When you’re the first person in your family to graduate college, you never imagine you’ll one day be recognized among leading scientists, receiving the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Yet, earlier this month, Melanie Pellecchia, EDU ’07, ‘13, found herself in that very position, receiving the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers.  

The Philadelphia native earned her master’s in applied behavior analysis and her PhD in school psychology at Temple University. She was recognized with the PECASE for her groundbreaking community-partnered work in implementation science and its impact on families in underserved communities.  

“Implementation science is figuring out how we can implement effective practices in real-world community settings,” Pellecchia explains. Her research was funded by a career development grant through the Institute of Education Sciences, a division of the U.S. Department of Education. One of her research studies involved a partnership with Philadelphia Infant Toddler Early Intervention Program.  

Subsequent work, funded by the Eagles Autism Foundation and the National Institutes of Health was also conducted in collaboration with the city’s early intervention system. Pellecchia highlights the challenges in a large urban service system and shares her goal of helping local service providers implement more evidence-based practices.  

Alongside her team, Pellechia developed an implementation toolkit designed to help providers effectively use caregiver coaching techniques. These techniques help caregivers to support their child’s development in everyday routines, such as snack or playtime, generalizing skills into real-life activities.

“It’s amazing to think that this kind of community-based, family-centered work is being recognized at the same level as rocket science or engineering,” she says, still marveling at the honor of being included among what she describes as more traditional scientists.

Pellecchia credits the community-focused training she received at Temple’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) with preparing her to address the challenges faced by children and families in urban settings.  

“Philly is one of the poorest large cities in the country, with a high population of children who need services,” she explains. “The work I do aims to ensure more kids get access to better interventions. It’s science that directly impacts families now.”

Her time at Temple played a pivotal role in shaping her focus on community impact. “Temple’s training is very community-focused and partnered,” Pellecchia says, reflecting on her experience in the CEHD. “All of our doctoral program training was right in Philly. We were in the heart of the city, working in the schools and service systems. That’s why I choose to partner with service systems in Philly today.”

She also notes the impact of Temple faculty on her career, specifically mentioning Phil Hineline and Jim Connell. The training she received at Temple, with its emphasis on community partnerships and real-world practice, helped her become a well-rounded psychologist who looks at the whole child and family.  

Acknowledging a history and future of groundbreaking work, Pellecchia says she is proud to have been part of a team that developed the first publicly-funded applied behavior analysis programs in the city—work she engaged in before and while earning her two degrees at Temple. Currently, she is leading one of the largest-ever trials of a behavioral intervention for autism, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences.  

A Board Certified Behavior Analyst and licensed psychologist, Pellecchia now serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, in the Center for Mental Health. She is also a clinician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the Young Child Clinic, providing caregiver-mediated interventions for young children on the autism spectrum.  

Pellecchia views herself as a clinician first and came to research as a way to solve problems, driven to ensure that interventions benefit as many families as possible.  

She is eagerly awaiting a citation and plaque from the White House in recognition of her achievement.

Read more about the PECASE through the White House Archives.