Lisa Knoche has been named the interim director of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools (CYFS), effective Sept. 1.
For the last six years, Knoche has served as the co-director for CYFS where she is a Research Professor. She has been the director of the Nebraska Academy for Early Childhood Research (NAECR) since 2015.
Knoche has been the principal investigator on more than 20 research projects with more than $14.7 million in funding and co-PI or co-investigator on an additional $20.3 million in projects including a portfolio of large-scale federal grants, multi-site collaborations, and community-engaged translational projectsHer expertise is in the design, development and evaluation of early childhood intervention and prevention programs to support healthy development in young children ages birth to age eight and support family engagement in early learning. Knoche has extensive experience in implementing collaborative research programs with community partners.
She earned both her master’s and doctoral degrees in developmental psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln after graduating cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and biology from Creighton University. Knoche was the 2026 recipient of the Distinguished Research and Creative Activity Career Award in the College of Education and Human Sciences.
The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools was founded in 2004 as an interdisciplinary research center within the College of Education and Human Sciences. The center has more than 100 research affiliates across all four University of Nebraska campuses, including five colleges and the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Together, their work significantly contributes to Nebraska’s vibrant research community in the social, behavioral and educational sciences. Research activities from CYFS and its affiliates have extended across all 93 counties and nearly 300 communities across Nebraska.
