MELISSA HUANG

Researcher & PhD Candidate

I am a creative and analytical problem solver with 5+ years of experience spanning across biomedical and sociobehavioral research, experimental design, project management, analytics, and science communication. I use my innovative and critical thinking skills to answering a variety of research questions on health, personality, and human behavior. My day-to-day work involves experimental design, data acquisition, statistical analysis, taking research projects end-to-end, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. Upon completing my degree, I look forward to applying my multifaceted training to solve real-world challenges and use scientific approaches to contribute to improving people's lives.

Graduate Researcher & Project Manager

•Plan, manage, and execute 3+ sociobehavioral research projects on human behavior, personality, and mental health end-to-end (ideation, development, design, recruitment, data acquisition, analysis, publication, pilot close-out)
•Create research instruments including interview scripts, consent forms, surveys, and SOPs
•Utilize innovative statistical tools and techniques and visualized data via SPSS, R, Python, Tableau and Excel to produce project deliverables
•Wrote 5 peer-reviewed publications, 2 book chapters, and gave 12+ conference presentations
•Conduct a variety of research methodologies (physiological recording, structured interviews, complex surveys, brain imaging, biological specimen collection)
•Monitor study sessions across sites to ensure adherence to protocols, compliance with data integrity standards, and resolve participant concerns
•Lead all team meetings, updated principal investigator and stakeholders on project progress, and followed-up on all action items

CUNY Brooklyn College - Gao Lab2016 - Present

Graduate Researcher & Project Manager

•Designed and co-led 3 biomedical research projects on maternal and child health, psychosocial stress, development, and behavior
•Oversaw case-control pilot study on gestational diabetes mellitus and stress, which contributed to parent study’s grant renewal ($659,387) from the National Institute of Health
•Developed experimental protocols, surveys, SOPs, and IRB biomedical research documents
•Supervised study sessions across clinical sites to monitor biological specimen collection
•Collaborated with cross-functional teams across New York hospital systems, which led to 5 peer-reviewed publications and 3 national conferences
•Employed quantitative statistical techniques and visualized data via SPSS, R, Python and Excel for project deliverables
•Trained research team on recruitment, biospecimen processing, assessment administration, and served as mentor to high school and undergraduate researchers

CUNY Queens College - Nomura Lab2017 - May 2021

Statistics Instructor

• Curated and taught course material in research methodology and statistics to undergraduate students
• Covered topics including: descriptive statistics, area under the normal curve, z-test, probability, binomial distribution, correlation, linear regression, hypothesis testing, inferential methods (e.g., sign-test, t-tests, chi-square, one-way and two-way ANOVA)
• Created in-depth tutorials for statistical analyses and visualizations in SPSS, Excel, JASP, JAMOVI, and R

CUNY Brooklyn College - Psychology Department 2016 - Present

Research Assistant

• Launched pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of a workforce preparation program across New York colleges
• Recruited alumni for focus groups to evaluate program satisfaction, student outcomes, and areas of improvement
• Transcribed audio recordings of interview sessions, identified recurring themes, and coded qualitative data
• Compiled figures, prepared progress reports, conducted statistical analyses, and supported Director of Research

Northeast Resiliency Consortium - Kingsborough Community CollegeSpring 2016

Data Analytics

I am versed in collecting, cleaning, transforming, and analyzing data. I have experience in the following analyses: t-tests, ANOVA, regression (linear, multiple, step-wise, HLM), moderation, mediation, reliability analysis, principal component analysis, and factor analysis. Tools I use include SPSS, R, Python, SQL, Excel, Google Sheets, JAMOVI, and JASP.

Project Management

I have overseen research projects from start to finish across several institutions. Projects include both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. My involvement and findings have generated multiple national conference presentations, peer-reviewed journal articles, and successful grant applications/renewals. Tools I use include Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite), Dropbox, Asana, Slack, and Office365.

Data Visualization

I’ve harnessed tools such as Tableau, Excel, ggplot2, and matplotlib to graphically represent data and tell its story. I am also proficient in graphic design and presentations tools to create and present aesthetic visuals. This spring, I’m taking a course on interactive data visualization, which will utilize d3.js.

Abstract links can be found at my Google Scholar (linked at the bottom). Interested in the full-text? I'm happy to share those - e-mail me!

Refereed Journal Articles

Huang, Y., Zhang, W., Go, K., Tsuchiya, K. J., Hu, J., Skupski, D.W., ... Nomura, Y. (2020). Altered Growth Trajectory in Children Born to Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Preeclampsia. Archives of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 301, 151-159.

Lam, B. Y. H., Huang, Y., & Gao, Y. (2020). Gray Matter Asymmetry In The Orbitofrontal Cortex In Relation To Psychopathic Traits In Adolescents. Journal of Psychiatric Research.

Zhang, W., Ham, J., Li, Q., Deyssenroth, M. A., Lambertini, L., Huang, Y., ... & Nomura, Y. (2020). Moderate prenatal stress may buffer the impact of Superstorm Sandy on placental genes: Stress in Pregnancy (SIP) Study. PloS one, 15(1), e0226605.

Huang, Y., Wu, T., Luo, Y., Wu, Z., Fagan, S., Leung, S., ... & Gao, Y. (2019). The impact of callous-unemotional traits and externalizing tendencies on neural responsivity to reward and punishment in healthy adolescents. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13, 1319.

Hu, J., Ly, J., Zhang, W., Huang, Y., Glover, V., Peter, I., Hurd, Y., & Nomura, Y. (2019). Microbiota of newborn meconium is associated with maternal anxiety experienced during pregnancy. Developmental Psychobiology, 61(5), 640-649.

Nomura, Y., Davey, K., Pehme, P., Finik, J., Glover, V., Zhang, W., Huang, Y., ... Ham, J. (2019). Influence of in-utero exposure to maternal depression and natural disaster-related stress on infant temperament at 6 months: The children of Superstorm Sandy. Infant Mental Health Journal.

Zhang, W., Li, Q., Deyssenroth, M., Lambertini, L., Finik, J., Ham, J., Huang, Y., ... & Yoshida, S. (2018). Timing of Prenatal Exposure to Trauma and Altered Placental Expressions of HPA-Axis Genes and Genes Driving Neurodevelopment. Journal of Neuroendocrinology.

Gao, Y., Huang, Y., & Li, X. (2017). Interaction between Prenatal Maternal Stress and Autonomic Arousal in Predicting Conduct Problems and Psychopathic Traits in Children. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 39, 1-14.

Merz, E., McDonough, L., Huang, Y., Foss, S., Werner, E. & Monk, C. (2017). The Mobile Conjugate Reinforcement Paradigm in a Lab Setting. Developmental Psychobiology. DOI: 10.1002/dev.21520

Book Chapters

Schug, R. A., Gao, Y., Glenn, A. L., Peskin M., Huang, Y., & Raine, A. (2021). The Developmental Evidence Base: Neurobiological Research and Forensic Applications. In Forensic Psychology, British Psychological Society.

Gao, Y., Shug, R., Huang, Y., & Raine, A. (2021). Successful and Unsuccessful Psychopathy: An Updated Neurobiological Model. In A. Felthous & H. Hass (Eds.) International Handbook of Psychopathic Disorders and the Law. John Wiley & Sons.

Articles in Review or Preparation

Gao, Y. & Huang, Y. (under review). Selfish parents, parenting, and child psychopathic traits. Behavioral Sciences and The Law.

Zhang, W., Huang, Y., Stalias, M., & Nomura, Y. (in revision). Placental SLC6A4 Gene Expression Predicts Infant temperament at 6-12 Months: The Stress in Pregnancy (SIP) Study. Infant Behavior and Development.