Elise Pas, PhD
Research Professor, Department of Mental Health
Bloomberg School of Public Health
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Dr. Elise Pas is a Research Professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Pas works with K-12 schools to study how schools can improve youth mental, social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes. She has worked on the full continuum of school-based studies. For example, she has researched factors associated with positive youth development, factors related to the implementation of evidence-based practices in schools, has developed and tested interventions, and led and contributed to cost and policy analysis. Specific to suicide prevention, Dr. Pas has contributed to the adaptation and testing of two suicide prevention programs in middle and high schools. She also partnered with a large school district to develop and pilot test a social emotional learning and well-being curriculum for high schoolers. She has partnered with the state of Maryland and its 24 districts to disseminate and examine the implementation and impact of a multi-tiered system of supports for over a decade. Dr. Pas continues to support professional development of educators in the use of motivational interviewing, a communication strategy to empower behavioral change.