Andrea S. Medrano

Andrea S. Medrano is Assistant Professor of Psychology at University of Pittsburgh's Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, directing the CREAR Lab (Community Research Exploring Adolescent Resilience). Her research examines contextual stressors like community violence and sexual harassment impacting Latino/a/x adolescents' psychological and academic functioning across international settings.

Research focuses on:

• Poly-victimization in community contexts
• Cultural resilience mechanisms
• Gender-based violence prevention
• Parent-adolescent communication buffers
• Intersectional discrimination experiences

Recent publications (2022-2025) analyze neighborhood violence moderation through family cohesion, intersectional discrimination, and extracurricular activity contexts. Mixed-methods studies span Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico and U.S. urban settings.

Awards include Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship (2020) and Grand Challenges Doctoral Award (2023). Current doctoral student Sydni Davila researches rural Mexican adolescents. Leads NIH-funded projects including MAPI (Mexican Adolescent Psychological Immunity) and STAR-PR (Puerto Rican trauma resilience).

International research teams implement community-engaged methodologies across Latin America. CREAR Lab prioritizes inclusive research training for underrepresented scholars.