Jason Schiffman, Ph.D.
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PREVENT Lab Director
Dr. Jason Schiffman is Professor of Clinical Science and the inaugural Director of Clinical Training for UCI’s Clinical Psychology program. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern California in 2003. Dr. Schiffman is founder and past Co-Director of the Maryland Early Intervention Program’s Strive for Wellness Clinic. Dr. Schiffman’s research seeks to refine the identification of young people at risk for psychotic disorders, better understand the effects of psychosocial interventions for adolescents with psychosis, and uncover mechanisms that can reduce stigma against people with serious mental health concerns.

Elizabeth Martin, Ph.D.
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BEAN Lab Director
Dr. Liz Martin received her B.A. from the College of New Jersey (2004, summa cum laude), MLA from the University of Pennsylvania (2006), and Ph.D. from the University of Missouri (2013, Clinical Psychology).  She completed her predoctoral internship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, followed by a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Pittsburgh/University of Pittsburgh.

Director of MRI Training

Theo G.M. van Erp, Ph.D.
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Dr. Theo G.M. van Erp is Associate Professor in Residence at the University of California Irvine Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, where he directs the Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory. His research program is focused on imaging and imaging genetics in psychiatric disorders. The primary aim of Dr. Van Erp’s Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory is to understand the mechanisms underlying psychotic and affective disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. To achieve this aim, he conducts magnetic resonance imaging, neurocognitive, and genetic studies.

Psychiatry and Clinical Trials Specialist

Adrian Preda, M.D.
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Dr. Adrian Preda is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Human Behavior at University California Irvine School of Medicine. His clinical and research focus is on schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, cognitive disorders, and clinical trial methodology.

Shadi Sharif, B.A. – 1st year
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Shadi is a first year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program at UCI and a member of the LEAPS team and PREVENT lab. She graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a B.A. in Psychology. Previously, she worked as a clinical research coordinator at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where she helped build Colorado’s first clinical high risk for psychosis clinic. Shadi is interested in studying the identification and prevention of early psychosis in racial and ethnic minorities, particularly immigrant populations. Ultimately, she aims to further expand the field of clinical psychology to immigrants and people from diverse cultures through a contextualized and community lens. In her free time, she loves traveling, film, reading, yoga, dancing, and most of all, spending time with her family and friends. 

Maks Giljen, M.A. – 3rd year
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ResearchGate | Email: mgiljen@uci.edu | Mentor: Schiffman

Maks is a third-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program at UCI, and a member of the LEAPS Team and PREVENT Lab. He graduated from Northwestern University in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology. Before coming to UCI, Maks was a lab manager and research coordinator at Northwestern’s ADAPT Program. He was the primary coordinator for the CAPR study, which aims to develop a computerized task battery that can be administered online to help identify individuals who may be at increased risk for developing psychosis. Maks is interested in studying how stress and stigma in marginalized communities, particularly SGM and immigrant populations, interact with psychosis risk and contribute to symptom presentations and diagnoses. In his spare time, he enjoys listening to music, hiking, and trying new desserts.

Miranda Bridgwater, M.A. – 5th year
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Google Scholar | Email: mbridgwa@uci.edu | Mentor: Schiffman

Miranda is a fifth-year graduate student in the PREVENT lab and a member of the LEAPS Team. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BS in Psychology and Sociology. Previously, she worked with Drs. Leslie Horton and Peter Bachman at Pitt as a Research Associate managing EMA and EEG studies of teenagers at high risk for psychosis and assisted the HOPE TEAM Clinic, which provides mental health services to teenagers and young adults in the greater Pittsburgh area. She is interested in evaluating mental health service utilization and pathways to care amongst young people at high risk for psychotic disorders in addition to exploring how social determinants may influence risk for psychosis.  In her spare time, she enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and traveling. 

LeeAnn Akouri-Shan, Ph.D. – Alum
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Google Scholar | Email: leeanns@uci.edu | Mentor: Schiffman

LeeAnn is a graduate of the Clinical Psychology program at UMBC. She completed her Predoctoral Internship at the West Los Angeles VA. LeeAnn earned her B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine, and an M.S. in Social Work from Columbia University. Prior to to UMBC, she worked with Dr. Jack Blanchard at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she managed a neuroimaging study examining social affiliation and reward processing in psychosis. LeeAnn is interested in mechanisms that contribute to social impairment in individuals at risk for psychosis. In her free time, LeeAnn enjoys boxing, yoga, and traveling.

Céouna Hegwood, B.S. – 2nd year
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Ceouna is a second year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program at UCI and a member of the LEAPS team and PREVENT lab. She graduated from Purdue University in 2021 with a B.S. in Brain and Behavioral Sciences, B.A. in Law and Society, minor in Forensic Sciences, and a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Prior to coming to UCI, Ceouna was a NIH Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) fellow at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. During her time in the program she was a full time research assistant in the CLASP Lab and contributed to a range of studies focused on schizotypy, schizophrenia, childhood trauma, resiliency, and positive symptom analysis. Furthermore, she was a member of the Adolescent Behavioral Research Program with IU School of Medicine working on studies focusing on dissemination of health information to youth in at-risk communities. Ceouna is interested in conducting research examining biological, neurocognitive, and environmental risk factors for the development of psychosis and schizophrenia spectrum disorders among racial minorities. Furthermore, how risk and identity impact utilization of mental health services. With an ultimate goal of progressing creation and implementation of interventions and preventatives that are culturally responsive, effective, and accessible. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, baking sweet treats, and attending art shows/festivals. 

Emily Petti, M.A. – 4th year
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Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Email: epetti@uci.edu | Mentor: Schiffman

Emily is a fourth-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program at UCI, and a member of the LEAPS Team and PREVENT Lab. She graduated from Cornell University in 2016 with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Human Development and Spanish. Before coming to UCI, Emily was a Research Coordinator for two years at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), managing studies focused on the etiology, assessment, and detection of psychosis-risk in adolescents and young adults. Prior to UMBC, she worked as a Research Assistant at Weill Cornell Medicine in NYC, and as an AmeriCorps member for City Year in an NYC public school. She is interested in studying sociocultural and contextual factors that contribute to psychosis-spectrum symptoms and diagnoses, stigmatization of mental health concerns, and disparities in access to and utilization of mental health services. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, reading mystery novels, playing soccer and tennis, and trying lots of different foods!

Madeline Snyder, M.A. – 5th year
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Google Scholar | Email: snyderme@uci.edu | Mentor: Martin

Madeline is a fifth-year graduate student at UC Irvine and is a member of the BEAN Lab and LEAPS Team. She graduated from UC San Diego in 2019 with a B.S. in Cognitive Science (specializing in Neuroscience) and a minor in Psychology. During her undergraduate years, she worked in the Systems Neuroscience Lab and in the Collaboratory for Neuroimaging Research and Development with UCSD Health. Her research interests include studying the manifestation of schizophrenia-spectrum disorder symptoms and the relations between emotional, social, and cognitive functioning. She hopes to use a combination of electrophysiological and behavioral measures to study the interplay between executive (dys)function and emotional (dys)regulation in psychiatric vs control populations.

Lindsay Healey, Ph.D.
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ResearchGate | Email: lhealey1@uci.edu}

Lindsay is a postdoctoral scholar in the PREVENT Lab. She graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada with a doctoral degree in Forensic Psychology with a Concentration in Quantitative Methodology. Before joining the PREVENT Lab, Lindsay worked for nearly a decade as a Research Coordinator in the Forensic Research Unit at the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, a psychiatric facility headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Most of Lindsay’s previous research has been at the intersection of the mental health and criminal justice systems, and in particular with individuals who have been found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder, most of whom have psychotic-spectrum disorders. Lindsay is interested in applied clinical research focusing on improving the quality of life of individuals at risk of, and who have developed psychotic-spectrum disorders, and in particular how to prevent contact with the criminal justice system. She is also especially passionate about understanding and developing interventions to address public stigma of those with serious mental disorders. In Lindsay’s free time she enjoys traveling, playing softball, trying new restaurants, and listening to live music.

Marco Maldonado, B.A.
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Email: marcojm@uci.edu}

In 2023, Marco received his B.A. in Psychological Sciences with double minors in Biology and Business Management from UC Irvine. Currently, he works as a research assistant for the PREVENT Lab and THRIVE Lab. His research interests lie in the field of attachment psychology, developmental psychopathology, and the prevention and intervention of mental health illnesses. Marco is also passionate about exploring ways to reduce stigma and improve accessibility to mental health services in Latinx communities. He plans to apply and attend a Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology in the future. During his leisure time, Marco enjoys going to the movies, delving into Wikipedia rabbit holes, and spending quality time with his friends and family.

Mia Villegas, B.A.
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Mia is a Senior Project Coordinator in the PREVENT lab. She graduated from University of Southern California with a B.A. in Psychology as well as Cognitive Science. Previously, she worked with Dr. Stanley Huey Jr. studying cultural adaptivity within trauma assessment measures, and Dr. Clayton Stephenson studying the effect COVID-19 has had on student’s wellbeing and academic endeavors.  Mia is interested in culture and mental health, and medical anthropology within the clinical psychology field. In her free time, she can be found roller-skating, reading, cooking, and enjoying the outdoors. She is also completing a Masters of Social Work program at Cal State Long Beach which she began in Fall 2024.

Karen Coronado, M.A.
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Email: kcorona4@uci.edu}

Karen is a Senior Project Coordinator in the PREVENT lab. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a B.S. in Social Psychology and then graduated from the University of California, Irvine with her M.A. in Legal and Forensic Psychology. At UCI Karen worked with Dr. Elizabeth Cauffman in the Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab looking into patterns of normative development in samples of community and delinquent youth and what implications these would have for practice and policy. Karen’s interest in clinical psychology stems from her curiosity in race/ethnicity’s relationship in diagnostic and referral for care. In her free time she enjoys cooking, traveling, and getting outside as much as possible. 

Michelle Zernick, B.A.
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Michelle received her B.A. in Psychology from Cal State Long Beach in 2020 and completed the Psychological Science post-baccalaureate program at UCI in 2022. Michelle is a research assistant for the PREVENT lab and her research interests include social and cognitive function, and emotional regulation in individuals across the psychopathological spectrum, as well as early identification and interventions for mental illnesses such as psychosis, trauma, and depression. Her hobbies include baking, embroidery/sewing, reading, and gardening.

Alison Boos, B.A.
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Google Scholar | Email: boosa@uci.edu}

Alison is the Lab Manager in the PREVENT Lab and a member of the LEAPS Team. She graduated from University of San Francisco with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Neuroscience and German Studies. Previously she worked with Drs. Dan Mathalon and Judy Ford at University of California, San Francisco studying the neural mechanisms underlying psychosis using multimodal neuroimaging methods. She then joined Dr. Schiffman’s lab at University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a Research Assistant, where she worked for one year before moving with the team to UCI. Alison is interested in evidence-based approaches to meeting the needs of youth who are at-risk for psychosis and integrating mental health education into schools and community organizations to improve early identification, access to care, and to reduce stigma. She is also interested in the impact of people’s neighborhoods on ability to seek and receive treatment. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, camping, swimming in the ocean, and eating cookies. She is also completing a Masters of Social Work program at Cal State Long Beach which she began in Fall 2023.

Yerim Ryu, B.A.
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Email: yerimr@uci.edu}

Yerim is a Project Coordinator in the PREVENT Lab. She graduated from Pepperdine University with a B.A. in Psychology, and is also a former UCI post-baccalaureate student. Her research interests include effects of varying family dynamics (e.g. parent-child relationship) and possible risk factors and interventions for psychopathology in children and adolescents. She is also currently working in Dr. Jessica Borelli’s THRIVE Lab studying various aspects of parent-child relationships (e.g., attachment security, reflective functioning, and parenting behaviors) and how they are associated.  In her free time, she loves to read, watch movies, and spend time with friends.

Anaiza Cortez
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Anaiza is a 4th-year Psychological Science major with a minor in Creative Writing. She is interested in how psychopathology and relationships interact with one another. She is also passionate about educating people on how to support those experiencing mental illness. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing Dead by Daylight on her Xbox.

Danielle Munguia, B.S.
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Danielle is a current student in the Psychological Science post-baccalaureate program at UCI. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a B.S. in Psychobiology and a minor in entrepreneurship. During her time at UCLA, she worked in two labs—in Dr. Chavira’s CALMA lab where she helped explore the mental health needs and acculturative stress of people that identified as Hispanic and in Dr. Bath’s Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) lab where she examined substance use profiles and treatment needs of judicially-involved CSE youth. After graduating, she spent her first postgraduate year working as an administrative assistant for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services on a project that helped mitigate COVID-19 amongst people experiencing homelessness. For the past 3 years, Danielle has been working as a research assistant at WestEd where she primarily conducts qualitative research at the intersection of education, mental health, and juvenile justice. Danielle has a passion for social justice research and her interests include examining risk and protective factors in the development of a serious mental illness (SMI) in justice/non-justice involved Black and Latinx adolescents. In her spare time, Danielle likes to exercise, practice yoga, and travel to new places with friends and family.

Alex Kyebasuuta
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Alex is a UCI undergraduate alum with a Psychological Sciences major, and is a volunteer research assistant for the PREVENT lab. Their research interests include psychopharmacology, schizophrenia, and the intersections of race and gender in relation to psychopathology. Their end goal is to obtain a Ph.D. in Psychological Sciences to perform psychological assessments, diagnose, and/or become a professor. They enjoy gardening, video games, rollerskating, and crafting. In the meantime, you can find them playing MTG, painting clay, or sleeping with their cat.

Ami Yamamoto
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Ami is a fourth-year undergraduate double major in Psychology B.S. and Criminology, Law, and Society. She is a research assistant for the PREVENT lab. Her research interests lie in emotional regulation as she is interested in learning the underlying mechanisms of people’s control over their feelings and behavior. Currently, she is interested in studying anger management. She plans on to pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical or Developmental Psychology for higher education

Zee Phillips
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Zee is a 4th-year Psychological Sciences major and a research assistant at the PREVENT Lab. Their research interest is the effects of lower socioeconomic status and its relation to mental well being. They are also interested in Neurodevelopmental disorders in minorities including how to diagnose and treat neurodevelopmental disorders in Black/ Hispanic communities properly and early intervention in ADHD and Autism in Black/ Hispanic communities. Their goal in the future is to run a free mental health clinic to provide free/ low cost long-term therapy for underrepresented communities.

Arlene Dominguez
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Arlene is a fourth-year Psychological Sciences major and research assistant for the PREVENT Lab. She aims to become a Physician Assistant, specializing in psychiatric emergencies in a hospital. As a Native American woman, from the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians, she understands the stigma surrounding mental health and would like to be a part of the solution to making minorities feel comfortable accessing the help they may need. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, friends, and pets. She enjoys advocating for a better future concerning climate change and racial justice. 

Sandra Habib
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Sandra is a fourth-year student at UCI, pursuing a double major in Psychological Science and Criminology, Law, and Society. Her ambition is to enter the field of Clinical Psychology after graduation. Her research interests focus on autism, schizophrenia, and the broader effort to destigmatize mental illness. Sandra is passionate about connecting individuals with the resources they need and eliminating the shame associated with seeking therapy. In her free time, she enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, and going to the beach.

Jasmine Vargas, B.A.
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Jasmine graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychological Science and a B.A. in Criminology, Law, and Society and is currently a student in the Psychological Science post-baccalaureate program at UC Irvine. During her undergraduate studies, Jasmine joined the Latinx Student Psychological Association, immersing herself in the Latinx experience of higher education and mental health. She was also part of the Peer Educator Program at the Counseling Center, where she not only expanded her knowledge on student mental health topics but also had the opportunity to educate her peers by curating and presenting psychoeducational workshops. After graduation, Jasmine worked as a Research Coordinator and, previously, as a Research Assistant at Health & Inclusivity, a company dedicated to helping organizations analyze and implement DEI initiatives. Additionally, she was a Scheduling Assistant at Camden Center, a mental health and addiction treatment center that offers patients personalized care through interdisciplinary treatment. Through these roles, Jasmine has learned about the importance of mental health and has developed a strong commitment to fostering inclusive environments that prioritize well-being and equitable access to care. In her free time, Jasmine enjoys reading psychological thrillers and spending time with family and friends.

Princess Osonwa
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Princess is a fourth-year Psychology Major on a pre-med track with a minor in biological sciences. Her research interests include different types of trauma and its affects on memory specifically episodic memory, using various neuroimaging techniques and GABA receptor drugs in order to test their importance/effects on parts of the brain responsible for memory recall, in order to reverse the impact of traumatic memories on individuals and their abilities to recall their memories. She is also interested in knowing how traumatic events trigger psychosis and what areas of the brain are mostly impacted with these disorders. Her end goal it to obtain an M.D in Neuropsychiatry or Neuropathology. Her hobbies include dancing, cooking, drawing/painting and she is trying to get into scrapbooking.

Nelson Boyack
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Nelson is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychological Science at UCI, having transferred from Orange Coast College. When not in class or the lab, Nelson works as an ophthalmic technician, helping treat various eye conditions such as glaucoma. He aims to complete a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is particularly interested in the intersection of religion, spirituality, and serious mental illnesses like psychosis. Nelson is passionate about contributing to research that considers the experiences of individuals with religious trauma and those from minoritized backgrounds, especially the queer community. In his spare time, he enjoys camping, hiking, drawing, and spending time with his family.

Project Coordinators

Research Assistants

Alex Martinez | Bernardo Martinez | Apphia Freeman | Rui Ma

Julie Jimenez | Tiffani Pope | Leo Capuno | Cici Zheng | Katie Rugh | Jingyi (Violet) Yang | Phoebe Pham | Daniel Lozano | Estevan Hernandez | Mia Quintero | Sono Lee | Sidney Acero | Jessie Lee | Hannah Moring | Paul Delacruz | Bingyi Xu

The EQUIPS Lab, directed by Dr. Rakhshan Rouhakhtar, is located at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Our team works closely with members of the EQUIPS team on projects such as developing manuals and trainings for Modular Treatment for Youth at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis, and Youth Nominated Support Teams for Suicidal Adolescents at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (YST). Read more about the EQUIPS Lab’s research projects here!