Badar-Kauffman Early Career Research Award

In recognition of the outstanding research contributions of doctoral students, the Badar-Kauffman Conference includes a competitive award for scholarship for outstanding research represented in the poster presentation session.

Candidates for this award must be a doctoral student in special education or related discipline and be first author on a poster describing original research. Scholarship will be judged on the quality of the poster itself as well as the accompanying oral presentation.

The winner will be announced at the closing session. The winner will receive a complementary registration to the next BKC event and be invited to lead an oral session at a future Badar-Kauffman Conference.

Past Winners

Dr. Samantha A. Gesel

Picture of Dr. Samantha Gesel

Dr. Samantha A. Gesel is an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the department of Special Education and Child Development at UNC Charlotte. Her research focuses on intensive interventions and data-based decision-making in reading, particularly for students with the most persistent reading difficulties. In both her research and the professional development she provides school districts, Dr. Gesel is especially interested in training teachers to effectively navigate multitiered systems of support and use data-based individualization (DBI) in practice. This includes working with schools to identify barriers to DBI implementation and support the continued use of these practices. Dr. Gesel teaches pre-services courses related to reading assessments and using data to inform instructional practices.