About Me
I am an experimental researcher with training in cognitive science and advanced quantitative analysis. I have experience working with multidisciplinary teams and communicating complex findings to technical and non-technical audiences.
Research areas/Expertise: learning; reasoning; problem solving; motivation
Feel free to view/download my academic CV or resume, or email me at apelakh@gmail.com to learn more.
Skills
(**advanced, *proficient)
Programming Languages and Tools
- R and R Studio**
- Python*
- Qualtrics**
- HTML/CSS*
- Databases/SQL (MySQL Workbench, MongoDB, Neo4j)*
- JavaScript*
- GitHub*
- SPSS*
- NVivo*
Methodology
- Experimental design; AB Testing
- Survey design
- Database design; organization
- Data cleaning; manipulation
- Data visualization; dashboards
- Statistical modeling
- Machine learning techniques
- Causal inference; hypothesis testing
Experience
Graduate Student Researcher, Learning Research and Development Center (2020 - Present)
University of Pittsburgh
Experimental Study: Mindfulness Training to Increase Learning and Engagement in Introductory Physics (Project overview on OSF)
Data: observational survey data from ~3000 students; Repeated-measures experimental data from ~450 students; Qualitative focus group interviews from 24 students
Responsibilities
- Data collection and management (participant interaction, quality assurance, organization, reporting)
- Design implementation (experimental stimuli, online surveys, logic and randomization, programming)
- Data analysis (coding, psychometrics, generalized linear modeling, mixed effects modeling, visualization)
- Mentoring and team management
Key contributions:
- Redesigned data collection procedures and survey design to increase accuracy and efficiency
- Wrote custom code expand range of behavioral measures collected
Independent Research Contractor, Macmillan Learning (2023-2024)
Responsibilities: Conducted in-person and virtual qualitative classroom observations
Education
PhD, University of Pittsburgh, Cognitive Psychology (Expected 2026)
Minor in Quantitative Methodology
MS, University of Pittsburgh, Cognitive Psychology (2023)
BS, Montana State University, Psychology (2020)
Honors and Awards
- Andrew W. Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship – 2025-2026, University of Pittsburgh
- Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences Graduate Fellowship – 2020-2021, University of Pittsburgh
- Undergraduate Scholars Program Award Recipient – Fall 2019, Montana State University
- Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology – October 2019
- Lea Miller Memorial Psychology Scholarship – 2019-2020, Montana State University
- Robin Mason Memorial Scholarship – 2019-2020, Montana State University
- The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi – January 2019