*The SHIFT lab is no longer accepting new members for the 2026-2027 academic year. If you are interested in joining the lab as an undergraduate or graduate research assistant in Fall 2027, please reach out via email!

Welcome to the SHIFT (Sexual Health Innovations for Teens) lab at North Carolina A&T State University! Our research team, led by Dr. Hannah Javidi, uses digital and community-engaged approaches to understand and improve sexual health, primarily among adolescents. Our goals center on:

1. Understanding adolescents’ beliefs, behaviors, and experiences related to sex, sexuality, and sexual health.

2. Applying research findings to promote positive sexual communication, consent, and boundary-setting skills among youth.

3. Leveraging technology (e.g., apps, websites, social media) to share sexual health information in accessible, youth-friendly formats.

4. Advancing sex education to be more evidence-based, inclusive, engaging, and relevant - particularly for youth underserved by traditional sex education, such as Black, rural, and LGBTQ+ teenagers and college-aged youth.

5. Involving community members in the solutions to their own sexual health- and education-related issues.

6. Finding accessible ways to share our research findings and products with the public!

Meet our team!

Sydni Madden

Sydni is a senior Psychology student with a minor in Child Development and Family Studies, from Atlanta, Georgia. In the future, she plans to assist in curating curriculum that incorporates various different learning styles and is inclusive to all students regardless of cultural background.
Shaniah Pope

Shaniah is a senior interested in research that supports the mental health and wellbeing of Black teens and college students, especially through culturally relevant education. She is excited to create more ways to promote healthy relationships, good communication, and consent.
Kennedy Saulter

Kennedy is a a senior Psychology student from Chicago, Illinois. She is dedicated to conducting research that improves the quality of life of marginalized groups. She hopes to serve her community as an advocate and voice to people who are left behind in our justice system, and believes that understanding all sides of minority issues will help her have a successful career as an advocate.
Leah Charles

Leah Charles is a junior Psychology student from Brooklyn, NY. Her career goal is to become a Family & Marriage therapist in the state of New York.
Imani Richardson-Green

Imani is a sophomore at A&T who is deeply interested in research focused on children and youth, especially those who come from disadvantaged or unstable backgrounds. She aims to explore how early childhood adversity shapes their development, well-being, and opportunities throughout their lives.

PACT adaptation

The SHIFT lab is working to adapt the Promoting Affirmative Consent among Teens (PACT) digital education program to serve as sexual consent and assertiveness training specifically for Black 18-19 year old students at A&T, through a series of focus groups and cyclical revisions to current program content. The final product will be made accessible to all A&T students once evidence of feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness is obtained.

Current Projects

Sex Education and Experiences Study

We are launching a survey through the SONA system to understand A&T (Psychology and non-Psychology) students’ needs and past experiences regarding sexual communication and consent education. This survey also contains items on sexual consent beliefs, self-efficacy, and practices. We will investigate sources of education (e.g., home, school, friends) as well as whether students’ sexual consent cognitions, behaviors, and education differ based on personal characteristics (e.g., gender, cultural upbringing).

Interviews

The Spring 2026 cohort of SHIFT lab members entered with lots of enthusiasm to explore their own research questions of interest. As of February, they are finalizing IRB protocols to start conducting interviews with students at A&T to learn about their public sex education, sexual consent beliefs, relationships, mental health, and experiences in the foster care system. Please see the section below for photos of these posters presented at the 2026 Undergraduate Research & Creativity Symposium.