Research Study Consultants

Micah Bruce-Davis, Ph.D.
micahbrucedavis@gmail.com

Micah Bruce-Davis, Ph.D., received her Doctorate in Educational Psychology with a focus on Gifted Education and Talent Development from the University of Connecticut in 2013; Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from Louisiana State University in 2007; and her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2002. She taught K-12 for 8 years in southeastern Louisiana.

She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Dr. Bruce-Davis teaches courses for undergraduate teacher candidates and graduate students, and she supervises teacher interns.

Cindy M. Gilson, Ph.D.
cgilson@uncc.edu

Cindy M. Gilson, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Special Education and Child Development Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She teaches online graduate level courses to educators pursuing their M.Ed. in Special Education with an emphasis in Academically or Intellectually Gifted (AIG) education or their Graduate Certificate in AIG. Dr. Gilson is the Coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in AIG program. Her research interests focus on gifted education, differentiated curriculum and instruction to enhance student learning and potential, classroom discourse, teacher listening orientations, STEM high schools, and professional development. Dr. Gilson is passionate about developing students’ potential of all ages, infusing differentiation approaches into her instruction, and advocating for gifted students through her service activities.

Lisa DaVia Rubenstein, Ph.D.
lmrubenstein@bsu.edu

Lisa DaVia Rubenstein received her Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut, specializing in gifted and talented education, qualitative methodology, and program evaluation. Prior to coming to Ball State University, Rubenstein was a classroom teacher and gifted program coordinator. Currently, she is developing the undergraduate program for gifted and talented education. She teaches a range of courses in the gifted and talented field, from the introduction course to a graduate-level curriculum development course. Her research interests include creativity, motivation, twice-exceptional students, and the application of qualitative research methods to the gifted and talented field.

Bethany Bell, Ph.D., MPH
bellb@mailbox.sc.edu

Bethany Bell, Ph.D. originally came to University of South Carolina to teach statistics courses for the College of Education. After achieving tenure in the College of Education, she came to the College of Social Work eager to take advantage of the opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching and research. Social work is by nature transdisciplinary and interprofessional; therefore, moving her boundary-crossing research to the College of Social Work made perfect sense. From adolescent helper to College of Social Work, Dr. Bell is promoting positive change wherever she goes.

Dr. Bell researches the “cultural and environmental influences” on food choices and at neighborhood characteristics in order to help us rethink “how we define food access so it better reflects reality.” She hopes her findings affect public policy regarding food access and education.