Dr. Joseph Piro is an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. Prior to this, he served with the New York City Department of Education in a variety of capacities including coordinating gifted and talented and cultural arts programs. His research agenda has centered on neuroscience and education, specifically the role of the arts on brain development and plasticity, as well as conceptions of intelligence and how these conceptions are accommodated in contemporary urban classroom settings.

In neuroscience and education, his research also includes the examination of handedness in gifted, at-risk, and other special needs populations and how teachers can apply this information to create more comprehensive and correct student learning profiles. In intelligence research, he has been interested in examining issues such as intelligence testing, tracking and ability grouping, and effective curriculum development for gifted learners. He has received fellowships and awards from the Japan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Gilder-Lehrman Foundation, the Getty Center and the Fulbright organization to develop curriculum and teacher training projects in the humanities and social sciences.