3C Institute for Social Development

Melissa DeRosier, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Melissa DeRosier, PhD

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. DeRosier is a clinical psychologist whose research and clinical efforts are dedicated to enhancing the behavioral health and well being of children and families as broadly as possible. In 2001, she founded 3C Institute, an R&D company in Durham, North Carolina devoted to creating and scaling evidence-based technologies to support social, emotional, and behavioral health across the globe. She serves as CEO of the Institute, managing the development and testing efforts of a multi-disciplinary team of 45 researchers, software developers, and content developers.

For over 20 years, 3C, under the direction of Dr. DeRosier, has developed, tested, and scaled web-based applications covering a broad array of social, emotional, and behavioral health fields. She has been the principal investigator on more than 70 grants from NIH, CDC, and the U.S. Department of Education. Her work primarily focuses on translational science, specifically how technologies can be effectively used to scale evidence-based practices for health promotion. To that end, 3C partners with hundreds of intervention developers and researchers at universities and non-profit organizations across the globe to help them scale their evidence-based programs via 3C’s online platforms for professional development (PD), behavioral health interventions, and the full array of research endeavors.

Dr. DeRosier has authored or co-authored dozens of journal articles and book chapters in the areas of evidence-based in-person and online intervention methods, engaging and effective strategies for online PD and behavior change, and scaling validated assessments for screening, progress monitoring, and measuring treatment outcomes. She has also authored several rigorously researched intervention curricula, which are currently used by schools and clinics with thousands of children across the United States and abroad. A particular focus of Dr. DeRosier’s work is understanding those elements that impact implementation of evidence-based programs in school and community healthcare settings. This work has informed development of usability guidelines for curriculum development as well as innovative technologies to support measurement-based care.

In addition to her work at 3C Institute, Dr. DeRosier founded 3-C Family Services (3-C FS) in 2003, an outpatient mental health practice with 15 multidisciplinary clinicians providing the full range of psychiatric and psychological services. She also serves as Clinical Faculty at Duke University School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and has partnerships with academic universities and non-profit organizations across the U.S.

Expertise

  • Translational science
  • Scaling evidence-based programs and practices
  • Behavioral health assessment and intervention
  • Applied developmental psychology
  • Social, emotional, and behavioral health

Education

  • PhD, clinical psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
  • MA, developmental psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
  • BA, psychology with a philosophy minor, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
  • post-doctoral fellowship, developmental epidemiology and mental health services research, Duke University, Durham, NC

Selected Publications

  • DeRosier, M. E., Childress, D., Raoul, A., McKown, C., Kocher, K., & Ma, L. (2024) Impact of a school-based universal mental health education intervention for adolescents. [Unpublished report].
  • DeRosier, M. E., Childress, D., Pifer, K., & Messina, S. (2023). Best practices in online delivery of mental health programs and practices to children and youth. In S. W. Evans, J. S. Owens, C. P. Bradshaw, & M. D. Weist(Eds.), Handbook of School Mental Health. (3rd ed., pp. 513- 529).
  • Li, L., Flynn, K., DeRosier, M. E., Weiser, G., & Austin-King, K. (2021). Social-emotional learning amidst COVID-19 school closures: Positive findings from an efficacy study of Adventures Aboard the S.S. GRIN. Frontier Education, 6. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2021.683142
  • Flynn, K., Li, L., & DeRosier, M. E. (2021). Initial impact findings from a digital social emotional learning platform implemented at third grade amidst the pandemic. Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (ED656925). ERIC https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED656925
  • DeRosier, M. E. (2019). Three critical elements for real-time monitoring of implementation and adaptation of prevention programs. Journal of Primary Prevention, 40, 129-135. doi: 10.1007/s10935-019-00538-3
  • Weaver, C., & DeRosier, M. E. (2019). Commentary on scaling-up-evidence-based interventions in public systems. Prevention Science, 20, 1178-1188. doi: 10.1007/s11121-019-01059-5
  • DeRosier, M. E., & Thomas, J. M. (2018). Establishing the criterion validity of Zoo U’s game-based social emotional skills assessment for school-based outcomes. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 55, 52-61. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2017.03.001
  • Sanchez, R., Brown, E. R., Kocher, K., & DeRosier, M. E. (2017). Improving children’s mental health with a digital social skills development game: A randomized controlled efficacy trial of Adventures Aboard the S. S. GRIN. Games for Health Journal, 6, 19-27.  doi: 10.1089/g4h.2015.0108
  • Wang, F., Leary, K. A., Taylor, L. C., & DeRosier, M. E. (2016). Peer and teacher preference, student-teacher relationships, student ethnicity, and peer victimization in elementary school. Psychology in Schools, 53(5), 488-501. doi: 10.1002/pits.21922
  • Craig, A. B., Brown, E. R., Upright, J., & DeRosier, M. E. (2015). Enhancing children’s social emotional functioning through virtual game-based delivery of social skills training. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 959-968. doi: 10.1007/s10826-015-0274-8
  • DeRosier, M. E., Kameny, R., Holler, W., Davis, N. O., & Maschauer, E. (2013). Career progress in online and blended learning environments. Academic Psychiatry, 37, 98-103. doi: 10.1176/appi.ap.11070137
  • DeRosier, M. E., Craig, A. B., & Sanchez, R. P. (2012). Zoo U: A stealth approach to social skills assessment in schools. Advances in Human-Computer Interaction, 2012(1), 1-7. doi: 10.1155/2012/654791
  • DeRosier, M. E., & Lloyd, S. W. (2011). The impact of children’s social adjustment on academic outcomes. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 27, 25-47. doi: 10.1080/10573569.2011.532710
  • DeRosier, M. E., McMillen, J., Davis, N., Kameny, R., & Hoffend, C. (2011). Tools to support career advancement of diverse social, behavioral, and mental health researchers: Comparison of in-person and online training delivery modes. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 7. Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org
  • Thomas, J. M., & DeRosier, M.E. (2010). Toward effective game-based social skills tutoring for children: An evaluation of a social adventure game. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Foundations of Digital Games, Monterey, California: USA.
  • Mercer, S. H., & DeRosier, M. E. (2010). A prospective investigation of teacher preference and student perceptions of the student-teacher relationship. Psychology in the Schools, 47, 184-192. doi: 10.1002/pits.20463
  • DeRosier, M. E., & Mercer, S. H. (2009). Perceived atypicality as a predictor of social rejection and peer victimization: Implications for emotional adjustment and academic achievement. Psychology in Schools, 46, 375-387. doi: 10.1002/pits.20382
  • Harrell, A., Mercer, S., & DeRosier, M. E. (2009). Improving the social-behavioral adjustment of adolescents: The effectiveness of a social skills group intervention. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18, 378-387. doi: 10.1007/s10826-008-9241-y
  • Mercer, S. H., McMillen, J., & DeRosier, M. E. (2009). Aggressive and prosocial classroom descriptive norms as predictors of change in children’s aggression and victimization. Journal of School Psychology, 47, 267-289. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2009.04.001
  • DeRosier, M. E. (2008). Peer relations research. In W. A. Darity (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social sciences (2nd ed.). MI: Macmillen Reference.
  • DeRosier, M. E. (2008). Social skills interventions. In W. A. Darity (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd Edition. MI: Macmillen Reference.
  • Mercer, S. H., & DeRosier, M. E. (2008). Teacher preference, peer rejection, and student aggression: A prospective study of transactional influence and independent contributions to emotional adjustment and grades. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 661-685. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2008.06.006
  • DeRosier, M. E., & Gilliom, M. (2007). Effectiveness of a parent training program for improving children’s social behavior. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16(5), 660-670. doi: 10.1007/s10826-006-9114-1
  • DeRosier, M. E., & Mercer, S. H. (2007). Improving student behavior: The effectiveness of a school-based character education program. Journal of Research and Character Education, 5, 131-148.
  • DeRosier, M. E., & Marcus, S. R. (2005). Building friendships and combating bullying: Effectiveness of S.S.GRIN at one-year follow-up. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34(1), 140-150. doi: 10.1207/s15374424jccp3401_13
News

DEB CHILDRESS, PHD

Chief of Research and Learning Content

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Childress obtained her PhD in psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to coming to 3C Institute, she served as a research associate and a postdoctoral fellow in the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill working on a longitudinal imaging study aimed at identifying the early markers of autism through behavioral and imaging methodologies. She has 19 years of autism research experience, during which she has examined the behavioral, personality, and cognitive characteristics of individuals with autism and their family members. Dr. Childress also has experience developing behavioral and parent report measurement tools, coordinating multi-site research studies, and collecting data from children and families. She has taught courses and seminars in general child development, autism, and cognitive development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Expertise

  • autism
  • early development
  • behavioral measurement
  • integrating behavioral and biological measurement

Education

  • Postdoctoral fellowship, Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (Institutional NRSA-NICHD), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • PhD, developmental psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • BS, psychology (minor in sociology), University of Iowa

Selected Publications

  • Elison, J. T., Wolff, J. J., Heimer, D. C., Paterson, S. J., Gu, H., Hazlett, H. C., Styner, M, Gerig, G., & Piven, J. (in press). Frontolimbic neural circuitry at 6 months predicts individual differences in joint attention at 9 months. Developmental Science.
  • Wassink, T. H., Vieland, V. J., Sheffield, V. C., Bartlett, C. W., Goedken, R., Childress, D. & Piven, J. (2008). Posterior probability of linkage analysis of autism dataset identifies linkage to chromosome 16. Psychiatric Genetics,18(2),85-91.
  • Losh, M., Childress, D., Lam K. & Piven, J. (2008). Defining key features of the broad autism phenotype: A comparison across parents of multiple- and single-incidence autism families. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 147B(4):424-33.
  • Wassink, T. H., Piven, J., Vieland, V. J., Jenkins, L., Frantz R., Bartlett, C. W., Goedken, R., … Sheffield, V.C. (2005). Evaluation of the chromosome 2q37.3 gene CENTG2 as an autism susceptibility gene. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 136, 36-44.
  • Barrett, S., Beck, J., Bernier, R., Bisson, E., Braun, T., Casavant, T., Childress, D., … Vieland, V. (1999). An autosomal genomic screen for autism. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 88, 609-615. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-8628(19991215)88:63.0.CO;2-L
  • Piven, J., Palmer, P., Landa, R., Santangelo, S., Jacobi, D. & Childress, D. (1997). Personality and language characteristics in parents from multiple-incidence autism families. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 74, 398-411.
  • Piven, J., Palmer, P., Jacobi, D., Childress, D. & Arndt, S. (1997). Broader autism phenotype: Evidence from a family history study of multiple-incidence autism families. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 185-190.