Gracias for your interest.

Qualifications of applicants  Strong applicants to CREAR Lab are passionate about one or more research areas in our lab, have a strong academic record, typically have completed prior coursework in Psychology (or Social Work), and have usually gained at least one year of research experience in psychology or a related field, ideally including post-baccalaureate experience and/or independent research experience (for example, through a senior thesis, poster presentations, publication experience).  In reviewing applications, I will look for evidence of applicants' interest in and commitment to diverse populations, including, but not limited to, violence exposure, mental health disparities, acculturation, resilience framework, and drawing from culturally-humble and strengths-based perspectives. Because a lot of our work is international (in Mexico, Honduras, Puerto Rico, etc..) and with Spanish-speaking Latino/as in the U.S., it will be an additional benefit if an applicant is bilingual in Spanish (so please mention if you are bilingual!); however, this is not a requirement, nor would it make or break a students’ application if the applicant is otherwise qualified and aligned with the work being conducted in the lab. As part of my holistic review process, I will pay close attention to structural barriers applicants may have experienced in their academic and career journeys. In light of concerns about equity related to the GRE, I will NOT consider GRE scores in admissions cycles. ​ Holistic review process ​My holistic review process includes reviewing personal statements, letters of recommendation, CVs, transcripts, and other submitted materials. I pay special attention to structural barriers and unique circumstances applicants may have experienced on their academic and career journeys (e.g., first-generation status, structural and interpersonal circumstances, minority identities and related structural disparities), which you may decide to discuss in your personal statement and/or ask your letter-writers to discuss on your behalf. ​​Although I am the primary person reviewing the applications that list me as a potential mentor, the ultimate decision about whom to invite for official interview visits (and final admissions decisions) is made collectively by faculty in our program. 

It is not necessary to email me before applying. Sometimes applicants feel they need to email faculty to express their interest in advance. For me, this definitely is not necessary. Whether or not you email me will have no bearing on your ultimate chances of admission. I will carefully review all applications that list me as a potential mentor on official apps submitted through Pitt, and my holistic review process will not involve checking to see if students emailed me or reviewing content sent via email. You are of course welcome to email me (andrea.medrano@pitt.edu) if you have a specific question not answered on my website or Pitt's website.

CREAR Lab currently has a strong research area in Mexico and is looking to expand related work with U.S. Latino/a populations, including Puerto Rico, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Current projects can be found on our "Research Studies" Page Over the next few years, I anticipate continuing to focus on multi-disciplinary research with violence-exposed youth and their parents, resilience, and academic and mental health outcomes. I am particularly interested in examining violence via a poly-victimization lens—or assessing more comprehensive forms of violence that families experience simultaneously—including, community violence exposure, sexual harassment, interpersonal violence, and domestic violence. Our lab is incredibly intentional in deviating from traditional psychological deficit-based perspectives and instead taking a strengths-based perspective to identify factors that can protect adolescents and parents in the face of violence. Because our work is largely focused on Latino/a families in the U.S. and Mexico, we are also mindful of our own positions, biases, and are informed through a cultural-humility framework. While our lab currently focuses on Latino/a and Mexican populations, we have an interest in youth of color more broadly and will be expanding with future grants and collaborations. Our approaches to this work include longitudinal survey-based studies, nationally available survey data, qualitative interviews, focus groups, mixed methods, and most recently, dried blood spot collection procedures to measure levels of inflammation.

Mentoring students and trainees is one of the favorite aspects of my career and I take mentorship incredibly seriously! I strive to foster an inclusive, collaborative, and supportive research lab. I will meet with my graduate students every week, both individually and as a group. We also have weekly lab meetings with the entire CREAR lab team (including undergraduate research assistants, post-bac fellows, graduate students, and sometimes bringing in collaborators to discuss our current projects). I make myself available to students and communicate as often as they need, including over email and text as more pressing (i.e., upcoming fellowship/grant deadlines for which a letter of recommendation is needed) and brief (i.e., letting me know they are running late to a meeting) issues arise. I aim to help trainees identify what they are most interested in and what the dream career path would look like for them (whether that's in academia or not). I try to tailor the work that is being conducted in the lab to match students’ interests wherever possible and provide professional development training to foster students’ academic (and non-academic) identity.​

Due to equity issues, I will wait until December to review applicants' materials, once the Pitt application window has closed. After conducting a holistic review of all applications, I will contact selected applicants to begin the initial interview process. I will not schedule phone/Zoom calls with applicants before the interview stage. Although I love speaking with prospective students, it wouldn't be possible for me to meet with all applicants or to review applicants' materials in advance. Given structural disparities in mentorship and institutional knowledge, I believe this will maximize equity in the application process.