Meet the Team

Study Investigators
Picture
Drexel University

Stephen E Lankenau, PhD
Primary Investigator

Steve is a professor in the Department of Community Health and Prevention at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health. He is responsible for the overall scientific direction of the study including protection of human subjects.  A sociologist by training, Steve has been conducting studies on substance use and misuse for the past 20 years.
Picture
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Carolyn F. Wong, PhD
​CHLA Site Director, Co-Investigator

Carolyn is a health psychologist whose research has been focused on understanding how early-life and current risk and protective factors are associated with substance use and mental and physical health among young adults. For the study, Carolyn provides input related to her expertise, as well as guidance in survey data management and analysis.  She is exploring how individual differences in risk/protective factors, motivations, and the way they cope with stress and manage their emotions can be used to design interventions that can be tailored to different types of users.
Picture
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Picture
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

 Bridgid M. Conn, PhD 
Co-Investigator 

Ellen Iverson, MPH
​Co-Investigator
Bridgid is a clinical psychologist (CA PSY27641) in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine (DAYAM) at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) with a research focus on addressing suicidality, self-injurious behavior, substance use, and other health risk behaviors among under-served adolescents and young adults. Her dedication lies in understanding the myriad factors (individual, familial, social, and systemic) that contribute to health disparities and further exploring how minority stress, discrimination, and trauma influence health behaviors and outcomes for ethnic/racial, sexual, and gender minority youth. Within CHAYA, she provides support in data management, analysis, and research dissemination. 
Ellen Iverson is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine and is based in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. For more than 25 years, Ms. Iverson has designed and conducted mixed-method research focusing on individual, familial, social, and structural issues that have an impact on health outcomes and healthcare utilization.
Data Team
Picture
Drexel University

Ekaterina (Katya) Fedorova, DrPH
Senior Research Scientist

Katya is a Senior Research Scientist at the Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University. She has been doing clinical and research work in the field of substance use over the last 15 years. For this project, she is involved in tracking of study participants through short follow-up surveys, data analysis and manuscript development for peer-reviewed journals looking primarily at the relationships between medical cannabis use and other substance use within a context of developmental changes, major life and historic events
Picture
Drexel University

Janna Ataiants, DrPH
 Project Analyst 

Janna is a Senior Research Scientist in the Community Health and Prevention Department of Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health. She's been involved in the analysis of health data for the CHAYA project.  Janna has more than 15 years of experience in the field of substance misuse as a grant maker, harm reduction advocate, and researcher. 
Picture
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Meiyu Yeh, MS,
Biostatistician

Meiyu Yeh is a biostatistician under the Biostatistics Core at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). She has handled multiple projects in collaboration with researchers among various research fields. For CHAYA study, she is responsible for planning surveys, ensuring efficient and effective of the data management and performing proper data analysis.​
​
Field Team
Picture
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Meagan Suen, MA
Project Coordinator 
Picture
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Ana Francisco, MSW, MPH
 Research Associate II
Picture
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Marina Mills, MA
Research Associate II
Picture
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Alisha Osornio, MA
Research Associate II
Meagan is responsible for overseeing all study-related logistics. Some of the many hats she wears include: providing administrative support; keeping track of study progress and status reporting; corresponding with community members to gain feedback to enhance productivity of the CHAYA study. She has 7 years of research experience focused primarily on cognitive aging, chronic pain, and geriatric neuropsychology.   
Ana is responsible for following up with past participants, recruiting additional participants, and conducting quantitative and qualitative interviews.​
Marina has a background in Psychology with extensive experience working with at-risk, juvenile, and multilingual populations both domestically and abroad. She is currently a candidate for Masters in Psychology at Pepperdine University.  Her primary duties for the current study will be recruiting participants and conducting quantitative and qualitative interviews.​
Alisha is an interviewer on the project where she is primarily responsible for tracking participation and conducting qualitative and quantitative interviews. She has an extensive background in psychological research in both academia and clinical trials. She has experience working with various populations, such as children, domestic violence survivors, adults diagnosed with psychological disorders, and Hispanic/Latino communities. Her interests include stress and coping, preventative medicine, and health disparities.
​

CHAYA's Community Advisory Board

  • Clarissa Resendez - Cannabis Consultant, Founder of Cannakeen
  • ​Eric Bixler - Detective 3, LA Police Department, Olympic Division Narcotics
  • Nathan Donahoe - Former elected official, West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council
  • Jeffrey I. Gold, PhD - Professor of Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California; Director of  Pediatric Pain Management Clinic, Children's Hospital Los Angeles; Director of Children’s Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation (C.O.R.E.) Program, Department Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine; Director of CHLA – Yo San University Pediatric Acupuncture Program; Director of Research of USC Institute for Integrative Health; Pediatric Psychologist, USC University Center for Excellence, Mental Health; The Saban Research Institute
  • Charlie Kaplan, PhD - Research Professor and Associate Dean of Research, University of Southern California
  • Karen Pike - Cofounder, Medical Cannabis Caregivers Institute
  • Jeff Raber, PhD - President, The Werc Shop, Inc.
  • Mojave Richmond - Farming Consultant
  • Peter Tejera - Co-owner, Herbalcure