findings and recommendations at over 100 state, regional, national, and international professional conferences. Prior to receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Florida, Brian was a teacher and school administrator of programs for special education students for eight years. Dr. Barber is currently the Site Investigator and Co-PI for a four-year, IES-funded randomized controlled trial investigating the efficacy of I Control, a self-regulation curriculum for middle school students with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Alivia Manlet, B.A., is a second-year doctoral student at NOAC (Northern Ohio Audiologic Consortium) through Kent State University and the University of Akron. She earned her B.A. in both Speech and Hearing Sciences and Psychology at The Ohio State University. During her time as an undergraduate, she worked in a hearing science lab researching the effects of high intensity noise on the inner ear. She is currently a research assistant on the I Control study, evaluating the effectiveness of a self-regulation intervention for middle school students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Her research interests include Deaf culture and Deaf education.

Jennifer Mulhall, B.A., is a second-year graduate student in the Speech and Language Pathology masters program at Kent State University within the College of Education Health and Human Services. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Ohio State University in speech and hearing sciences in December 2017. Before coming to graduate school, she worked as a teacher’s aide in an alternative school for children on the autism spectrum. After graduation, she hopes to work with children who have intellectual, developmental, and social-emotional disabilities in a school or clinic setting.

Kayla Mertz, M.Ed., is a second-year student in the School Psychology program at Kent State University. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Akron in 2017 and her M.Ed. from Kent State in 2019. Currently, she works as a research assistant on the I Control project to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-regulation and executive function intervention for middle school students with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Lifen Li, B.A., is a first year doctoral student in the College of Education, Health and Human Services at Kent State University. Originally from China, she earned her B.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Zhengzhou, China. She is currently a research assistant on the I Control study, to study a theoretically based curriculum to improve self-regulatory functions of middle school students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Her research interests include social-emotional learning, gifted education, learning disability identification, and teacher-student relationships. Prior to returning for doctoral studies, she served as an instructor for undergraduate English courses at SIAS College Zhengzhou University. When relaxing, Lifen enjoys jogging and spending quality time with her family.

Noelle Flynn, B.A., is a first year graduate student at Kent State University studying School Psychology. Noelle graduated from Kent State in December of 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. During and after her completion of her degree, she worked as a behavioral therapist in both the academic and residential settings for children and adolescents with Autism. Noelle has always been interested in research as she has worked as a researcher’s assistant in the Clinical Neuropsychology Lab and the Child Development Lab at Kent State. She is currently a graduate assistant on the I Control study, studying theoretically based curriculum to improve self-regulatory functions of middle school students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Her research interests are primarily focused on providing early intervention to children with Autism.

Bahaa AL-Ghraibeh, Ph.D. is a first-year doctoral student at Kent State University. He earned his B.A. in 2005 and his M.A. in 2013, and his Ph.D. in 2016 in special education from the University of Jordan. During his study, he worked with children with learning disabilities for two years, and then he worked with children with physical challenges for four years. He worked with children with visual challenges for two years. After he got his master’s degree and started his Ph.D., he moved to work with children with ADHD.

Chelsea Bartman, B.S. is a first-year graduate student at Kent State University studying School Psychology. Chelsea graduated from Kent State in May of 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Education. Currently, she works as a research assistant on the I Control project to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-regulation and executive function intervention for middle school students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Her research interests include effective prevention and intervention strategies, social-emotional learning, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Before returning to Kent State for her graduate studies, she was a nontraditional education program manager working with students in grades 7-12.