Yama Chang M.A.

Senior Research/Data Analyst, Lab for Scalable Mental Health, Stony Brook University

Ya-Wen (Yama) Chang

Senior Research/Data Analyst

Lab for Scalable Mental Health, Stony Brook University

Introduction

I am a Senior Research/Data Analyst at the Lab for Scalable Mental Health at Stony Brook University under the mentorship of Dr. Jessica Schleider. Overall, I am fascinated with everything data related. I am interested in applying data-driven approaches to (1) study the mechanisms underlying structural stigma and adverse mental health outcomes; (2) improve upon existing methodologies and assessments to detect quantifiable signals surrounding stigma; and (3) examine modifiable risk factors to develop accessible, scalable intervention targets, with the ultimate goal to reduce health disparities in stigmatized populations, particularly in sexual and gender minorities.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

View my CV
Here's a link to my research projects on OSF

Interests

structural stigma
scalable interventions
SGM mental health disparities
data science

Education

MA in Clinical Psychology, 2020
Teachers College, Columbia University
BA in Economics, 2012
National Taiwan University
Exchange Student, Summer 2010
Stanford University

Skills

Find my R code on GitHub for research projects and reproducible script

Statistical Programming

Data-driven Analysis

Data Visualization

Current Projects

Childhood Trauma and Onset of Suicidal Attempt

Role: First author Collaborators: Morgan Buerke (University of Southern Mississippi), Hanga Galfalvy, Ph.D. (Columbia University), Katalin Szanto, M.D. (University of Pittsburgh) It is well established that stressful early life experiences can adversely impact long-term psychopathology, including depression and suicidal behaviors, in adolescence and adulthood.

Health Inequalities and Suicide Risk - A Systematic Review

Role: Co-Investigator Collaborator: Adrienne Grzenda, M.D., Ph.D. (University of California, Los Angeles), Stefanie Kirchner, MPH (Medizinische Universität Wien), Ping Wang (Autonomous University of Madrid), & Diana E. Clarke, Ph.D (Johns Hopkins University)

Suicidal Ideation Trajectories - A Latent Profile Analysis of A Prospective Study

Role: Co-Investigator Collaborator: Hanga Galfalvy, Ph.D. (Lead author; Columbia University), Morgan Buerke (University of Southern Mississippi), Anna Szücs, M.D. (University of Geneva), Katalin Szanto, M.D. (University of Pittsburgh) This study applied a data-driven method to identify suicidal subtypes by conducting a latent profile analysis to examine suicidal ideation trajectories in a longitudinal sample.

Transgender Identity Development and Minority Stress

Role: First author Collaborator: Kasey B. Jackman (Columbia University), Jordan D. Dworkin (Columbia University), Anneliese A. Singh (Tulane University), Allen J. LeBlanc (San Francisco State University), & Walter O. Bockting (Columbia University)

OSF

Transgender Identity Development and Minority Stress

Publications

Manuscripts Accepted/Published

Galfalvy, H., Szücs, A., Chang, Y., Buerke, M., & Szanto, K. (Accepted). Long-term suicidal ideation profiles in late-life depression and their association with suicide attempt or death by suicide. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry

Manuscripts Under Review

*Schumacher, E., *Chang, Y., Maheux, A. J., Martino, R. M., Choukas-Bradley, S., Salk, R. H., & Thoma, B. C. (Under Review). Structural stigma and suicidal thoughts and behavior among U.S. sexual minority youth.
*The two first authors contributed equally to this work and should be considered joint first authors.

Chang, Y., Buerke, M., Galfalvy, H., & Szanto, K. (Under Review). Childhood Trauma is Associated with Early-Onset but not Late-Onset Suicidal Behavior in Late-Life Depression.

Chang, Y., Jackman, K., Dworkin, J., Singh, A., LeBlanc, A., & Bockting, W. (Under Review). Childhood Gender Nonconformity and Identity Development among a Diverse Transgender Community Sample in the United States.

Paine, E., Barucco, R., Chang, Y., Navalta, T., Ehrhardt, A., & Bockting, W. (Under Review). “Too Much Trouble”: Transgender and Nonbinary People’s Experiences of Stigma, Discrimination, and Affirmation in the Workplace.

Conference Presentations

Conference Presentations

Paine, E., Barucco, R., Chang, Y., Navalta, T., Ehrhardt, A., & Bockting, W. (2022, April). “Too Much Trouble”: Transgender and Nonbinary People’s Experiences of Stigma, Discrimination, and Affirmation in the Workplace. Paper presented at 2022 Population Association of Americas annual conference. Atlanta, GA.
Calati, R., Maisto, M., Miranda, R., Thompson, L., Lesanpezeshki, M., Baiden, P., Miller, C., Chang, Y., Wang, P., Grzenda, A., Kirchner, S., & Clarke, D. E. (2021, October) Ethnic discrimination and suicidal thoughts and behaviors: an international-intercontinental collaborative project for a systematic review. In G. Zalsman (Chair), IASR Metanalysis and Systematic Review Workshop Project. Paper presented at the 2021 IASR/AFSP International Summit on Suicide Research.

Poster Presentations

Chang, Y., Bockting, W. (2021, November). Identity Development Trajectories and Childhood Gender Role Nonconformity Among a Gender and Racial Diverse Sample in the United States. Poster presented at 2021 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 55th Annual Convention. New Orleans, LA. https://osf.io/w2shb/
Chang, Y., Brown, V., Whitman, K., Dombrovski, A., Szanto., K. (2021, October). Hippocampal MRI Volume Differences in Late-Life Suicidal Behavior. Poster presenter at 2021 IASR/AFSP International Summit on Suicide Research. Barcelona, Spain. https://osf.io/v5cr2/
*** Nominated as a poster finalist (Top 10) for the early career researcher best poster award
Chang, Y., Galfalvy, H., Buerke, M., Szanto, K. (2021, October). Age of Onset of First Suicidal Behavior Determines Risk Factor Profiles in Older Suicide Attempters – Focus on Childhood Trauma Experiences. Poster presenter at 2021 IASR/AFSP International Summit on Suicide Research. Barcelona, Spain. https://osf.io/xtakn/
Chang, Y., Galfalvy, H., Buerke, M., Szanto, K. (2021, October). The Relationship of Childhood Trauma Experiences with the Age of Onset of First Suicidal Behavior in Late-Life Depression. Poster presenter at 2021 Pitt Psychiatry Research Day and Research Resources Revue. https://osf.io/xtakn/
Chang, Y., & Malgaroli, M. (2021, April). Longitudinal Predictors of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury among Gender Diverse Population: Machine Learning Approaches. Poster presenter at 2021 Diversifying Clinical Psychology Conference, Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology (CUDCP).
Chang, Y., & Chen, S. (2020, November). Identifying School-Based Intervention Targets for the Risk of Suicide Attempt Amongst Gender Questioning Youth. Poster at Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 54th Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA. https://osf.io/pbmnt/
Tang, S., & Chang, Y. (2020, August). Mental health disparities among LGBTQ Asian and Pacific islander youth: A cross sectional analysis. Poster presenter at American Psychological Association Convention 2020, Washington, DC.
Chang, Y., Bockting, W. (2020, June). Childhood gender nonconformity and identity development among a diverse transgender community sample in the United States. Poster presenter at Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (JCCAP) Future Directions Forum, Washington, DC. https://osf.io/65fdk/
Chang, Y., Bockting, W. (2020, April). Childhood gender nonconformity and identity development among a diverse transgender community sample in the United States. Poster accepted at Counseling Psychology Conference, New Orleans, LA. (Cancelled due to COVID-19)

Honor & Awards

2021 Queer in STEM Scholarship ($1250)
oSTEM & Queer in AI

2021 Poster Finalist (Top 10)
2021 IASR/AFSP International Summit on Suicide Research

2021    Awarded A+ in Computational Psychiatry
             Teachers College (TC), Columbia University
             *Only given in rare circumstances per school policy; awarded for exceptional research project

2019 Program Ambassador, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology
Teachers College, Columbia University

2019 Graduate Representative Speaker
Teachers College, Columbia University

2019 Psi Chi Psychology Honors Society
Teachers College, Columbia University

2018 Teachers College Scholarship ($2,500, Merit-based)
Teachers College, Columbia University

Open Access Resources

Data Science in R

UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital | Fall 2021

I organized and developed a R workshop with four sessions including introduction to R, data wrangling, data visualization, and data analysis. Each session includes a 10-minute presentation to cover the learning goal and concept of each topic, following by a learning-by-doing module. This workshop aimed to guide everyone with no prior experience in R to feel comfortable with coding and eventually apply R coding skills in research projects. Please find the materials including slides and R scripts on my GitHub. Please feel free to reach out for recordings.