Faculty Researchers

Biography

Carrie Saetermoe, Professor of Psychology, Founder of the Health Equity Research and Education (HERE) Center, and one of four Principal Investigators, along with three other PIs, Gabriela Chavira, Patchareeya Kwan, and Crist Khachikian who are leading California State University, Northridge’s largest federal grant ever, funded by the National Institutes of Health, BUILD PODER – Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity; Promoting Opportunities for Diversity in Education and Research.

Throughout her career, Saetermoe has collaborated on projects related to generating educational and health equity and research ethics at CSUN, in Los Angeles, and in Guatemala. As a Liberation Psychologist, Saetermoe frames her work with a critical, humanistic lens, asserting that capitalist white supremacy has laid the groundwork for laws, policies, and ideologies that lead to a normalized way of seeing morbidity and mortality as purely individual, racial, or neighborhood-based, when the root source of disparity, the fallout of economic inequality, continues to exacerbate; then, we are obligated to help communities cope with unnecessary asthma, diabetes, obesity, and other preventable diseases.

“When the biomedical workforce is diversified, researchers will likely draw upon a broader array of healthcare frameworks, research questions, methodologies, and participant recruitment techniques that can overcome many barriers to health equity for at-risk communities” (Saetermoe, Chavira, Khachikian, Boyns, and Cabello, 2017, p. 42).

Publications

• Vargas, J. H., Saetermoe, C. L., & Chavira, G. (2020). Using critical race theory to reframe mentor training: theoretical considerations regarding the ecological systems of mentorship. Higher Education, DOI 10.1007/s10734-020-00598-z.
• Byars-Winston, A.,Womack, V. Y., Butz, A. R., McGee, R., Quinn, S. C., Utzerath, E., Saetermoe, C. L., & Thomas, S. (2018). An Intervention to Increase Cultural Awareness in Research Mentoring: Implications for Diversifying the Scientific Workforce Academic Medicine. Clinical and Translational Science.
• Saetermoe, C. L., Chavira, G., Khachikian, C., Boyns, D., & Cabello, B. (2017). Critical Race Theory as a Bridge in Science Training: The California State University, Northridge BUILD PODER Program. Biomedical Central Proceedings, 11(Suppl 12) pp. 21.
• Plunkett, S. W., Saetermoe, C. L., & Quilici, J. (2014). Evaluation of an Undergraduate Social Sciences Pre-Doctoral Program Using Self-Report Data from Under-Represented Student Participants. Council on Undergraduate Research, 35(1), 36-42.
• Hernandez, M. G., Nguyen, J., Saetermoe, C. L., & Suarez-Orozco, C. (Eds., 2013). Frameworks and Ethics for Research with Immigrant Families. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development, 141.
• Nguyen, J., Hernandez, M. G., & Saetermoe, C. L. (2013). Frameworks and ethics for research with immigrant families. In M. G. Hernandez, J. Nguyen, C. L. Saetermoe, & C. Suarez-Orozco, C. (Eds.), Frameworks and Ethics for Research with Immigrant Families. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development, 141, 43-60.
• Hernandez, M. G., Nguyen, J., Casanova, S., Suarez-Orozco, C., & Saetermoe, C. L. (2013). A Guide for Research with Immigrant Children, Adolescents, and their Families: Ethical and Methodological Considerations. In M. G. Hernandez, J. Nguyen, C. L. Saetermoe, & C. Suarez-Orozco, C. (Eds.), Frameworks and Ethics for Research with Immigrant Families. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development, 141, 43-60.
• Cordón, I. M., Saetermoe, C. L., & Goodman, G. S. (2005). Facilitating children’s accurate responses: Conversational rules and interview style. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 19, 249-266.
• Saetermoe, C. L., Gómez, J., Bámaca, M., & Gallardo, C. (2004). A qualitative enquiry of caregivers of adolescents with severe disabilities in Guatemala City. Disability and Rehabilitation, 26, 1032-1047.
• Saetermoe, C. L., Scattone, D., & Kim, K. H. (2001). Ethnicity and the stigma of disabilities. Psychology and Health, 16, 699-714.
• Saetermoe, C. L., Beneli, I., & Busch, R. M. (1999). Perceptions of adulthood among Anglo and Latino parents. Current Psychology, 18(2), 21-34.
• Saetermoe, C. L., Farruggia, S. P., & Lopez, C. (1999). Differential parental communication with adolescents who are disabled and their healthy siblings. Journal of Adolescent Health, 24(1), 2-9.
• Widaman, K. F., Saetermoe, C. L., & Borthwick-Duffy, S. (1995). Parenting Style Survey. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
• Saetermoe, C. L., Widaman, K. F., & Borthwick-Duffy, S. (1991). Validation of the Parenting Style Survey for parents of children with mental retardation. Mental Retardation, 29(3), 139-157.

Research Projects

• Training Faculty Members
• Training Undergraduate Students
• Disability and the Transition to Adulthood in the U.S. and in Guatemala
• Life Chances for Latina/o Youth
• Research Ethics with Immigrant Families

Biography

Claudia Toledo-Corral, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences (Public Health Program) and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Southern California (USC). Dr. Toledo-Corral has a background in biological sciences, health psychology, and anthropology/cultural studies from her studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and CSUN. She then completed her public health graduate degrees from USC, obtaining an MPH with a concentration in epidemiology and a PhD in Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Toledo-Corral has over 20 years of research training and experience in the field of cardiovascular and type 2 diabetes risk. Specifically, she has studied the roles of body composition, inflammation, and the biological stress response and their relationships with cardio-metabolic health in minoritized youth populations in U.S. urban populations. In more recent years, her work has focused on the roles of psychosocial and environmental stressors on cardiometabolic risk and mental health in youth populations. The aim of her current NIH-funded study, Allostatic Load in Los Angeles Youth (ALLY) study, is to investigate how discrimination and environmental racism contributes to biological stress and cardio-metabolic risk in young adults of Los Angeles.

Publications

Full list of publications:

• https://publons.com/researcher/1534050/claudia-toledo-corral/publications/

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=toledo-corral%2Cc&sort=date

Current Projects

• Allostatic Load in Los Angeles Youth (ALLY) study (Aug 2022 - June 2026)

Past Projects

• Metabolism and Stress Assessment (MeSA) pilot study (March 2021)

Biography

Dimpal Jain is a Professor within Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and Core Faculty within the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. As a first-generation college student from a South Asian family she received her baccalaureate degree in History from Western Washington University and her Masters and Ph.D. in Higher Education and Organizational Change from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

She has served in various higher education roles over the past 20 years including positions at Seattle Central Community College, UCLA's Center for Community College Partnerships, Santa Monica College, and University of the Pacific as a researcher, faculty member, and practitioner.

Her research centers on the relationship between community colleges and universities, most notably how baccalaureate granting institutions can develop and maintain a transfer receptive culture for students of color. She utilizes critical race and womanist frameworks within her scholarship to explore issues related to the transfer function, faculty mentor and femtorship, and women of color leadership.

In 2020 she has co-authored a book entitled Power to the Transfer: Critical Race Theory and a Transfer Receptive Culture published by Michigan State University Press.

Projects

NSF HSI START: The overarching goal of the STEM Transfer and Research Training (START)Planning Project is to enhance the quality of first-year experiences among incoming STEM transfers by removing institutional and cultural barriers to STEM research and education. This grant is funded by NSF's HSI initiatives from 2023-2026. There are 3 Co-PI's including myself, Dr. Guan from Psychology and Dr. Bocanegra from Student Success.

Biography

Dr. Blackman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at California State University, Northridge. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Human Performance from Howard University (with honors) and PhD in Human Nutrition, Foods, & Exercise from Virginia Tech.

Further, Dr. Blackman completed a Postdoctoral fellowship in Cancer Prevention and Control in the Division of Health Behavior Research in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California. She also worked as a Research Analyst in the Division of HIV & STDs in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Dr. Blackman is a public health researcher, lactavist, and advocate that has experience in multi-level community partnered participatory approaches to support birthing persons and their families primarily through the perinatal period. Additionally, she has employed culturally informed and health literacy appropriate mobile health technologies in community settings.

Publications

View full list of publications here.

Current Projects

• Augmented Reality Milk Flow
• Evaluating the Quality of Lactation in Higher Education Policies in California
• Wheelchair-Robot Assistive Device for Low Mobility Clients

Past Projects

• Doulas' Perspectives about Providing Support to Birthing Families During COVID-19
• Black Birth Equity Workers Glowing Through COVID-19
• Determining the availability and marketing of infant formula and lactation support products
• Augmented Reality Milk Flow
• Evaluating the Quality of Lactation in Higher Education Policies in California

Biography

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology. I have a Ph.D. in Human Physiology from the University of Oregon and a M.S. in Kinesiology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. My research focuses on understanding control of gait and balance in both healthy populations and those with movement disorders, especially when incorporating new technologies such as virtual and augmented reality. While at CSUN, I have taught KIN 309-Science and Technology in Sport, KIN 445-Advanced Biomechanics, KIN 477-Motor Development, KIN 479-Motor Control, KIN 575/L-Biomechanical Analysis Techniques and Lab, KIN 579-Advanced Studies in Motor Behavior, and KIN 601-Advanced Evidence-Based Practice in Kinesiology.

Current Projects

• NSF-M3X: “Improving motor learning and rehabilitation via experimental bidirectional dynamic human-virtual reality interaction systems” (Aug 2022-Aug 2025).

Biography

My bachelor and master degrees are in Geography and my doctoral training at Penn State focused on analysis of attitude and behavior in recreation and leisure from a social and psychological perspective. My research examines social and environmental determinants of physical activity and healthy leisure. Additionally, I am interested in studying effective ways to promote individuals’ active living (e.g., innovative interventions), particularly among ethnic minority groups.

Most of my research are quantitative, using both first-hand survey/experimental data and secondary large-scale national survey datasets (e.g., Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Study, Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study). During my free time, I enjoy hiking and traveling.

Looking For Research Assistants/Interns?

• Yes

Publications

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8312-891X

• Xie, H., Besnilian, A., Boyns, D. (2021). Latinx mothers’ perception of grandparents’ involvement in children’s physical activity. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2021.1897726
• Xie, H., Caldwell, L. L., Loy, S., Aristizabal, C., & Guzman, A. (2019). Impact of a community-based intervention on Latino grandparents’ knowledge about and self-efficacy in supporting grandchildren’s physical activities. Family, Systems & Health, 37(4), 314–319. PMID: 31580094. DOI: 10.1037/fsh0000443
• Xie, H., Caldwell, L. L., Loy, S., & Robledo, M. (2018). A qualitative study of Latino grandparents’ involvement in and support for grandchildren’s leisure time physical activity. Health Education & Behavior, 45(5), 781–789. PMID: 29221421. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198117742441
• Xie, H., Caldwell, L. L., Graham, J. W., Weybright, E. H., Wegner, L., & Smith, E. A. (2017). Perceived parental control, restructuring ability, and leisure motivation: A cross-cultural comparison. Leisure Sciences, 39(4), 319-335. PMCID: PMC6258035. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2016.1194790

Current Projects

• Impact of residential mobility on urban children’s physical activity and screen time
• Multi-generational household and children’s obesity risk
• Family, Playground and health

Past Projects

• Latino grandparents’ impact on children’s leisure time physical activity
• Urban adolescents’ physical activity participation and experience

Biography

John Valdovinos, PhD, P.E., is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at California State University Northridge. Dr. Valdovinos’s research expertise is in developing and improving the design and powering strategies for circulatory support systems as well as using machine and deep learning algorithms to make time-to-event predictions in patients with congenital heart defects. He is also interested in the role that wearable devices can play in long-term health monitoring. Dr. Valdovinos was a recipient of the AHA Founders Affiliate Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2015 and has received funding from NIH, AIM-AHEAD, CSUBIOTECH (formerly known as CSUPERB), and Medtronic.

Projects

• NIH’s AIM-AHEAD PAIR: Health Equity in Aging Congenital Heart Patients

Biography

Dr. Lisa Chaudhari is a co-director for the HERE Center where she is able to put her interdisciplinary background into action to reduce health disparities in the San Fernando Valley. This position offers her many wonderful opportunities to work with community partners, students, faculty, and other stakeholders in the San Fernando Valley on and array of health equity topics and actions. Her Center work, teaching, and research focus on the nexus of health and wellbeing, the environment, and culture, with each project highlighting one particular area.

The Health and Hazards Project at the Center enables her to examine multiple environmental factors that pose threats and hazards to Valley residents engaging in environmental, health, and social justice perspectives. She has co-developed a Toxic Tour series for various audiences on the San Fernando Valley, examining specific health hazards (e.g. natural gas leaks and blowout) affecting different Valley neighborhoods. She has also worked with Visión y Compromiso and promotores from the San Fernando Valley Network on a series of charlas/community conversations and town halls throughout the Valley to identify health needs through community voices to inform HERE Center actions and programming. On a brighter note, a new project she is co-leading focuses on mapping health assets in the community through an interactive project on local ecological knowledge that brings to light and action the diverse biocultural knowledge and practices that abound throughout the Valley through gardens and other botanical activities.

Her qualitative work focuses on ethnographic, biocultural, and phenomenological projects internationally and locally. While directing the larger bi-national project, she conducted research among Mexican Pimas triangulating the culture, biomedical, and environmental connections (e.g. community perspectives on their environment, biological samples, and remotely-sensed image findings), with results helping inform local health interventions to address diabetes and obesity in this community. Another project included co-leading a sustainability assessment project with various units across campus on a global health project while working directly with Tibetan refugees in Mainpat, India. Her research focused on health and cultural changes among Tibetan refugees as they have experienced dramatic shifts in their local knowledge systems and practices.

At CSUN, she teaches in Health Sciences, Sustainability and Queer Studies programs at CSUN. She sees value of implementing high-impact practices of service learning into the classroom. Students engage with community or campus partners through experiential learning project to explore heavy topics such as climate crisis, human health, and sustainability through garden and green space projects (partners include Breathe Southern California, CSUN’s Institute for Sustainability, among others). Students gain invaluable experiences putting into practice class content in ways that tangibly affect the community partners and residents (e.g. developing a webinar with expert panelists on the wildfire and human health effects). She values bringing opportunities for her students to engage with their community through specific class content to help students explore their capabilities during their CSUN careers.

Publications

• Giraldo, M., Chaudhari, L.S., and deHeer, H. 2021. Geospatial network analysis of the health environment in a rural Mexican community. Southwestern Geographer - under review
• Blackman, K. C. A., Smiley, S., Valentine, W., Chaudhari, L., Kwan, P., Cotton-Curtis, W., Saetermoe, C., and Chan, T. (2021). The Earliest Food Deserts: Availability of Infant and Follow-on Formula, and Lactation Support Products among Stores in Black and Non-Hispanic White Zip Codes in Los Angeles County. Maternal and Child Health Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-021-03196-2
• Brown, B., Chaudhari, L.S., Curtis, E., & Schulz, L.O. 2018. Service Learning with Tibetan Refugees in India: A Small University's Experience has been accepted by the Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement.
• Schulz, L.O., & Chaudhari, L.S. 2015. High risk populations: The Pimas of Arizona and Mexico. Current Obesity Report 4(1):92-98.
• Esparza-Romero, J., Valencia, M.E., Urquidez-Romero, R., Chaudhari, L.S., Hanson, R.L., Knowler, W.C., Ravussin, E., Bennett P.H., & Schulz L.O. 2015. Environmentally-driven increases in type 2 diabetes and obesity in Pima Indians and non-Pimas in Mexico over a 15-year period: The Maycoba Project. Diabetes Care 38(11):2075-2082.
• Urquidez-Romero, R., Esparza-Romero, J., Chaudhari, L.S., Begay, R. C., Giraldo, M., Ravussin, E., Knowler, W. C., Hanson, R. L., Bennett, P. H., Schulz, L. O., & Valencia, M. E. 2013. Study design of the Maycoba Project: Obesity and diabetes in Mexican Pimas. American Journal of Health Behavior 38(3):370-378.
• Morera, O. F., Warren, M., Chaudhari, L. S, & de Heer, H.D. 2013. At risk or not: Comparing normative and criterion-referenced Body Mass Index standards among Mexican American children. Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutricion 63(2).
• Chaudhari, L.S., R.C. Begay, & L.O. Schulz. 2013. Fifteen years of change in the food environments in the rural Mexican community: The Maycoba Project. Rural and Remote Health 13(3).
• Chaudhari, L.S. 2012. How the Maycoba Project informs new discoveries in diabetes and obesity. NAU Global.
• Giraldo, M.A., L.S. Chaudhari, and L.O Schulz. 2012. Land-use and land-cover assessment for the study of lifestyle change in a rural Mexican community: The Maycoba Project. International Journal of Health Geographics 11(1)27.
• de Heer, H. D., L.S. Chaudhari, & O. F. Morera. 2012. “Everyone gets healthier: Impact and spillover of an after-school physical activity and health education program along the U.S.-Mexico border.” in Health and nutrition in elementary schools (Volume III): collection of nutrition and population health. Edited by A. Medrano (in Spanish), Chapter 14. Cuidad Juarez, Mexico: Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez.
• Begay, R.C., & L.S. Chaudhari, J. Esparza, R. Romero, and L. Schulz. 2011. An exploration of gardens in Maycoba, Mexico: Change in the environment of a population genetically prone to diabetes. International Journal of Health, Wellness and Society 1(3):89-102.
• Chaudhari, L. S. 2009. Mapping health care networks integrating ethnographic data and GIS. International Cartographic Conference, Santiago, Chile 2009.
• Chaudhari, L.S. & Jayne Jacobs. 2009. “A Thematic English as a Second Language Curriculum for Parents of School-Aged Children.” Atlanta, GA: Catholic Charities Publications.
• Chaudhari, L.S. 2009. “U.S. School System Handbook for Newcomer Refugee Families.” Atlanta, GA: Catholic Charities Publications.

Biography

Dr. Patchareeya (Patty) Kwan is Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at CSUN. As a population scientist, she studies health disparities and health equity, particularly the factors that facilitate and hinder good health outcomes among diverse populations. Currently, Dr. Kwan is the lead Principal Investigator of a community-engaged research project funded by the National Institutes on Minority Health and Health Disparities ($1.04M) titled “SEA US, HEAR US” which aims to understand and address multi-level social, ethical, and behavioral implications of COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and its sequelae among Southeast Asian Americans. She is also 1 of 4 Principal Investigators of the BUILD PODER Center funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences ($19M) to engage, support, and retain CSUN undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds in biomedical research and STEM fields through direct student support, faculty mentor training and research support, and institutional level support. Dr. Kwan also serves as co-Director of BUILD PODER’s Research Enrichment Core and Evaluation Lead where she oversees the evaluation efforts of the Center, working with UCLA’s Coordination and Evaluation Center and a team of evaluators from the University of Mississippi’s Center for Research Evaluation.

Publication

• Kwan, P., Esmundo, S., Rivas, E., Co, D., and Sabado-Liwag., M. (2022). "Experiences and Impacts of COVID-19 among Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County". Therapeutic Advances in Infectious Disease.
• Kwan, P., Sharp, S., Mason, S. and Saetermoe, C. (2021). “Faculty Writing Groups: The Impact of Protected Writing Time and Group Support”. International Journal of Educational Research Open. 2–2 (2021) 100100
• Blackman, K., Smiley, S., Valentine, W., Chaudhari, L., Kwan, P., Cotton-Curtis, W., Saetermoe, S., Chan, T. (2021) “The Earliest Food Deserts: Availability of Infant and Follow-on Formula, and Lactation Support Products among Stores in Black and Non-Hispanic White Zip Codes in Los Angeles County”. Maternal and Child Health Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-021-03196-2
• Kwan, P., Soniega-Sherwood, J., Esmundo, S., Pike, J., Sabado-Liwag, M., Watts, J., Palmer, P. (2019). “Access and Utilization of Mental Health Services among Pacific Islanders”. Asian American Journal of Psychology.
• Kwan, P., Sabado-Liwag, M., Tan N., Pike J., Custodio H., LaBreche, A., Fex, C., Tui’one May, V., Pang, J., Pang, V., Sablan-Santos, L., Toilolo, T., Tulua A., Schmidt-Vaivao, D., Xie, B., Tanjasiri, S., Palmer, P. (2018) “A Community-Based Approach to Biospecimen Collection Among Pacific Islanders”. Health Promotion Practice. 1524839918786222.

Research Projects

• SEA US, HERE US Study (2022-2023): A mixed methods study consisting of longitudinal surveys (n=1000) and 1:1 interviews (n=60) designed to better understand COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and its sequelae among Southeast Asian Americans in the Greater Los Angeles area. 
• SEA Health Study (2021-2022): A needs assessment survey designed to explore and assess health and mental health related factors among Southeast Asian young adults (ages 18-35 years) living in Southern California. Information of interests include health and mental health status, health care access, general substance use, physical activity and diet, acculturation, sleep, health literacy, and experiences with microaggression.
• Pacific Islanders & COVID-19 Study (2020-2021): A qualitative study to document COVID-19 related experiences among Pacific Islander adults living in Los Angeles County.
• Asian Americans & Diabetes (2016-2018): Secondary data analysis of diabetes-related data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). The purpose of the study was to look at diabetes prevalence, trends, and risk factors among disaggregated Asian American sub-ethnic groups.
• Pacific Islander Mental Health (2017-2018): A qualitative study to understand access and utilization of mental health services among Pacific Islander adults in Southern California.
• PIBEC (2014-2015): The Pacific Islander Biospecimen Education and Collection (PIBEC) Project was a community-based project aimed to educate the PI community about the importance of biospecimen research and test the feasibility of collecting saliva samples from the community.
• WINCART/MPACT (2005-2015): Funded by the National Cancer Institute, WINCART’s mission was to promote healthy Pacific Islander communities and address cancer health disparities among Southern California’s Pacific Islander populations through increasing cancer awareness, collaborative research programs, and providing valuable leadership and training opportunities. MPACT or Motivating Pasifikas Against Cigarettes and Tobacco is a randomized controlled trial that tested the effectiveness of a culturally tailored smoking cessation intervention between 2013-2015.

Biography

Dr. Guan earned her BA in Psychology at UC Berkeley and her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at UCLA. Her work focuses on how social contexts (e.g., culture, social relationships, digital technology) affect mental and physical well-being, especially among ethnic minority and immigrant adolescents and young adults.

For example, she has examined: (1) how children from immigrant backgrounds provide support to their parents and communities through language brokering (i.e., translation and interpretation work) and how this work affects parent-child relationships and prosocial development (e.g., respect, empathy, transcultural perspective-taking; Guan & Shen, 2014; Guan et al., 2014); (2) how adolescents from diverse cultural backgrounds, in turn, receive support from parents, siblings, and peers and what this may mean for their psychological (e.g., depressive symptoms) and physiological health (e.g., as measured by salivary cortisol, inflammatory markers like c-reactive protien [CRP]; Guan & Fuligni, 2015; Guan et al., 2016); and (3) how support online and offline affect the ways young adults respond to stress psychologically (e.g., anxiety, worry) and physiologically (e.g., as measured by heart rate [HR], diastolic & systolic blood pressure [DBP, SBP], salivary cortisol; Guan et al., 2017).

Her experiences as a child language broker and first-generation college student have deeply informed her work.

Publications

• View full list of publication here.

Current Projects

• Educational Modules to Broaden Academic Research Cultures
• STEM Transfer and Research Training (START) Planning Project

Biography

Dr. Drew earned her PhD in Psychology from UC Irvine in 2009, studying visual perception in the Human Information Processing Lab. She then completed two post-doctoral positions: one at UCI's mindSPACE Laboratory, focusing on retinotopic mapping in the occipital cortex, and another at Western University of Health Sciences' College of Optometry, where she studied oculomotor dysfunction. Currently, Dr. Drew is a Professor in the Psychology Department at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), specializing in cognitive psychology, visual perception, and ocular health. As the Principal Investigator of the Visual Information Sciences and Neuroscience (VISN) Lab, she employs an interdisciplinary research approach that combines neuroscience, psychophysics, psychometrics, and optometric methodologies. Her work comprehensively examines the interaction of emerging technologies and their impact on learning and the visual system.

Current Projects

• NSF-M3X: “Improving motor learning and rehabilitation via experimental bidirectional dynamic human-virtual reality interaction systems” (Aug 2022-Aug 2025).

Previous Projects

• Department of Defense’s The AWARE Project: Arming Wearable Augmented Reality Equipment to Strengthen Psychological Reserves and Resilience

Biography

I grew up in a Chinese Restaurant and was raised by my two grandmothers. When I experienced the painful consequences when one of my grandmother’s health rapidly deteriorated after she fell—it spurred my mission to produce work that improves the lives of aging adults and their families.

I spent my career gaining expertise on the developmental (e.g., aging, enrichment, mentoring), motivational (e.g., flow, purpose), and neuropsychological (e.g., prefrontal cortex, amygdala) factors that influence aging adults to live healthier and more fulfilling lives. Through these experiences, I saw how “designing technology for good,” was transformative in being a scalable medium to promote positive human development, health, and flourishing.

Media

Publications

• Moored, K.D., Chan, T., Varma, V.R., Chuang, Y., Parisi, J.M., & Carlson, M.C. (2018). Engagement in Enriching Early Life Activities is Associated with Larger Hippocampal and Amygdala Volumes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences.
• Chan, T., Parisi, J.M., Moored, K.D., & Carlson, M.C. (2018). Variety of enriching early life activities linked to late life cognitive functioning in urban community-dwelling African Americans. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences.
• Nakamura, J., & Chan, T. (in press). Positive aging from a lifespan perspective. In Handbook of Positive Psychology (3rd edition).
• Fruiht, V., & Chan, T. (2018). Naturally occurring mentorship in a national sample of first-generation college goers: a potential portal for academic and developmental success. American Journal of Community Psychology.
• Chan, T., Kyere, K., Davis, B.R., Shemyakin, A., Kabitzke, P., Shair, H., Barr, G.A., & Wiedenmayer, C.P. (2011). The role of the medial prefrontal cortex in innate fear regulation in infants, juveniles, and adolescents. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(13), 4991-4999.

Research Projects

• A Review of You

Biography

I grew up in Oxnard, California, and I am proud to be a first-generation college student and daughter of immigrant parents from Mexico. I believe that my background and experiences continue to serve as a strength in my research inquiries of which I am very passionate.

My program of research centers on investigating the role of sociocultural forces (i.e., sociodemographic, cultural mismatch) in historically marginalized students’ health (mental, physical) and academic adjustment during the transition to college. I received my Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology, with a minor in Culture, Brain and Development, from the University of California, Los Angeles. I am also a proud graduate of the Bachelors and Masters Programs in Psychology at California State University, Northridge.

Publications

View full list of publications here.

Current Projects

• Cultural Mismatch, Health and Academic Adjustment Among Latinx Students During the Transition to College
• Educational Modules to Broaden Academic Research Cultures

Past Projects

• Exploring Home-School and Peer-Peer Cultural Value Mismatch Among Latinx First-Generation College Students During the Transition to College
• Predictors and Consequences of Home-School and Peer-Peer Cultural Value Mismatch During the Transition to College
• The Causal Impact of Home-School Cultural Value Mismatch on Latinx Students’ Attentional Control During the Transition to College
• Socioeconomic and Peer-peer Cultural Value Mismatch, Health and Academic Adjustment Among Dormitory Roommates During the Transition to College

Projects

• NIH’s AIM-AHEAD PAIR: Health Equity in Aging Congenital Heart Patients

Biography

Dr. Nellie Duran is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences and also the Co-Director of the Health Equity Research and Education (HERE) Center. She is a registered dietitian with extensive experience in maternal and child health, and HIV/AIDS care. Her research interests include arctic indigenous food systems, global environment change and its impact on food and nutrition security, the role of nutrition in eliminating health disparities, and the translation of nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics, and epigenetics in clinical and public health nutrition.

Research Projects

• Basic Needs in Higher Education
• A Spatial Analysis of the role of remittances on household food security in Mexico
• Leveraging genomic information to enhance nutrition interventions among Latinos living with pre-diabetes