Project DIRECT Team Leader and Principal Investigator
Dr. Courtney N. Baker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Tulane University. Dr. Baker is a licensed clinical psychologist with a specialty in child clinical psychology. She received her doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2010 and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2012.
Dr. Baker’s research program, Project DIRECT, aims to diminish disparities in mental health and academic achievement by improving the delivery of high-quality evidence-based prevention and intervention programs. In order to achieve this goal, her research program focuses on three interrelated objectives: 1) understanding developmental contexts that are central to disparities in the health and academic outcomes of vulnerable populations, 2) elucidating the barriers and facilitators of high-fidelity implementation, and 3) developing and testing system-level interventions that boost implementation quality, thus improving programs’ effectiveness. Her research program is guided by the fields of dissemination and implementation science and prevention science, and her focus is on youth violence prevention including aggression and trauma. In line with best practices when working with marginalized communities, she utilizes a community-engaged research approach. Dr. Baker currently has active extramural funding to achieve the aims of Project DIRECT. Dr. Baker is supported by undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students.
In addition to her active research program, Dr. Baker also directs the APA-Accredited School Psychology doctoral program, co-directs the Tulane University Psychology Clinic for Children and Adolescents, directs the Project DIRECT Early Childhood Consultation Service, and serves as the Faculty in Residence in Greenbaum Residence Hall.
More information about Dr. Baker can be found in her vita.
Dr. Baker’s research program, Project DIRECT, aims to diminish disparities in mental health and academic achievement by improving the delivery of high-quality evidence-based prevention and intervention programs. In order to achieve this goal, her research program focuses on three interrelated objectives: 1) understanding developmental contexts that are central to disparities in the health and academic outcomes of vulnerable populations, 2) elucidating the barriers and facilitators of high-fidelity implementation, and 3) developing and testing system-level interventions that boost implementation quality, thus improving programs’ effectiveness. Her research program is guided by the fields of dissemination and implementation science and prevention science, and her focus is on youth violence prevention including aggression and trauma. In line with best practices when working with marginalized communities, she utilizes a community-engaged research approach. Dr. Baker currently has active extramural funding to achieve the aims of Project DIRECT. Dr. Baker is supported by undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students.
In addition to her active research program, Dr. Baker also directs the APA-Accredited School Psychology doctoral program, co-directs the Tulane University Psychology Clinic for Children and Adolescents, directs the Project DIRECT Early Childhood Consultation Service, and serves as the Faculty in Residence in Greenbaum Residence Hall.
More information about Dr. Baker can be found in her vita.