Dr. Belliston works in the Office of Prevention and Wellness as the State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup Lead and Ohio Healthy Youth Environments Survey - OHYES! project coordinator. Lara began with the department in 2006 in the Office of Research and Evaluation as a researcher for the Transformation State Incentive Grant (TSIG). Lara transferred her research skills to the Office of Prevention and Wellness to be Ohio’s Safe Schools Healthy Students Project Director before becoming involved in OHYES!. She previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence at Kent State University. Dr. Belliston’s research focused on child and adolescent development, including: evaluation of a program to help young children who witness violence; evaluating a longitudinal school-based violence prevention program; investigating the relationship between adolescent emotional development, family process, internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety and depression), and externalizing behaviors in rural African-American youth; working on a project studying adolescent development across international cultures, Ohio African-American’ girls’ assets and risks, and behavioral health program effectiveness. She obtained her education at Brigham Young University, earning a B.S in Family Studies; Auburn University, M.S. and her Ph.D. in Human Development.