Megan Bookhout, PhD, is a research scientist with the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG). Bookhout has more than 15 years of experience in applied research focused on enhancing social, behavioral, health, and academic outcomes for youth. Bookhout also has expertise in advanced quantitative methodology. Before joining FPG, she was a postsecondary instructor of research methods and statistics.

As part of our FPG profile series, we recently spoke with Bookhout to learn more about her work at FPG. Here’s what she had to say.

Tell us a bit about your professional journey―and what brought you to FPG?

My path toward a research career started during my undergraduate years here at UNC in the psychology department. As I was exploring different paths, I fell in love with the discovery process in research―it was a good fit with my curious nature! I went on to work in public health research for a few years before returning to graduate school to get my PhD in clinical psychology, with a specialization in working with children. Becoming a clinical psychologist allowed me to blend the best of both worlds, furthering my research skills while also directly helping children and families. As a Triangle local, I have been familiar with FPG since I was young, and I have always known that FPG’s mission aligned well with what I hoped to accomplish with my career. When the opportunity arose to work here, I jumped at the chance! Although I no longer directly practice with children and families, working at FPG allowed me to continue blending my passions in a broader context―engaging in research that encourages the use of programs and innovations that have a direct impact.

What do you do at FPG—describe your job, walk us through a typical day, and tell us about the projects you're currently working on.

I am a research scientist with NIRN, I work in implementation science, which involves studying and working to understand how to best promote the uptake and use of evidence-based practices, such as interventions or educational programs. For example, in an educational context, we might seek to understand what types of implementation strategies are most useful in the uptake of an educational curriculum; what contextual factors relate to variability in capacity to implement a curriculum or staff’s perception of its use; or how district leaders’ behaviors or thoughts around a curriculum impact teachers’ perceptions of the curriculum and students’ outcomes, among many other questions. With this type of work, we work within complex systems and often seek to understand factors across multiple levels of those systems.

I work on five different projects, so there is not really a “typical” day. As a research scientist with a strong statistical background, my role is often focused on research design, data collection, statistical analysis, and reporting of results. I spend a lot of time running analyses and writing them up, which I really enjoy. However, that is often mixed in with meetings with partners and colleagues, presenting work through webinars, supporting partners with understanding and using data, or providing other implementation supports. The projects I work on are:

• The Effective Implementation Cohort, which supports a cohort of professional learning provider/local education agency dyads in implementing high quality middle school math curricula;
• Research Aligned and Integrated for Student Equity (RAISE), in partnership with the SWIFT Education Center at the University of Kansas, where NIRN provides research and data collection support on a project to test and implement the RAISE protocol, an evidence-based intervention on using data to match instruction to students’ needs;
• The Virginia Evidence-Based Practices Initiative Transformation Zone Project, in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University, which provides implementation support to a multiagency team within Virginia to implement an evidence-based behavioral health practice;
• Unlocking the Potential of EL Education’s Math Approach to Create Equitable, Capable, and Courageous Math Communications for All, in partnership with EL Education, where NIRN serves as the research partner to understand how EL Education’s math professional learning impacts teachers’ practices and student outcomes; and
• The Validity Study of the RIVET PL Scoring and Evidence Guide, in which NIRN has partnered with Rivet Education to conduct an empirical evaluation of their scoring and evidence guide for professional learning providers, with a focus on understanding the reliability and validity of this tool.   

What do you like most about your job?

I love that I get to learn new things every day while also contributing to work that improves the lives of others. Implementation research happens in the real world, which often leads to complex challenges as the environment is not carefully controlled. In each environment where we work, differences in aspects such as contextual factors, data systems, laws and regulations, and more can impact how we go about implementing new practices and conducting research. On the research side, this often means that we are learning new procedures―such as harmonizing data or addressing complex missing data patterns―to best address this. This offers a lot of opportunities to learn new things. In addition, working at NIRN means blending research with practice, and I am constantly learning from my colleagues and our partners on the practice side as well about navigating implementation in different environments.

What do you find most challenging?

Changing systems is difficult, and it can take a long time for change to take effect and reach a point where it is sustained. In the day-to-day, that may mean that you are working hard toward something and trusting it will make an impact, even if you are not immediately seeing it. It also may mean figuring out ways to navigate large, systemic barriers that arise.   

How does your work further the mission of FPG?

At its core, FPG’s mission is about making a difference in the lives of children and families. Implementation facilitates the use of evidence-based programs that can bring change in multiple facets of youth and families’ lives. The best programs in the world can’t make change if they are not used, so bridging the research to practice gap to encourage the uptake of programs by practitioners is integral to actually making a difference.

What do you hope to have accomplished five years from now?

I hope to keep moving the work forward. This path is right where I want to be, so if I continue to progress in making change for those with whom I currently work, and if I am expanding the reach of our research and supports to help benefit others, I will feel accomplished. As a child psychologist, I particularly hope to keep expanding further into behavioral health, especially as youth mental health continues to be a major area of need nationwide.

Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about your work/working at FPG?

This type of work is impossible to do alone, and I truly feel lucky every day to get to work at an institution with wonderful colleagues and partners where everyone is so dedicated to improving the lives of children and families.