About

Josh Polanin, Ph.D., is a co-founder of MetaReviewer. He previously served as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project Effects of the Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation (5E) Instructional Model: Systematic Review and Innovation Through New Meta-Analysis Methodology, which funded the creation of MetaReviewer. Dr. Polanin has published more than 25 peer-reviewed meta-analyses across education, psychology, and criminal justice. In 2020, he won the Early Career Award from the Society for Research on Educational Evaluation. In 2021, he won the Robert Boruch Award for Distinctive Contributions to Research that Informs Public Policy from the Campbell Collaboration.

Megan Austin, Ph.D., is a principal researcher in Education Systems and Policy at AIR. Dr. Austin is a co-founder of MetaReviewer and manages the portfolio of grants supporting MetaReviewer’s ongoing development and maintenance. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator of the NSF-funded project Advances in Research Synthesis through Expansion of MetaReviewer’s Functionality, which is funding new MetaReviewer features including abstract screening, citation management, and systematic search. She previously was the Project Director (PD) of the NSF-funded project Effects of the 5E Instructional Model: Systematic Review and Innovation Through New Meta-Analysis Methodology, which funded the creation of MetaReviewer.

Dr. Austin also is the PI of an Institute of Education Sciences (IES)-funded study of automatic enrollment and automatic notification interventions to increase participation in advanced and dual enrollment high school courses, and PI of an IES-funded systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of nudge interventions for college access and success. She provides methodological and content leadership on multiple IES-funded grants and contracts using experimental and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate education policies and programs. Dr. Austin holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame.

Ryan Williams, Ph.D., is a principal researcher at AIR. His work focuses on improving generalizations in education research through research synthesis. He has led multiple IES-funded meta-analyses focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) and English learner program effects. He is also a co-principal investigator of an IES methods training institute for advanced meta-analysis as well as an NSF-funded methods training grant on meta-analysis. He additionally serves as co-director of MOSAIC @ AIR.  He has extensive training in quantitative methods focusing on contemporary measurement theory, meta-analysis, and experimental and quasi-experimental designs. He holds a Ph.D. in quantitative research methodology from Loyola University Chicago and is an elected member of the Society for Research Synthesis Methodology.

Laura Michaelson, Ph.D., is a senior researcher at AIR and MetaReviewer product designer. Her work advances the uptake and application of evidence to support children and families. Dr. Michaelson leads multiple systematic review and meta-analysis projects funded by NSF, National Institue of Justice, and IES; serves as PI of an AIR-funded quantitative evidence synthesis training program for graduate students; and co-directs the Methods of Synthesis and Integration Center (MOSAIC @ AIR), an organization-wide hub for evidence-synthesis research and knowledge translation. At MetaReviewer, Dr. Michaelson supports the development, testing, and prioritization of key features and enhancements to ensure systematic review best practices are accessible to all users. She holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Sarah Peko-Spicer, Ph.D., is a senior researcher at AIR. She has extensive expertise in experimental design, replication, and meta-analysis. Her primary areas of interest include social emotional learning, youth development, and civic engagement. She has previously served as the PD of an AIR Opportunity Fund participatory evidence synthesis, designed to understand the impacts of social and emotional learning programs. As a product designer, she conceptualizes, wireframes, and tests key functionality for MetaReviewer. She also manages the MetaReviewer Help Desk. She holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from Northwestern University.

Charlie Ebersole, Ph.D., is a quantitative researcher. As product developer, he contributed to the conceptualization and creation of MetaReviewer’s coding forms and led the team in developing abstract screening functionality, creating initial wireframes, and mapping key requirements. Dr. Ebersole additionally provided user support as a founding member of the Help Desk. While at AIR, he also developed and maintained infrastructure for evidence reviews as a part of the What Works Clearinghouse and Evidence Support Center. He has published more than 25 peer-reviewed articles, primarily related to topics of research integrity and reliability. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Virginia.

Megan Iacocca, M.S., is a researcher at AIR, specializing in the design and implementation of experimental studies, quantitative data analysis and visualization, and systematic review methodology. She brings extensive experience in project management and protocol development for systematic reviews. As the PD for MetaReviewer, Ms. Iacocca oversees the planning and implementation of general software maintenance, feature development, project timelines, and budget management. Additionally, she is a member of the product development team and contributes to wireframing and testing new functionalities and features. She holds a Master of Science in Social Psychology from the University of Connecticut.

John Clements, M.S., is a Principal Application Architect in the Technology Solutions Department at AIR. He is responsible for leading the technical effort for multiple projects, in which he collaborates with other project stakeholders to define system requirements and project needs. He then directs and works with development teams to define application and data architectures for systems that satisfy those requirements. His teams primarily use Python and .NET for development frameworks and PostgreSQL and SQL Server for data management. Mr. Clements defines modern cloud-native applications that run in the Amazon’s cloud AWS and Microsoft’s Azure.

Shareese Williams, M.S., is a Technical Project Manager in the Technology Solutions Department at AIR. She collaborates with the development team, which consists of software engineers, system architects, business analysts, and other project managers to track project tasks and to ensure that project deliverables are met within the project schedule. In her role, she facilitates daily project meetings, communicates with clients to identify the scope of the work, prepares meeting schedules, plans project schedules, and budgets project related costs. Ms. Williams also acts as a business analyst, communicating with the client to define business processes and documenting business requirements. Additionally, Ms. Williams supports the development team to conduct end-to-end testing of system components.

Yusuf Ezzat is a Senior Software Engineer in the Technology Solutions program at AIR. He leads the development of web applications, development operations, and UI/UX design. He also contributes to architecture design, performance optimization, and technical mentorship. He brings extensive experience in full-stack development, cloud infrastructure, and DevOps. He holds a B.S. in Economics from George Mason University. 

Sai Aathish Katragadda, B.S., is a Software Engineering Assistant in the Technology Solutions Department at AIR. In his role, Mr. Katragadda contributes to the development of web-based products by enhancing both their functionality and usability, with a particular focus on integrating emerging technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. He is experienced in a range of programming languages and technologies, including Python, Java, HTML, CSS, and TypeScript. His front-end development work is primarily carried out using Angular, while he also supports back-end development using Flask. Mr. Katragadda’s primary focus is on building new features and seamlessly integrating advanced technologies into AIR’s digital solutions.

Tiffany Lam, B.A., is a Research Assistant at AIR. She supports the MetaReviewer Help Desk and helps maintain the Learn page. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Boston University.

Craig Soule, B.A., supported development of core MetaReviewer functionality and user experience design, as well as MetaReviewer’s learn page. He specializes in data integration and reporting, including tools such as Power BI, Superset, and Metabase. Additionally, he has worked on creating front-end improvements in WordPress and custom-built Angular applications.