People
Principal Investigator
Beth Pyatak, PhD, OTR/L, CDCES ⟩ (she/her/hers)
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Beth Pyatak, director of the Lifestyle Redesign for Chronic Conditions research lab, is an occupational scientist, occupational therapist and certified diabetes educator. Her research encompasses the psychosocial and behavioral aspects of living with diabetes and other chronic conditions. Several of her studies have focused on developing and evaluating Lifestyle Redesign® interventions to promote well-being and quality of life among individuals with diabetes, and the dissemination and implementation of these interventions in real-world settings.
Research Team
Jeanine Blanchard, PhD, OTR/L, DipACLM ⟩(she/her/hers)
Project Manager
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Jeanine Blanchard received both her MA in Occupational Therapy and her PhD in Occupational Science from the University of Southern California. Dr. Blanchard also earned Certificate in Research Administration from the University of Southern California (Contracts and Grants Curriculum). She has extensive project management experience on several research studies, including large-scale clinical trials, pilot feasibility studies, qualitative research studies, and her own mixed-methods dissertation study. Most of the work she has been involved in has related to Lifestyle Redesign® research and dissemination products.
Anya Khurana, BS(she/her/hers)
Research Project Interviewer
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Anya is a Research Assistant in the LRCC Laboratory working on the REAL-T and CoYoT1D projects. She graduated from USC with a Bachelor’s of Science in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and minored in Spanish. Anya will be attending medical school in the fall. Her research interests include patient empowerment, adolescent and young adult health, and chronic conditions. Outside of the lab, Anya loves to swim, read, and try new restaurants with her friends and family!
Loree Pham, MS, OTR/L, DipACLM ⟩(she/her/hers)
PhD Student
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Loree Pham is an occupational therapist and PhD student in the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. She completed her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and Bachelor’s in Economics at the University of California, San Diego. Her work focuses on assisting with the FEEL-T1D Study to understand the relationship between acute blood glucose levels, momentary mood, function, and emotional well-being in adults with type 1 diabetes. In her free time, Loree enjoys baking, cooking, hiking, reading, and yoga.
Valerie Tapia, PhD Candidate ⟩(she/her/hers)
PhD Research Assistant
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Valerie Tapia, she/her/hers, is a PhD student in the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. She graduated with her Bachelor’s in Psychology from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Her work focuses on assisting with the REAL-T study. She is interested in appropriate intervention design for underserved minorities in healthcare that promote equity and social justice. When she is not in the lab, she enjoys acrylic paint pouring, camping, and trying new food places in LA.
Ngozi “NG” Nnoli, PhD Candidate ⟩(she/her/hers)
PhD Research Assistant
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Ngozi “NG” Nnoli, is a PhD student in the USC Chan Division of OSOT. She graduated with her BS in Kinesiology from CSU Sacramento, and her MS in Kinesiology from CSU Northridge. Her work focuses on assisting with the REAL-T study. She is interested in learning about young adults with diabetes and seeking the challenges of managing a disability with their everyday living activities, and understanding how managing diabetes poorly could impact this group from a psycho, social, and functional fitness standpoint. In her free time, she enjoys reading, journaling, aerobic dance, watching musicals, karaoke or lip singing competitions, and hiking before the sun rises.
Yujia “Mona” Mo, PhD Candidate ⟩(she/her/hers)
PhD Research Assistant
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Yujia is a member in the China Initiative, admitted to USC Chan as the second Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) student, pursuing the PhD degree in Occupational Science. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Therapy and Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. During her journey, she gradually realized the magic of minute parts of occupation that may have a wonderful impact on people’s health and well-being. With curiosity and determination to figure out the mystery of life, she choose the LRCC. Seeking for challenges and trying new things is her own lifestyle. She enjoys all kinds of activities in daily life: morning running, road cycling, writing calligraphy. Photography is her favorite.
Marlena Backlar, OTD Student(she/her/hers)
OTD Research Assistant
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Marlena Backlar is a Research Student Worker and is a first-year Entry-Level OTD student at the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. She previously received her bachelor’s degree from UCLA with a major in International Development Studies and a minor in Applied Developmental Psychology. She is generally excited to continue to learn how to best use occupational therapy to augment well-being at the individual and population levels and is especially passionate about working with young children with disabilities and their families. Outside of academics, she loves to play soccer, get into a good book, cook and try new foods, and spend time with her loved ones.
Aina Ali, OTR/L (she/her/hers)
Research Assistant
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Aina graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from the USC Keck School of Medicine. She received her Masters in Occupational Therapy from CSU Dominguez Hills. In the future, she hopes to practice OT with diverse populations and students. Her interests range from mental health and wellness to sustainability. In her free time, Aina enjoys eating, exploring new places, hiking, and most of all, spending time with loved ones.
Kristiana Aguilar (she/her/they/them)
Research Student Worker
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Kristiana Aguilar is a first-generation graduate student in the USC Chan Entry-Level OTD program. Her previous research experience includes working as a research assistant in the Applied Social Psychology Laboratory at CSU San Marcos, where she received her Bachelor’s in Psychological Science. She is interested in education and research promoting adaptive and prosocial behaviors for underserved populations. Her favorite occupations include roller skating, camping, baking, and exploring different modalities of art.
Robyn Martinez (she/her/hers)
Entry-Level OTD Fieldwork Student
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Robyn Martinez is a 3rd year E-OTD Fieldwork student studying at the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. She graduated with her BS in Kinesiology from CSULA. Her work is dedicated to the Lifestyle Redesign® Knowledge Mobilization Initiative (LR-KMI), which includes the Lifestyle Redesign® for Chronic Conditions (LRCC) Lab and partnership with DHS Primary Care at LA General. Robyn’s fieldwork experience entails a variety of ongoing projects to support knowledge dissemination and strategic partnerships and contributing to publication(s). She is interested in learning how mental health and those diagnosed with diabetes have an impact on one another. In her free time, she enjoys catching up on new documentaries, spending time with family, cooking, and going to Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm.
Valia Oliva (she/her/ella)
Resource Student Worker
Valia Oliva is a resource student worker for the Lifestyle Redesign for Chronic Conditions team at USC. Currently, she is attending Tufts University to attain her entry-level OTD. Valia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Occupational Science from USC. Valia is passionate about adapting existing occupational therapy frameworks to better serve minority populations and has a particular interest in neurorehabilitation within OT. In her free time, she enjoys hot yoga, walking her dog Jerry, reading, cooking, and playing pickleball with friends.
Affiliated Division Faculty
Jesús Díaz, OTD, OTR/L(he/him/his)
Associate Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy
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Gabby Granados, OTD, OTR/L ⟩(she/her/hers)
Associate Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy
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Stacey Schepens Niemiec, PhD, OTR/L, DipACLM(she/her/hers)
Associate Professor of Research
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John Sideris, PhD(he/him/his)
Professor of Research
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External Collaborators
Jill Crandall, MD
Professor of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Director of Diabetes Clinical Trials Unit
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Steven Fox, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor, Clinical Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC
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Jeffrey S. Gonzalez, PhD(he/him/his)
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine (Endocrinology), Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Population Health
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Michael A. Harris, PhD(he/him/his)
Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of Pediatric Psychology, Oregon Health & Science University
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Cynthia Muñoz, PhD, MPH, MA(she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor, Clinical Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC
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Anne Peters, MD(she/her/hers)
Director, USC Clinical Diabetes Programs
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Jennifer Raymond, MD, MCR(she/her/hers)
Clinical Diabetes Director, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC
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Valerie Ruelas, MSW, LCSW
Director, Community Diabetes Initiative (CDI), Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and USC Keck School of Medicine
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Stefan Schneider, PhD(he/him/his)
Social/Health Psychologist, Dornsife Center for Self-Report Science
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Paola Sequeira, MD, MPH(she/her/hers)
LAC+USC Young Adult Transition Endocrine Clinic Director, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Faculty
Donna Spruijt-Metz(she/her/hers)
Director, USC-CESR Mobile and Connected Health Program
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Past Team Members
Zhixin Liu (2023-2024, OTD Student)
Riley McGuire (2022-2024, Project Administrator)
Sierra Morin (2022-2024, MA Research Assistant)
Wen Guo (2022-2023, OTD Student)
Kara Kushwaha (2022-2023, Undergraduate Research Assistant)
Kyana Huang (2022-2023, Undergraduate Research Assistant)
Korrie Han (2022-2023, Undergraduate Research Assistant)
Dhivya Vadapalli (2022-2023, Undergraduate Research Assistant)
Esequiel Jimenez (2021-2023, MA Research Assistant)
Leah Willover (2021-2023, MA Research Assistant)
Rachael Gallagher (2019-2023, Undergraduate Research Assistant)
Tam Hoang (2022-2023, Undergraduate Research Assistant)
Stefanie Kuizon (2018-2022, Undergraduate and MA Research Assistant)
Seth Mitchell (2022, Fieldwork 2 Student)
Jaxon Abercrombie (2020-2022, Undergraduate and Graduate Research Assistant)
Elaina Rodriguez Garza (2019-2022, MA, OTD)
Ellie Taylor (2020-2022, PhD Student)
Alexandra Lee (2020-2022, Undergraduate Research Assistant)
John J. Lee, OTD (2020-2022, MA Research Assistant)
Jiyun Kim, OTR (2018-2022, MA Research Assistant)
Elia Salazar, Ed.D, MPH (2018-2022, Project Specialist)
Natasha Hashemi (2020-2022, Undergraduate Research Assistant)
Raymond Hernandez, MS, OTD, OTR/L (2016-2021, PhD candidate)
Anuva Mittal (2020-2021, Undergraduate Research Assistant)
Monica Martinez (2021, Fieldwork 1 Student)
Daniel Padilla Vega, OTD, OTR/L (2019-2020, OTD Resident)
Mary Harris (2021, OTD Capstone Student)
Ben Feiten (2021, OTD Capstone Student)
Angela Pogossian, OTS (2020-2021, MA Research Assistant)
Nicole Manalo, OTS (2020-2021, MA Research Assistant)
Kyra McClain (2020, Research Assistant)
Khatira Mehdiyeva, MD, MPH (2017-2020, Project Assistant)
Elissa Lee, OTD, OTR/L (2019-2020, OTD Resident)
Elissa Taylor, OTD, OTR/L (2019-2020, OTD Resident)
Megan Linderman, OTD, OTR/L (2019, OTD Resident)
Minhee Choi, MA (2018-2019, MA Research Assistant)
Shona Maher, OTS (2018-2019, MA Research Assistant)
Daniella Florindez MPH (2011-2018, Project Assistant)
Kristine Carandang PhD, OTR/L (2013-2018, Doctoral Research Assistant)
Maggie King OTD, OTR/L (2017-2018, OTD Resident)
Grace Cho OTD, OTR/L (2016-2018, MA Research Assistant)
Erin Bussell MA, OTR (2017-2018, MA Research Assistant)
Laura Cox OTD, OTR/L (2015-2016, MA Research Assistant)
Alexandra Gonzalez OTD, OTR/L (2014-2016, MA Research Assistant)
Emily Friedberg MA, OTR/L (2014-2016, MA Research Assistant)
Veronica Gomez MPH/MSW (2015-2016, MA Research Assistant)
Laura Guzman (2015-2016, Project Assistant)
Alyssa Concha OTD, OTR/L (2015, OTD Resident)
Nancy Dominguez MPH (2014-2015, MA Research Assistant)
Brian Wylie OTD, OTR/L (2013-2014, MA Research Assistant)
Maria Gonzalez MPH (2014, BS Research Assistant)
Sergio Sandoval OTD, OTR/L (2011-2013, MA Research Assistant)
Shain Davis OTD, OTR/L (2012-2013, OTD Resident)
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