My research interests are in the areas of child psychology, health psychology, culture, and prevention. I focus on understanding the risk and protective factors that predict physical health and mental health functioning in ethnically and culturally-diverse children, adolescents, and young adults. My current projects are investigating the role of environmental (e.g., stressors) and family-level (e.g., parenting) factors in the development of mental health and physical health outcomes in youth and examining whether there are ethnic and cultural differences in these processes. I also conduct research in pediatric hospital settings, seeking to understand the interplay between physical and mental health symptoms in youth, and to better integrate mental health services into traditional medical settings. Through collaborations with the Pediatric Pain Management Clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, my projects focus on studying the risk factors for the development of chronic pain in children and evaluating interdisciplinary treatment approaches aimed to improve quality of life in this pediatric population. Ultimately, I hope to bridge these two areas of research in order to develop culturally-informed, evidence-based preventative interventions that can be delivered within an integrated healthcare setting, in order to reduce health disparities and improve outcomes for underserved youth and their families
