CV | Madison Akles

Education ▼

M.S. Data Science and Applied Statistics In Progress Azusa Pacific University

GPA: 4.0
Thesis: "AI-assisted Prosocial Chat Nudging"

B.S. Applied Psychology 2023 New York University (NYU)

GPA: 3.91 (Honors)
Honors Thesis: "Loving Their Sons and Raising Their Daughters: A Mixed-Methods Longitudinal Investigation of Black Families' Gender Socialization Transmission"

Research Experience ▼

Research Associate II Feb 2025 - Present Azusa Pacific University | Psychology Dept

Lead Coordinator for Project TREE, a federally funded SAMHSA grant ($2,725,000) addressing substance use through mHealth interventions.
Directly supervise graduate interns and undergraduate research assistants.
Collaborate on data analysis (T-tests, ANOVA, Chi-Square, Non-parametric analyses).
Create training curriculum for L.A. DMH, SAPC, and LAUSD.

Research Assistant Sept 2021 - July 2024 NYU | Center for Conflict and Cooperation

Drafted and published work in moral hypocrisy and intergroup bias.
Designed experimental paradigms using Qualtrics, MATLAB, Python, and R.
Managed data collection for over 2,000 participants.
Coordinated Institutional Review Board (IRB) submissions.

Research Assistant Sept 2019 - May 2023 NYU | Learning Race Lab

Coded 400+ qualitative parent-child interviews using NVivo and Dedoose.
Collaborated with research team to develop codebooks for qualitative interviews.
Prepared presentation and conference materials.

Proposal Reviewer Jan 2026 - Present Association for Psychological Science (APS)

Reviews seed grant proposals for APS Student Grant Competition.

Skills & Tools ▼

Technical & Data:
R Python MATLAB SPSS SAS Stata Javascript

Research Software:
Qualtrics NVivo Dedoose SPARS GitHub

General:
Project Coordination Photoshop Canva Office Suite

Selected Publications ▼

Robertson, C. E., Akles, M., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2024).
Preregistered Replication and Extension of "Moral Hypocrisy: Social Groups and the Flexibility of Virtue". Psychological Science, 35(7), 798-813. View DOI

Cox, B., Hughes, D. L., ... Akles, M., et al. (2022).
White families' communications about and around race: Conversations between white adolescents and their mothers. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(3), 896-918. View DOI

Awards & Certifications ▼

Fostering Social Connection Award ($9,540), Prosocial Design Network (Dec 2025)
Humane Studies Fellowship ($5,000), Institute for Humane Studies (Oct 2023)
Peer Support Specialist Certification (Sept 2025) - 1,500+ hours experience
Cross-Cutting Initiative on Inequality Award (May 2023)
NYU Steinhardt Merit Scholarship ($36,960)

Presentations ▼

"Digital Pathways to Prevention: Integrating Mobile Tools to Support Youth and Family Behavioral Health"
Presentation for (STAR) UCLA Department of Behavioral Health, 1/21/2026.
Watch Recording

"Exploring Recovery Processes Among Youth in Recovery from Substance Use Disorders who participated in a Technology-based Recovery Support Project"
(Akles, Castaneda, & Ang, 2025). Presentation at INEBRIA.

"Enhancing Youth Behavioral Health Services through Academic-Community Collaboration: A Focus on SBIRT Integration using a Mental Health Trainee Practicum Model"
(Okolo, Akles, & Durant, 2025). Presentation at INEBRIA.

"Demonstration of an Integrated SBIRT Model for Early Intervention, Emotional Wellbeing, and Family Support"
(Saunders, Huynh, & Akles, 2025). Presentation at INEBRIA.

"Loving Their Sons and Raising Their Daughters: A Mixed-Methods Longitudinal Investigation of Black Families’ Gender Socialization Transmission"
(Akles, 2023). Honors Thesis Presentation at NYU Applied Psychology Conference.

Interactive CV