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Sean Grant

Research Associate Professor
College of Education
spgrant@uoregon.edu
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Curriculum Vitae

Biography

Dr. Grant is a Research Associate Professor in the HEDCO Institute for Evidence-Based Educational Practice. His scholarship focuses on the generation, synthesis, and use of evidence across the social, behavioral, and health sciences. He specializes in methods for summarizing research and expert opinion on the effectiveness and implementation of interventions (practices, programs, and policies). The goal of Dr. Grant's scholarship is to advance evidence-based practice: i.e., using scientific evidence to inform policy-making and programmatic decisions.
 
Dr. Grant provides service to the field as Methodological Transparency Editor of the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, Associate Methods Editor of Campbell Systematic Reviews, and an editorial board member of Prevention Science. He is also the Chair for the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines Advisory Board, Co-Chair of the Society for Prevention Research Standards of Evidence Task Force, and Chair of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Technical Working Group on Updating HHS Criteria for Evidence-Based Early Childhood Home Visiting Models.
 
Dr. Grant completed his doctorate in Social Intervention as a Clarendon Scholar at the Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, University of Oxford. He currently is an Associate Member of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford, Senior Research Fellow at the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), and Adjunct Social & Behavioral Scientist at RAND.

Education

DPhil, 2014, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Major: Social Intervention (no corrections)

MSc, 2011, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Major: Evidence-Based Social Intervention (with distinction)

Honors B.A., 2010, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Major: Psychology (summa cum laude)
Minor: Economics

Honors B.A., 2010, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Major: Philosophy (summa cum laude)

Honors and Awards

2024     Nan Tobler Award for Review of the Prevention Science Literature, Society for Prevention Research

2022     Favorite Professor, IUPUI Athletics

2019     Travel Award, MetaScience Symposium

2017     Early Career Investigator Award, Addiction Health Services Research Conference

2016     Bob Brook Award, RAND Health

2015     Leamer-Rosenthal Prize for Emerging Researchers in Open Social Science, Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences

2014     Finalist, NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, National Institutes of Health

2012     Barnett Prize, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford

2011     Teresa Smith Award, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford

2011     Clarendon Scholarship, University of Oxford

2010     Valedictorian, Loyola Marymount University

Publications

Grant, S., & Khatua, S. (2024). Research transparency and reproducibility at the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 16(3), 363-373. doi: 10.1080/19439342.2024.2388102

Grant, S., & Smart, R. (2024). ROMPER: The RAND/USC OPTIC Method for Policy Expert Ratings. MethodsX, 12, 102751.

Grant, S., Mayo-Wilson, E., Kianersi, S., Naaman, K., & Henschel, B. (2023). Open science standards at journals that inform evidence-based policy. Prevention Science, 24, 1275–1291. doi: 10.1007/s11121-023-01543-z
 
Grant, S., Wendt, K. E., Leadbeater, B. J., Supplee, L., Mayo-Wilson, E., Gardner, F., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2022). Transparent, open, and reproducible prevention science. Prevention Science, 23(5), 701–722. doi: 10.1007/s11121-022-01336-w
 
Mayo-Wilson, E., Grant, S. (co-first author), & Supplee, L. (2022). Clearinghouse standards of evidence on the transparency, openness, and reproducibility of intervention evaluations. Prevention Science, 23, 774–786. doi: 10.1007/s11121-021-01284-x
 
Mayo-Wilson, E., Grant, S. (co-first author), Supplee, L., Kianersi, S., Amin, A., DeHaven, A. C., & Mellor, D. T. (2021). Evaluating implementation of the Transparency and Openness Promotion Guidelines: The TRUST Process for rating journal policies, procedures, and practices. Research Integrity and Peer Review, 6, 9. doi: 10.1186/s41073-021-00112-8
 
Mayo-Wilson, E., & Grant, S. (2019). Research synthesis methods: transparent reporting: registrations, protocols and final reports. In H. Cooper (Ed.), The Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis: Third Edition (p. 471-488). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
 
Grant, S., Mayo-Wilson, E., Montgomery, P., Macdonald, G., Michie, S., Hopewell, S., & Moher, D. (2018). CONSORT-SPI 2018 Explanation and Elaboration: Guidance for reporting social and psychological intervention trials. Trials, 19, 406. doi: 10.1186/s13063-018-2735-z
 
Tanner-Smith, E. E., & Grant, S. (2018). Meta-analysis of complex interventions. Annual Review of Public Health, 39, 135-151. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040617-014112
 
Grant, S., Hamilton, L. S., Wrabel, S. L., Gomez, C. J., Whitaker, A., Tamargo, J., Unlu, F., Chavez- Herrerias, E. R., Baker, G., Barrett, M., Harris, M., & Ramos, A. (2017). Social and emotional learning interventions under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence review. RR-2133. Santa Monica, USA: RAND Corporation.

Research

Dr. Grant’s research focuses on evidence-informed decision-making across various areas of health and social policy. As a methodologist, he aims to improve the ability of scientific research to identify “what works” in addressing pressing societal issues. He is specifically interested in research synthesis methods, open science practices, and online Delphi processes due to their significant influence on the credibility and utility of research evidence for policy and practice decisions. His work on these methods also involves collaborative, translational research focused on specific topics, such as substance use and mental health. Dr. Grant has received external support for his research program from Arnold Ventures, Education Endowment Foundation, Fetzer Franklin Fund, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, United Kingdom Economic and Social Research Council, United States Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, Wallace Foundation, and William T. Grant Foundation.