Director
Dr. Deborah Moon is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh with a secondary appointment in the Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Moon conducts research related to the prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences and the promotion of flourishing among children, youth, and families in under-resourced communities. Her research is informed by health and human services research, Implementation Science, and community-engaged research. Dr. Moon is a former Doris Duke Fellow and a Social Work Healthcare Education and Leadership (HEALS) Scholar (https://www.naswfoundation.org/Our-Work/Special-Projects/Social-Work-HEALS), and a current awardee of the Grants to Support New Investigators in Conducting Research Related to Preventing Interpersonal Violence Impacting Children and Youth (K01) funded by the Centers Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Previously, she provided individual, group, and family music therapy and mental health therapy for children and youth with developmental disabilities, autism, serious emotional disturbance, and other mental health diagnoses as well as histories of trauma. She earned a doctoral degree in Social Welfare at the University of Kansas, a Master’s degree in both Music Therapy (New York University) and Social Work (University of Maryland, Baltimore), and a Bachelor’s Degree in Life Science in Handong Global University in South Korea with a minor in Computer Science. She received specialized training in Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Nordoff-Robbins Creative Music Therapy at New York University, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Dr. Moon has been teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in Human Behaviors, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Evaluation Research.
As a lifetime musician, Dr. Moon enjoys playing the keyboard and composing/arranging songs and instrumental music.
- Staff and Doctoral Student Researchers
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Daniel (Hyung Jik) Lee, PhDHyunjin Lee, MSW Jeesoo Jeon, MSW
Amanda Cruce, MSW, LCSW Shameka Sparrow, MSW Ruijie Ma, MSW
- Masters' Student Research Assistants
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Jubaida Auhana Faruque Ayala Rosenthal