Before I built AI evaluation systems, I worked in research psychology and grant evaluation. I designed studies and instruments, ran participant research, prepared and analyzed data, and translated findings for funders and operating teams.
Research foundation
Methods that still shape how I build
My technical work starts with the same questions I learned to ask in research: What are we measuring? Is the comparison valid? What could explain a surprising result? Where does the evidence stop? That foundation now informs how I evaluate AI systems and decide where human review belongs.
Experimental and non-experimental design
Program evaluation
Psychometrics and measurement
Quantitative and qualitative methods
01
Master’s thesis · Primary researcher
Effect of Parasympathetic Pre-Conditioning on Acute Stress Responses
My 2019 thesis at Azusa Pacific University asked whether a behavioral intervention that stimulates the parasympathetic system could buffer an acute stress response or improve recovery.
End-to-end research ownership
From experimental design through the final manuscript
I worked with a thesis advisor and second reader, designed the study protocol, ran participant sessions, resolved problems in the physiological recording setup, completed the analysis, and submitted the finished thesis to the university library.
Study design and operation
Experimental protocol design, participant sessions, weekly research reviews, and human-subject study execution.
Physiological measures
Electrodermal activity, photoplethysmography, and respiration recorded with BIOPAC hardware and AcqKnowledge.
Analysis
ANOVA, regression, Wilcoxon signed-rank, Friedman’s ANOVA, and correlation using Excel, SPSS, JMP, and MATLAB.
Research communication
Authored the literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion; presented related work at APU’s 2019 Common Day of Learning.
02
Applied research
Grant-funded program evaluation
At Azusa Pacific University, I supported evaluation work for federal, state, and nonprofit-funded health programs. The work combined research design with the operating details required to collect, clean, analyze, and report real program data.
SAMHSA
MAT preparedness for nurse-practitioner training
I supported the implementation and evaluation of a training program for nurse-practitioner students and community preceptors. My work included Qualtrics assessments, institutional data collection, data restructuring for required reporting, and IRB materials.
Program evaluation · Survey operations · Data preparation · IRB
SAMHSA
SBIRT training across health disciplines
I helped evaluate training integrated into psychology, social work, and nursing programs. I supported outcome-measure development, tested reliability and validity, ran statistical analyses, and wrote APA-formatted results for the funder.
I reviewed models, policies, toolkits, white papers, and reports to identify practices that could inform a statewide framework for evaluating youth substance-use prevention programs.
I supported an evaluation focused on substance-use and HIV-risk prevention for young people. I helped develop a provider needs-assessment protocol, built required surveys, prepared data, and contributed to the IRB application.
Needs assessment · Qualtrics · Data cleaning · IRB
California Health Care Foundation
Real-world medication-assisted treatment outcomes
I worked with the evaluation team to develop patient and program outcome measures, prepare operational data for analysis, and assess data constraints and timeline feasibility.
Outcome measurement · Program evaluation · Data preparation
03
Research assistance
Graduate and undergraduate studies
I contributed to collaborative psychophysiology and cognition studies as a graduate and undergraduate research assistant.
Graduate research assistant
Physiological responses to restorative VR environments
Research question
How do virtual restorative environments affect physiological markers such as galvanic skin response?
My contribution
I scheduled and ran participants, collected physiological data, managed undergraduate research assistants, troubleshot the experimental setup, supported analysis, and contributed to the conference poster.
How does cardiac vagal tone relate to attention and judgments of fairness and unfairness?
My contribution
I scheduled and ran participants through the study using Sona Systems and E-Prime, organized the resulting data, and followed human-subject research procedures.
Methods and tools
E-Prime · Sona Systems · Participant research · Data organization
Undergraduate research assistant
Reaction time and facial-feature stimuli
Research question
How could an experiment test cognitive reaction time in response to facial-feature stimuli?
My contribution
I compiled the literature review, drafted the university IRB proposal, prepared the visual stimuli in Photoshop, and added them to the E-Prime experiment.
Methods and tools
Literature review · IRB · Stimulus development · Photoshop · E-Prime
04
Research communication
Conference poster presentations
Selected collaborative research presented through psychology and neuroscience conferences and an APU research forum.
Modulation of subjective and physiological biomarkers of acute stress with behavioral interventions
APU 25th Common Day of Learning · Azusa, CA
Customizing galvanic vestibular stimulation amplitude using postural sway: sensitivity thresholds are reduced without vision and disrupted proprioceptive feedback
48th Society for Neuroscience Annual Convention · San Diego, CA
Measuring the Physiological Markers of Restorative Landscapes using Virtual Reality Environments
47th Society for Neuroscience Annual Convention · Washington, DC
Cardiac Vagal Tone: A Physiological Correlate of Attentional Flexibility of Fairness and Unfairness
28th Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention · Chicago, IL