Eric R. Pedersen, Ph.D. – Associate Professor, USC Keck School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Pedersen is the lab director of the PEARL and an associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Keck School of Medicine at USC. He is an adjunct behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation. His research interests are primarily in the areas of young adult/adolescent alcohol use and co-occurring mental health disorders. Dr. Pedersen has received funding to develop brief, online interventions to reduce alcohol misuse among young adult populations such as college students and recently discharged veterans. He is interested in finding ways to target co-occurring Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and substance use disorders among young adults, as well as in using internet-based methods to help reduce alcohol misuse and promote treatment engagement among non-treatment-seeking veterans. He is also serving as the director of Project ALERT, which is a school-based drug prevention program for middle school youth developed at RAND. Dr. Pedersen received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Washington in 2012. He joined the faculty at USC in 2020 after working full-time as a behavioral scientist at RAND from 2012 to 2020. View Dr. Pedersen’s CV here.
Angeles Sedano – Research Coordinator, USC Keck School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Angeles is a research coordinator at USC for the PEARL. She received her undergraduate degree from Cal State Northridge with a BA in Psychology and minor in Family Studies, and a Masters from USC in Social Work with concentration in Children, Youth and Family. During her Masters, she completed internships with LAPD and Department of Mental Health. She has worked in a non profit agency that provides mental health services, case management and outreach in South LA. She started as a case manager and then became a clinician for a 24/7 Full Service Partnership program. Angeles has worked with 0-5, children, teens, Transitional Age Youth (TAY), and adults in different capacities (clinical, case management, and outreach). Her interests are working with at-risk TAY who have experienced homelessness, trauma, been part of the legal system, and/or are experiencing co-occurring disorders.
Keegan Buch – Project Manager, USC Keck School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Keegan is one of the PEARL’s lab managers (as of July 2022). He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. His research interests include the etiology of alcohol use disorder and other substance use disorders within sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations. He is broadly interested in expanding upon research regarding SGM substance use as well as the treatment of substance use disorders within the SGM community. View Keegan’s CV here.
Ireland Shute – Project Manager, USC Keck School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Ireland is one of the PEARL’s lab managers (as of July 2023). She graduated from the University of Southern California in 2023 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Occupational Science. Her research interests include behaviors and disorders relating to eating and substance use, as well as trauma and post-traumatic stress. She wishes to further investigate the intersection of feeding and substance use behaviors, with the aim of testing online interventions and promoting harm reduction among populations at risk for negative consequences. View Ireland’s CV here.
Megan Brown – Project Manager, USC Keck School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Megan is one of the PEARL’s lab managers (as of November 2023). She graduated from Colorado State University in 2022 with a B.S. in Clinical/Counseling Psychology. She is mainly interested in researching the intersection between trauma/PTSD and harmful substance use. She is also passionate about researching the efficacy of protective behavioral strategies as a mechanism to reduce harmful consequences in the context of substance use, risky sexual behavior, disordered eating, and sleep. She aims to further investigate interventions for at risk populations using protective behavioral strategies. View Megan’s CV here.