Research
The ESSENCE Lab is part of the Clinical Science Ph.D. program at UC Berkeley. The lab trains the next generation of researchers and clinicians to advance evidence-based, culturally responsive mental health science that supports systems-level change and promotes health equity.
01
Pathways to Thriving: Exploring Future Orientation, Meaning in Life, and Suicide Prevention among Black Adolescents and Emerging Adults
In partnership with Dr. Lauren Mims and the Homeplace lab, this project will use a strengths-based mixed methods approach to understand meaning in life and future orientation among Black adolescents and emerging adults, specifically exploring how these factors may contribute to suicide prevention for these communities.
02
Black Lived Experience Neural Dynamics (BLEND)
In partnership with Dr. Keanan Joyner and the CREAM Lab, this mixed-methods study incorporates quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine how substance use, mental health, and suicidal ideation unfold in the everyday lives of Black young adults. The study aims to understand associations between affective states, substance use, mental health, and suicidal ideation, while identifying proximal psychosocial stressors and protective factors that may contribute to psychological vulnerability and resilience.
03
Surviving COVID-19: Risk and Resilience Factors for Black Young Adults (completed)
Research on the psychological impact of COVID-19 has highlighted the disproportionate toll of the pandemic on Black communities, yet there remains a dearth of research aimed at understanding how overlapping systems of racism, economic precarity, and health inequity interact to shape mental health outcomes. Surviving COVID-19: Risk and Resilience Factors for Black Young Adults aims to examine how Black emerging adults navigated the dual pandemics of racism and COVID-19 by identifying individual, relational, and contextual factors that contributed to psychological vulnerability and resilience.