Darren Urada, PhD
Dr. Urada is Principal Investigator of the Evaluation of the California State Opioid Response (SOR) Program and Research Psychologist at UCLA ISAP. He has significant experience as a lead investigator for large interagency agreements with the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), as well as the former CA Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. He has an extensive history of working with state level data, specifically the CalOMS-Tx system and other data systems outside of the SUD system. He is currently Principal Investigator for the DHCS Evaluation contract of the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System waiver (DMC-ODS) which complements the scope of work of the MAT Expansion project.
Kendall Darfler, MS
Kendall is Project Director of the California State Opioid Response (SOR) Program. She holds an MS in Science and Technology Studies (STS), an interdisciplinary field that examines the sociopolitical dynamics of science, technology and medicine. Her STS background has led her to attend to how expertise is valued in health care policymaking. She has ten years of professional research experience, and joined UCLA ISAP in 2012. Her research and advocacy interests include substance use policy, harm reduction strategies, peer delivered behavioral health services, and the politics of design.
Vandana Joshi, PhD
Dr. Joshi is the Statistician for the California State Opioid Response (SOR) Program and Principal Administrative Analyst at ISAP. She has extensive history of secondary data analysis of large administrative systems of Los Angeles County. She was responsible for developing data matching algorithms for outcomes data from multiple agencies such as Sherriff, Health, Child Welfare and Social Services for a National project to assess the impact of Welfare Reform on neighborhoods. She analyzed outcomes for Welfare-to-Work programs in Los Angeles County and examined the role of supportive services in client's success in graduating from these programs. She also has ten years of experience analyzing Mental Health Services data for Los Angeles County to assess the impact of Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Legislation and Affordable Care Act.
Brittany Bass, PhD
Dr. Bass is the Economist for the California State Opioid Response (SOR) Program. Prior to joining UCLA, she was an Assistant Professor of Economics at Sacramento State University. Brittany is a health economist, primarily researching the impact of policies related to substance use disorder treatment on youth and adult health and economic outcomes. Her past research has focused on examining the impact of sex education mandates, maternity leave laws, minimum wages, and technology funding.
Valerie Antonini, MPH
Valerie is the Program Manager for the California State Opioid Response (SOR) Program. She is currently a project director and manager at UCLA ISAP, overseeing several large-scale projects. Over the last 10 years, she has had the opportunity to manage much of the project portfolio led by Dr. Urada. She has experience organizing and facilitating several large-scale initiatives (national and international), managing several large scale budgets, and has the capability to supervise day-to-day activities to execute multiple and simultaneous project designs.
Liliana Gregorio, BS
Liliana is the Data Manager for the California State Opioid Response (SOR) Program. In this role, she manages the electronic data reporting portal for all 30+ SOR projects. She collects and cleans all quantitative data, manages portal updates, and serves as liaison to SOR-funded project staff. Liliana holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and has 16 years of professional research experience. Her previous research included studies on the criminal legal system and the impact of maternal HIV/AIDS on children.
Aida Santos, BS
Aida is a Research Coordinator for the California State Opioid Response (SOR) Program. In this role, she takes the lead in coordinating the Your Voice, Our Community survey. She contributes to data collection, interview instrument and study protocol development, qualitative data analysis, and manuscript and report preparation. Previously, she worked on a longitudinal study to assess the impact of maternal HIV/AIDS on children. Aida holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and has worked at UCLA ISAP for over 20 years.
Diane Hilderbrand, BS
Diane is a Research Coordinator for the California State Opioid Response (SOR) Program. In this role, she contributes to data collection, cleaning, and analysis, the development of surveys and interview guides/instruments and study protocols. She also interviews participants and assists with quantitative and qualitative data analyses. Diane has her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UCLA and has previous research experience studying the Misuse and Diversion of Prescription Stimulants on College Campuses.
Eva Vazquez, BS
Eva is a Research Coordinator for the California State Opioid Response (SOR) Program. In this role, she advises on management of the electronic data reporting portal, monitors data collection and cleaning activities, and assists with quantitative data analysis. She has worked at UCLA ISAP for over 20 years, and her previous research experience includes the Los Angeles County Evaluation System (LACES) and administration of the ISAP Data Management Center.