• ABOUT US
• R&D DIVISIONS
• CAREERS
• NEWSROOM
• CONTACT US
• HOME

Jennifer Yu

Research Social Scientist

Jennifer Yu, Sc.D., focuses on disability policy and services research, particularly in the area of behavioral and mental health. Her contributions have included the analysis and reporting of findings from the National Behavior Research Coordination Center (NBRCC), which supports randomized trials of four evidence-based interventions aimed at improving behavioral and academic outcomes of young students with severe emotional and behavior disorders, and analysis of substance abuse findings for the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), which documents the lives of youth with disabilities as they transition from high school to young adulthood. As part of SRI’s Model Demonstration Coordination Center, Dr. Yu is liaison to three grantees funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs to develop and assess behavior interventions for elementary and middle school students with the most challenging behavior problems.

Recently, Dr. Yu was involved with the What Works Clearinghouse, administered by the Institute of Education Sciences, in developing a “practice guide” for school practitioners to effectively address elementary school students’ behavior issues and in conducting systematic reviews of empirical studies based on rigorous standards of evidence.

Dr. Yu has considerable research experience in the design of longitudinal studies and analysis of the quantitative data they produce, particularly with regard to studies focused on child and adolescent mental and behavioral health. She contributed to the implementation and analysis of the fourth phase of the Infant Health and Development Program, an 18-year follow-up study of a randomized clinical trial examining the influence of an early intervention program on children born prematurely with low birthweight. She authored and co-authored numerous papers regarding mental health and behavioral disabilities in adolescents and comorbid substance use among adolescents with learning disabilities. Recently, Dr. Yu collaborated on several studies pertaining to the access and use of mental health services among adolescents and young adults with mental and behavioral health problems.

Dr. Yu received her master’s degree in education and a doctorate in maternal and child health from Harvard University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in health policy from the University of California, San Francisco.