Leonard A. Jason is a professor of psychology at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, where he also directs the Center for Community Research. His chief professional interests include the study of

myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...

(ME/CFS), violence prevention,

smoking cessation Smoking cessation, usually called quitting smoking or stopping smoking, is the process of discontinuing tobacco smoking. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, which is Addiction, addictive and can cause Substance dependence, dependence. As a resu ...

, and

Oxford House The term Oxford House refers to any house operating under the "Oxford House Model", a community-based approach to addiction recovery, which provides an independent, supportive, and sober living environment. Today there are nearly 3,000 Oxford Hous ...

recovery homes for substance abuse. Jason's interest in ME/CFS began when he was diagnosed with the condition in 1990 after having

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

Early life and education

Leonard A. Jason is the son of Jay Jason, a well known comedian who entertained in the

Catskills Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as ...

. Jason received a B.A. in psychology from

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

in 1971 and a Ph.D. in psychology from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

in 1975.

Career

Jason is a former president of the Division of Community Psychology of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

(APA) and a past editor of ''The Community Psychologist''. Jason has edited or written 28 books, and he has published over 800 articles and 100 book chapters on CFS, ME, recovery homes, the prevention of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse, media interventions and program evaluation. He has served on 92 Thesis Committees (of which he chaired 64), and 102 Dissertation Committees (of which he chaired 52). He has served on the editorial boards of ten psychological journals. Jason has served on review committees of the National Institutes of Health, and he has received over $36,000,000 in federal research grants. He was also a board member and vice-president for a scientific professional organization called the International Association of CFS/ME. He was a member the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee. In 1999, Jason published an epidemiological study of ME/CFS among United States adults. Jason helped organize two major American Psychological Association sponsored conferences on research methods for community psychology and co-edited a book on this topic. Jason has served on the editorial boards of journals including: * ''Journal of Community Psychology'', 1983–1986, 2007–present. * ''Prevention in Human Services'', 1986–1995; renamed Journal of ''Prevention and Intervention in the Community'', 1996–present. * ''Journal of Health Psychology'', 2008–present. * ''Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior,'' 2013–present''.'' * ''The Journal of Primary Prevention'', 1983–2007. Appointed Associate Editor, 1986–2007. * ''Special Services in the Schools''; renamed ''Journal of Applied School Psychology'' 1984–2008. * ''American Journal of Community Psychology'', 1978–1991. Appointed Associate Editor, 1983–1987. * ''Professional Psychology,'' 1978–1991. * ''Behaviorists for Social Action,'' 1983–1990. * ''Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,'' 1986–1991.

Honors and awards

In 1991, Jason was provided the Ethnic Minority Mentorship Award from the Society for Community Research and Action. He received in 1997 the Distinguished Contributions to Theory and Research Award from the Society for Community Research and Action. He was presented the 1997 CFIDS Support Network ACTION Champion Award by the Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome Association of America. He was presented in 1998 with DePaul University's Cortelyou–Lowery Award for Excellence. He received the Dutch ME Foundation International ME Award in 2003. In 2007, he received the Special Contribution to Public Policy Award from the Society for Community Research and Action. He was awarded the 2011 Perpich Award by the International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (IACFS/ME) for distinguished community service. Also in 2011, he was presented with the Tom Fellows Award by the Oxford House Organization for 20 years of research documenting the process of long term recovery from addiction. In 2013, Jason was presented with the DePaul University's College of Science and Health's Excellence in Research Award. In 2015, he was presented the

’s award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research.

Bibliography

Selected publications

* * * * * Jason, L.A., McManimen, S. L., Sunnquist, M. L., Newton, J. L., & Strand, E. B. (2017)
Clinical criteria versus a possible research case definition in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis
Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior, 5, 89–102. doi: 10.1080/21641846.2017.1299077 * Jason, L.A., & Stevens, E. (2017)
The reliability and reciprocity of a social network measure
Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 35, 317–327. doi: 10.1080/07347324.2017.1355220 * Jason, L.A. (2017)
To serve or not to serve: Ethical and policy implications
American Journal of Community Psychology, 60, 406–413. * Jason, L.A., Fox, P.A., & Gleason, K. D. (2018)
The importance of a research case definition
Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior, 6, 52–58. doi: 10.1080/21641846.2018.1389336

Selected books

* * * *Jason, L.A., & Glenwick, D.S. (Eds.) (2012)
''Methodological Approaches to Community-Based Research''
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved 4 July 2018. * Jason, L.A. (2013).
Principles of Social Change.
'. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 1 July 2018. * Jason, L.A. & Glenwick, D.S. (Eds.). (2016).
Handbook of Methodological Approaches to Community-Based Research: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods.
'' New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jason, Leonard A. Living people DePaul University faculty 21st-century American psychologists Brandeis University alumni University of Rochester alumni People with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome 1949 births 20th-century American psychologists