HOW WE DO IT
We're passionate about leveraging popular social media features and game mechanics in culturally tailored mHealth interventions in order to increase appeal and efficacy.
#socialmedia #gamification
We're also applying machine learning to better understand how alcohol use is portrayed and potentially influences college students alcohol-related cognitions (norms, expectancies) on popular social media sites.
#machinelearning
Formative research and intervention development in our lab commonly draw upon social norms, self-determination, and self-categorization theories
MEET THE TEAM
Joseph W. LaBrie, PhD
Founder & Co-Director
Joe (he/him) is a professor of psychology and a nationally recognized scholar in the domains of college student development and social norms based-health promotion. Much of his research has focused on increasing the efficacy and scalability of normative feedback student and parent-based alcohol interventions through the development of technologically advanced, interactive intervention formats for individuals and groups. In addition to this work, Dr. LaBrie has published a number of oft-cited papers investigating hot button issues on college campuses including pre-partying/pre-gaming, cannabis use, hook-up culture, social media-related influences on substance use, intervention gamification, and helicopter parenting. A community leader and former Jesuit priest, Joe holds a doctorate in clinical psychology as well as masters degrees in mathematics and theology. He is also the recipient of multiple federal research grants and numerous awards, including the American Psychological Associations Early Career Research Award and two LMU faculty awards, the Rains Award for Research Excellence and the Extramural Funding Award. In his spare time Joe enjoys international travel, entertaining, and walking around his favorite Los Angeles neighborhoods.
Sarah C. Boyle, PhD
Senior Research Scientist & Co-Director
Sarah (she/her) is an Applied Social Psychologist who studies relationships between social media use, perceptions of peer norms, and health-risk behaviors including alcohol and other drug use among college students and sexual minority adults. With the goal of designing far-reaching and scalable substance use interventions that have real appeal to members of target communities, her work aims to integrate popular social media features and digital game mechanics into culturally tailored, web- and smartphone-based interventions. Currently, Sarah is examining the efficacy of a novel, gamified, social media inspired personalized normative feedback wellness and health behavior intervention for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women and digging into nuanced relationships between stigma-related stress, perceptions of peer health behaviors norms, and substance use norms in this population. A native of Cleveland, OH, and former basketball player, Sarah is a huge fan of grant-writing, small dogs, statistical tattoos, swing trading equity derivatives, elegant hybrid trial designs, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Brad Trager, PhD
Research Scientist
Brad (he/him) received his Ph.D. in Biobehavioral Health from Penn State. His research interests include the study of alcohol use and related consequences, socio-cognitive influences on health, and risky decision making. An overarching goal of his research is to inform the development of cost-effective, mobile intervention programs aimed at reducing risky alcohol use in adolescent and emerging adult populations. Brad is currently an MPI on an NIH-funded R34 focused on developing a novel text-message intervention for parents of incoming college students. He’s also working on an AI chatbot designed to support these parents and is involved in an NIH-funded trial to examine the feasibility and efficacy of a gamified social norms marketing campaign. Born in Montreal, QC, and raised in Boca Raton, FL, Brad is a research junkie who enjoys playing golf, gaming, and paper trading.
Jordan Oster, MA
Senior Research Associate & Project Manager
Jordan (she/they) received their M.A. in Applied Social Psychology from Claremont Graduate University in 2020. Their graduate work was primarily focused on group processes (both inter- & intra-), specifically social identity and the uncertainty-to-extremism pipeline. She currently serves as the Project Manager for the lab’s NIH-funded R01 project examining the efficacy of an app-based well-being and health behavior PNF intervention for queer women.
Outside of research, Jordan enjoys coaching their basketball team, going to see
live music, hanging out with her dog, Gigi, and pushing the gay agenda.
Oliver Hatch
Research Associate
Oliver (He/Him) is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. He primarily assists in managing CampusGandr, the lab’s multi-site NIH-funded R01 study that tests gamified social-norms-based alcohol interventions for first-year students. During his time at LMU, Oliver discovered his interest in psychological research focusing on alcohol-related behavior, impulsivity, and cognition. Oliver plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and ultimately contribute to the advancement of evidence-based practices and intervention techniques that can provide better outcomes for substance-abuse populations. Aside from research, Oliver enjoys tennis, skiing, and is an avid mountain biker who spends much of his spare time exploring the Santa Monica Mountains.
Layla Rainosek
Research Associate
Layla (she/her) is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University (Class of 2023) with a B.A. in Psychology and Theatre Arts. She assists in the lab’s multi-site NIH-funded R01 study that tests gamified social-norms-based alcohol interventions for first-year students, along with leading alcohol re-education courses with LMU students. Her interests include clinical- and health-psychology, and she plans on working towards a Ph.D. in the future to investigate various social and personal influences on long-term health outcomes. Layla is from Denver, Colorado, and she enjoys cooking, being outside, taking care of her plants, and crocheting in her free time.
Isabella Chhina
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Isabella (she/her) is a senior Psychology major from Berkeley, CA. After undergrad, she hopes to obtain a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a focus on helping communities of color. In her free time, Isabella enjoys playing basketball and creating music.
Kelsey Armstrong
Research Assistant
Kelsey (she/her) graduated from Loyola Marymount University in May of 2025 with a B.A. in Psychological Science and a minor in Health and Society. She is beginning a PsyD program in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Neuropsychology at The Chicago School, Los Angeles campus, in the Fall. Kelsey is originally from Seattle, WA, and enjoys cooking and exercising in her free time.
