Today we are going "back to the lab," where we revisit one of our most popular episodes from season 1.

As April gives way to May, we move from Autism Awareness Month into Mental Health Awareness Month. Today, we are revisiting a conversation with Professor Micah Mazurek, whose work sits at the intersection of those very two things: autism and mental health.

Autism often exists alongside co-occurring conditions, such as difficulties with sleep or gastrointestinal issues, as well as depression and anxiety. For individuals with autism seeking mental health care, medicine-based treatments can bring disruptive side effects that are not compatible with other challenges they experience.

Mazurek and her team are working to better understand what specific mental health treatments best support individuals with autism.

In this episode of EdLab, Mazurek explains the increase in autism diagnoses and discusses her research on mental health treatments for individuals with autism.

Learn more at the Supporting Transformative Autism Research initiative website.

EdLab is a production of WTJU 91.1FM and the UVA School of Education and Human Development. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions.

With artificial intelligence evolving at such a rapid pace, it can feel intimidating to try and keep up. But whether you're a teacher, a parent, a student, or an employee in nearly any field, understanding what AI is and how it is present in our lives is critical.

According to Associate Professor Natasha Heny, the rise of AI brings with it a need for each of us to think critically about how, when and where generative AI might be used responsibly—what she calls practicing AI literacy.

In addition to teaching future middle and high school English teachers in our department of curriculum, instruction, and special education, Natasha serves as a University of Virginia AI guide. In that role, she works with faculty and students to explore the ethical and instructional implications of AI in education.

“We want to design learning environments that can keep human curiosity, voice and connection at the center. And I don't think that AI is excluded from that.”

In this episode, Heny helps answer some basic questions about what artificial intelligence literacy means. She offers insights into some of the fears and misconceptions about AI and shares practical ways we can begin developing our own AI literacy.

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. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Today we are going "Back to the lab," where we revisit one of our most popular episodes from season 1.

We are working on some great new episodes to share with you later this spring. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this conversation with our director of teacher education, Jillian McGraw.

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. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions.

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 ](

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