Our Lab Managers
Adrianne Cuevas
(She/Her)
Adrianne (she/her) is one of the co-lab managers at the QTPIE lab and is a soon to be graduate from CSUN’s Clinical Psychology Master, Fieldwork Master's. She has been conducting research since 2019 in several positions. She started as an undergraduate RA, then worked as post-bacc, graduate RA, project lead, and she is now returning to a lab manager position.
About Adrianne.
Adrianne has been conducting research since 2019 across multiple positions and research labs. Her formal training is in qualitative research, specifically with thematic analysis on observational and interview data. She has major influences from liberatory psychology, counseling psychology, Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), and interdisciplinary work with sociology and health sciences. Adrianne has continued to specialize her research scope to primarily focus on identifying how discrimination uniquely affects multiply-minoritized individuals’ mental health outcomes. Simultaneously, she seeks to center how alignment with these groups fosters community-based strengths, a concept often unexplored in traditional research settings. As a person occupying a multiply-minoritized body, Adrianne emphasizes the ideal: “No research about us without us.”
Education & Projects
(Anticipated Dec. 2025)
M.A., Clinical Psychology
Specialization in Fieldwork
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) – with Distinction
Adrianne received her Master’s education and training from CSUN’s Clinical Psychology program with a specialization in Fieldwork. She served as a clinical intern at the Anxiety and Mood Disorder Clinic where she worked with multiple clients on a weekly basis utilizing techniques from CBT, DBT, and MI. She served an additional term as a clinical intern at the Assessments Clinic where she gained experiences with the WAIS-IV, WJ-IV, and report writing.
May 2021
B.A., Psychology
Minor in Human Sexuality
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) – Magna Cum Laude
Adrianne received her Bachelor’s in Psychology from CSUN as a transfer student, making her a double Matador! During this time, she worked in the TECC lab as an RA for the Interviewing Women in Competitive Gaming project and as a project lead for the Women’s Experience in Online Gaming project.
August Aug. 2023 – Nov. 2024
Manager
Community for Achievement in Psychological Sciences (CAPS)
During her time as a CAPS manager, Adrianne provided supervisory mentorship for the Fellowship-Mentoring Program consisting of over 200 mentors, mentees, and volunteers across 3 semesters. She also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the departmental newsletter and hosted multiple community events.
Previous Work
Cuevas, A. A., Valadez, A.M., & Missari, S. (2024, August 7-9). “Breaking through a series of binary interpretations”: A Qualitative Study of Nonbinary Identity [Poster presentation]. American Psychological Association, Denver, CO, United States.
Using thematic analysis, we identified prevalent qualitative themes regarding how individuals develop, negotiate, and integrate their nonbinary identity at both the personal and interpersonal levels. Emerging themes included, but are not limited to, arrival to current identity, disclosure and coming out, and influence of sexual identity development on gender identity.
Cuevas, A. A., Valadez, A.M., & Missari, S. (2025, June 26-29). “I’m not going”: A Qualitative Study of Nonbinary Medical Experiences [15-minute oral presentation]. Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Portland, OR, United States.
The present study used a queer theoretical lens to identify prevalent themes about how NB adults formulate their gender identities via the interconnectedness processes of gender and sexual identity development. A portion of this study focused specifically on the medical interactions our participants have experienced (e.g., medical forms, interactions with affirming and non-affirming providers, gendered medical procedures, and barriers to accessing affirming care) and their recommendations for gender-inclusive practice.
About Emma.
Emma’s research interests include the needs and experiences of marginalized and minoritized youth, particularly transgender and gender-diverse youth and young children with congenital heart disease. Emma is interested in understanding factors related to the educational system that impact transgender and gender diverse children’s experiences at school and the availability of support from trusted adults in school settings. They hope to identify ways to facilitate support for transgender students on an individual level as well as avenues for systemic change within the education system. In Emma’s work as a research associate at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, they investigate cerebral autoregulation and neurodevelopment in infants and young children with congenital heart disease. They are interested in identifying developmental delays at an early age and supporting families in their efforts to foster their child’s development and get connected with neurodiversity-affirming services. Outside of research, Emma enjoys video games, board games, watching basketball, and spending time with her cat.
Education & Projects
2013 - 2017
B.S. in Psychology, Minor in Music
Graduated Summa Cum Laude
Member of Phi Beta Kappa
University of Oregon
At the University of Oregon, Emma served as a research assistant in the Learning Lab for two years on a project investigating infants’ early auditory environments in the home. Additionally, Emma was a member of the Oregon Marching Band and University of Oregon flute studio.
2024 - 2025
Creative Endeavors Scholarship - 2nd Place
CSUN Psychology Department
This award provided funds for Emma’s thesis that intends to determine what factors affect teachers’ abilities and/or likelihood to implement gender-inclusive practices in the classroom and what domains can be targeted in future intervention and training development.
Previous Work
Martinez, C. A., Robles, N., Arrue, A., Salmon, E., & Valadez, A. M. (2025). The effects of a conservative environment present throughout childhood on bisexual individuals' mental health. [Poster Session]. 2025 Western Psychological Association Annual Convention, Las Vegas, NV.
Arias, A. L., Salmon, E., Lam, A., & Valadez, A. M. (2025). Exploring the impact of gender fluidity on life satisfaction, openness, and perspective-taking in bisexuality. [Poster Session]. 2025 Western Psychological Association Annual Convention, Las Vegas, NV.
Tran, N. N., Ibrahim, A., Salmon, E., Brecht, M., Votava-Smith, J. K. (2025). Neonatal Cerebrovascular Stability Index is Associated with 3-Month Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Infants with and without Congenital Heart Disease. 2025 Western Medical Research Annual Conference, Carmel, CA.
Ahmad, I., Panigrahy, A., Ibrahim, A., Salmon, E., Rajagopalan, V., Votava-Smith, J. K., Tran, N. N. (2024). Cerebrovascular Stability Index is Associated with Concurrent Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in 18-Month Infants with Congenital Heart Disease. The Saban Research Institute Annual Science Day, Los Angeles, CA.
Phoebe Shorter
(She/Her)
Phoebe is one of our co-lab managers at the QTPIE lab and is a part-time lecturer at CSUN in the Psychology department. She is extremely passionate about research, teaching, mentorship, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Phoebe joined the lab in May 2024 directly after graduating with her master’s in clinical psychology with research emphasis to continue developing her research and to work alongside dedicated peers. Outside of research, she loves to read thrillers and horror novels, play board and tabletop games with her friends and family, go hiking and spend restorative time outdoors, and eat chocolate covered pretzels!
About Phoebe.
Phoebe’s research focuses on investigating the efficacy of suicide prevention and intervention strategies for individuals who have experienced childhood trauma, abuse, and discrimination across populations outside the cis-heteronormative paradigm. She approaches her work through an intersectional lens, as members of the LGBTQ+ community report disproportionally high rates of childhood abuse, suicidality, and mental health concerns, especially when holding multiple marginalized identities. Phoebe is interested in finding more ways to reduce and prevent suicide in this population, with the hopes of expanding her work to focus on LGBTQ+ adolescents. Other interests include mental health stigmatization among underserved, diverse populations, developmental psychopathology, family dynamics, and emotion regulation.
Education & Projects
2022-2024
M.A. in Clinical Psychology – Research Emphasis
Graduated with Distinction
California State University, Northridge (CSUN)
Throughout her graduate education, Phoebe interned at the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Clinic where she delivered therapeutic treatment to a client on a weekly basis. She also tutored in statistics, writing, and research methods in the CSBS tutoring center, gaining experience working one-on-one with students and assisting them in achieving their academic goals. Finally, Phoebe was a research assistant in the REACH lab, in which she successfully defended her thesis entitled, “Coping Strategies’ Effectiveness at Reducing Suicidal Ideation in Those With Intersectional Identities and Histories of Childhood Maltreatment”
2017-2021
B.A. in Psychology, Minor in Child and Family Development
Graduated Summa Cum Laude
San Diego State University (SDSU)
In her undergraduate education, Phoebe was heavily involved in the Active Minds organization, which focuses on destigmatizing mental health on college campuses. She gained a passion for mental health advocacy and research during this time, leading her to join the LEAF lab as a research assistant from 2020-2022 where she focused on investigating how adverse childhood experiences impact mental health outcomes.
2024
Clinical Scientist Award
This award is given to the clinical psychology graduate program student who best represents the combination of clinical and applied research. Students with outstanding research and statistical skills in clinically relevant research projects or theses are awarded this honor.
2025
Poster Presentation
Shorter, P. G., Harutyunyan, N., Palma, M., Martinez, C. A., Lam, A., & Valadez, A. M. (August 8th, 2025). Reducing suicide in bisexual+ adults: The role of LGBTQ-specific support combating ACE-related risk. [Poster Presentation]. American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Denver, CO.
​
This project investigates how LGBTQ-specific social support from various sources (e.g., family, heterosexual friends, and sexual minority friends) aid in reducing the effect that adverse childhood experiences (ACES), both generalized and sexual-gender minority (SGM) specific, have on suicidal ideation. Results show that LGBTQ-specific social support from family does not moderate the relationship between ACES and SGM-ACES, while the same form of support from friends, regardless of sexual orientation, has a significant effect. Specifically, a large amount of support from friends about a problem related to the participants’ sexuality appeared to reduce the effect ACES has on suicidal ideation, while small amounts of support substantially increased the risk. Findings demonstrate the importance of a “found family” and how receiving identity-specific social support can aid in reducing the impact that ACES has on suicidal ideation.
Our Lead Data Wrangler
Lead data wranglers serve as consultants to other lab members when it comes to preparing data, running statistical analyses, and interpreting findings. On an as-needed basis, lead data wrangler responsibilities also involve structuring, screening, cleaning, enriching, and verifying data sets using different software (e.g., Qualtrics, SPSS, RStudio).
Structuring data means making sure all variable names and formats are accurate and accessible. An added step is making sure a survey is only available to eligible participants. After responses are collected, screening and cleaning data involves analyzing any patterns of missing data, fixing errors, and filtering meaningful responses based on who responded mindfully. Enriching data means making any necessary transformations to accommodate statistical analyses of varying complexity (e.g., correlations, regressions, structural equation models), merging data files, and making notes for improvement in future studies. Verifying data sets is the process of ensuring all needed data wrangling procedures have been conducted so that the data is ready for analyses.
Data wrangling procedures are predominantly completed through code so that they can be retained and replicated for multiple studies.
Naira Harutyunyan
(she/her)
Naira has taken on the role of our Lead Data Wrangler after cleaning and screening a significant segment of the data from the Bisexual Needs Assessment. She is also the president of our campus chapter of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, and enrolled in the Psychological Science master’s program at CSUN. Naira was directly involved in the formation of the QTPIE Lab, shortly after Dr. Adrian Valadez began teaching at CSUN, because she took the initiative to reach out and discuss overlapping research goals.
About Naira.
Naira aims to become a Clinical Psychologist that follows the Scientist-Practitioner model to facilitate recovery for adolescents, couples, and families facing mental health risks. As an extension of this, her research focuses on how relationships can impact the severity of self-injury, suicidal ideation, and related psychopathological conditions. Some collaborative studies led by Naira cover operationalizing adolescent attachment, exploring the strongest predictors of adolescent suicide attempts, and explicating whether outness and relationship satisfaction mitigate suicidal ideation amongst bisexuals. She writes about maladaptive coping mechanisms as contextualized by lived experiences based on gender, sexuality, cultural influences, and socioeconomic status. She studies advanced multivariate statistics (e.g., survival analysis, structural equation modeling, latent class analysis, etc.) and psychometrics to represent the struggles of patients at risk of suicide with due diligence. One of the reasons why Naira took on the role of Lead Data Wrangler was to make it more accessible to build up quantitative research skills and improve science communication. As the first student that joined the QTPIE Lab, Naira is eager to contribute to the growth and success of our team. She also loves rainy days, film, moody poetry, and spending quality time with her loved ones, especially her cats!
Education
(Anticipated June 2027)
M.A., Psychological Science
CSUN
Naira is working on multidisciplinary research projects in the QTPIE Lab, PREPARE Lab, and APL to improve her competency of research on suicidal ideation and publish multiple collaborative manuscripts. Additionally, her goals as President of Psi Chi include facilitating excellence in scholarship by recognizing the strengths of her highly motivated team, organizing professional development events, curating resources, fundraising, grant writing, and encouraging students to get more involved in research and extracurriculars.
2022 - 2024
B.A., Psychology
Graduated Summa Cum Laude
CSUN
Naira was employed by the Learning Aligned Employment Program for some of her undergraduate research in the QTPIE Lab. She also worked as a Lead Peer Mentor for Mentor Collective and the Office of Student Success. This enabled her to help with improving student enrollment, retention, and educational outcomes at CSUN. She served as a teaching assistant for undergraduate classes (e.g., research methods and proseminar in psychological research) and worked as a tutor for the CSUN library and psychology department.
2025 - 2026
Graduate Equity Fellowship
CSUN
This competitive award aims to make it more feasible to attend graduate school for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Naira has faced many challenges as an Armenian immigrant, first-generation student from a low-income background, and queer woman that navigates varying degrees of outness.
Previous Work
Harutyunyan, N., Arias, A.L., Martinez, C.A., Sanchez, S., Shorter, P., & Valadez, A. M. (2025, May 22-25). Do outness and relationship satisfaction mitigate suicidal ideation amongst bisexuals? [Research Proposal Poster]. 2025 Association for Psychological Science Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., United States.
​
​This poster is part of a project that focuses on the interplay between outness, relationship satisfaction, and suicidal ideation among bisexual+ individuals that are in romantic relationships. Our work is informed by the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS) which posits that perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness can increase risk of suicide. In other words, bisexuals may be more at risk when others treatment of them leads them to feel like a burden that does not belong. Our findings indicate that overall outness may worsen suicidal ideation (due to discrimination) while relationship satisfaction may reduce suicidal ideation and increase the desire to live.