G. Reid Lyon

Dr. G. Reid Lyon has had a wide range of professional responsibilities during his career including his contributions as a researcher, neuroscientist, professor,classroom teacher, special education teacher, school psychologist, and national leader in the development of evidence-based education policy at the federal and state levels. From 1992 until 2005, Dr. Lyon served as a research psychologist and the Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he was responsible for the direction, development, and management of research programs in developmental and cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, behavioral pediatrics, reading development and disabilities, learning disabilities, early childhood development, and school readiness. While at the NIH, Dr. Lyon worked closely with the White House, the U.S. Department of Education, and Congress on the development of evidence-based education policy and testified yearly before Congressional Senate and House Committees from 1997 until 2005 about science-based education. In 2006, he was named one of the top ten national leaders in Education during the 1996-2006 decade by the Editorial Projects in Education (Education Week). Following his work at the NIH, served as a Distinguished Research Scholar at the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas, Dallas (UTD) studying the neurobiology of reasoning abilities among adolescents and the neuroscience of PTSD among combat veterans. Concurrent with his appointment at UTD, Dr. Lyon was an associate dean in the School of Education at Southern Methodist University as well as a distinguished professor of education policy and leadership. Following his career in higher education, Lyon made a commitment to help fellow combat veterans at the VA Health Center in Cape Coral Florida serving combat veterans who suffer from substance abuse disorders and PTSD. During his academic career, Lyon also served on the faculties of the University of Alabama - Birmingham, Northwestern University, and the University of Vermont School Of Medicine. Dr. Lyon received his B.A. in physiological psychological from North Carolina Wesleyan College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico with a dual concentration in Neuropsychology and Learning Disorders and Disabilities). He authored, co-authored, and edited more than 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, books, and book chapters on developmental neuroscience, learning differences and disabilities, reading and reading difficulties, and educational policy.