Elizabeth Day

Elizabeth Day is a Research Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of Oregon, affiliated with the HEDCO Institute for Evidence-Based Educational Practice. Her work bridges academic research, policy, and practice, focusing on child/adolescent well-being, social policy, and translational research methodologies. She holds a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Purdue University (2016), along with master's and bachelor's degrees from the same institution.

Her research emphasizes effective communication between researchers and policymakers, particularly regarding youth and family policies. Notable projects include studying the opioid epidemic's impact on children, the efficacy of school-based mental health programs, and methods to measure child maltreatment. She has led initiatives like Cornell’s Translational Research Summer Institute and served as a Congressional Fellow in the U.S. Senate.

Dr. Day’s honors include Cornell’s Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow Award (2018) and recognition as a Finger Lakes Region Fellow (2018–2020). She collaborates extensively with policymakers, educators, and community stakeholders to translate research into actionable policy solutions. Her work addresses systemic challenges in education equity, family support systems, and evidence-based decision-making frameworks.

Key contributions include meta-analyses on educational interventions, evaluations of foster care placement impacts, and frameworks for building researcher-policymaker partnerships. Her lab focuses on developing strategies to enhance research utility in legislative and educational contexts, emphasizing practical outcomes over theoretical exploration.