Curriculum Vitae
Education
University of California, Santa Barbara August 2024
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Cognition, Perception, & Cognitive Neuroscience
Advisor: Dr. Michael Miller (Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the College of Letters & Sciences)
Committee: Dr. Michael Gazzaniga, Dr. Rich Mayer, & Dr. Jonathan Schooler
Department: Psychological & Brain Sciences
University of California, Davis June 2014
Bachelor of Science, Human Development
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology
Minor in Education
Grants, Awards, & Honors
UCSB McNair Scholars Program Graduate Student Fellowship – Summer 2022 to Summer 2024 ($65,000)
UCSB Psychological & Brain Sciences Department Nominee - Graduate Division STEM Mentoring Award – 2023
UCSB Graduate Student Association Conference Travel Grant – 2023 & 2024 ($1000)
UCSB Academic Senate Doctoral Travel Grant – 2022 & 2024 ($1800)
Womxn in Science & Engineering (WiSE) Decolvenaere Research Accelerator Award Finalist – 2022 & 2023
Womxn in Science & Engineering (WiSE) Karl Storz Research Accelerator Award Finalist – 2022 & 2023
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow – 2020 to 2022 & 2023 to 2024 ($145,000)
UCSB Associated Students Community Foundation Grant to fund P.U.G.S. – 2021 ($5,400)
Volunteer of the Month at WEAVE Inc., Sacramento, CA – August 2016
UC Davis MIND Institute Make the Difference Award for Mentorship – 2015
UC Davis Undergraduate Dean’s List – 2012
UC Davis University Grant – 2010 to 2014 ($28,840)
Kelly J. Kolozsi Memorial Scholarship – 2010 & 2012 ($4,500)
Pell Grant – 2010 to 2011 ($7,400)
UC Davis Summer UC Grant – 2011 ($4,400)
CAL Grant A – 2010 ($13,266)
UC Davis Entering Undergraduate Scholarship – 2010 ($2,727)
Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant – 2010 ($750)
Pearl Moulden Community Activities Committee Scholarship – 2010 ($300)
Silicon Valley Scholarship – 2010 ($1,000)
Curry Award for Girls and Young Women – 2010 ($1,000)
Diane and Howard Crittenden Grant – 2010 ($5,000)
Research Experience
The Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School
August 2024 to Present
New Haven, CT
Directors: Tom R. Tyler, Ph.D.; Tracey L. Meares, J.D.
Associate Research Scholar (Research Faculty)
UC Santa Barbara Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences
September 2018 to August 2024
Miller Lab, Santa Barbara, CA
Principal Investigator: Michael Miller, Ph.D.
Graduate Student Researcher
UC Davis MIND Institute
August 2014 to June 2018
22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q) Research Center and Clinic, Sacramento, CA
Director: Tony J. Simon, Ph.D.
Staff Research Associate 21 hours per week – August 2017 – June 2018
Analyzing longitudinal resting-state fMRI connectivity data and psychosis risk of adolescents with and without 22q.
Collaboration to develop scripts in MatLab and Bash with Dr. Vinod Menon at Stanford University.
Operate MRI 3T Siemens scanner and ERP Brain Products equipment with adolescent participants.
Junior Specialist (Funded RA) and Lab Manager. 40 hours per week – August 2014 – July 2017
Responsible for daily lab operations.
Coordinate use of lab resources for outside researchers, such as Eye Tracking equipment and testing rooms.
Oversee Institutional Review Board (IRB) documents for six total studies.
Direct, train, and supervise Undergraduate Volunteer Interns and incoming staff.
Organize public events (i.e., 22q At the Zoo, MIND Institute Participant Appreciation Day, etc.).
Recruit and enroll participants for four studies, including those with 22q11.2DS, Trisomy X, and Klinefelter Syndrome.
Administer research clinical assessments, computer, and paper-based tasks for six total studies.
Cognitive Affective Risk and Protection for Psychosis Study (PI: Tony J. Simon, Ph.D.): Investigate psychosis proneness in adolescents ages 12- to 18 years old with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) through clinical assessments, cognitive testing, ERP, MRI, and physiological measures.
Operate MRI 3T Siemens scanner and ERP Brain Products equipment with adolescent participants, many of whom have anxiety diagnoses.
Compose Institutional Review Board (IRB) documents for initial and subsequent reviews.
Design and administer research tasks using E-prime, including a visually cued card sort that measures interactions of emotion and task switching.
Create data analysis processing scripts in R software such as ANOVA and Correlation Coefficients.
Parenting and Adaptive Functioning in Children Study (PI: Kathleen Angkustsiri, MD): Explore how parent-child relationships influence emotion development and independent living skills in children ages 4- to 11-years-old both with and without 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome.
Recruit and administer testing to participants of 60 child-parent dyads with and without 22q11.2DS.
Collect anxiety symptom, physiological, and behavioral data from child-parent interactions.
Organize clinicians’ schedules to meet with families to provide additional testing and feedback.
Analyze interrater reliability of Undergraduate Coding team using SPSS.
22q11.2DS Brain and Behavior Consortium: Compile DNA and medical data from previous participants to contribute to a fourteen-university repository to investigate the prevalence of schizophrenia in children and adults with 22q11.2DS.
Recruit previous participants to share their DNA samples with the consortium and coordinate staff for shipment.
Manage RedCap database to enter behavioral, medical, and cognitive data points for 68 participants.
Create comprehensive clinical case summaries based on previous clinicians’ reports.
UC Davis Department of Psychology
July 2015 to September 2018
Developmental Research Center, Davis, CA
Principal Investigator: Gail Goodman, Ph.D.
Research Assistant 4 hours per week
Child Maltreatment and Long-Term Memory Study: Focus on individuals who experienced trauma or suspected abuse during the 1990’s and their memories of these events.
Interview approximately 25 participants over the phone for either one of two sessions, the second session using Cognitive Interview or Federal Law Enforcement Training methods regarding childhood maltreatment.
Search for previous participant contact information by using Spokeo, LexisNexis, and social media sources.
Analyze and organize data in SPSS and Microsoft Excel.
UC Davis MIND Institute
April 2014 to August 2014
Social Attention Virtual Reality Laboratory, Davis, CA
Principal Investigator: Peter Mundy, Ph.D.
Research Assistant 9 hours per week
Virtual Reality Applications for Attention and Learning in Children with Autism and ADHD: Worked on the second time point in a longitudinal study focusing on social-cognitive and academic difficulties in children with Autism, ADHD, and dual diagnoses, as well as typically developing controls.
Administered child and parent assessments, including Theory of Mind computer activities.
Performed general lab organization tasks such as participant packets and data entry in Microsoft Excel.
Reached out to families to maintain contact.
UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain June 2013 to August 2014
Memory and Development Lab, Davis, CA
Principal Investigator: Simona Ghetti, Ph.D.
Research Assistant 9 hours per week
Development of Prospection about Future Events study: Investigated the relationship between episodic thinking and future prospection in children ages 5-, 7-, 9-, and 11 years old, as well as college-age adults.
Administered experimental tasks and interviewed participants for episodic memories.
Transcribed episodic memory interviews.
Coded transcriptions based on experimenter prompting verbiage and other rules.
Tagged white and gray matter abnormalities using FreeSurfer brain tracing software.
University of California, Santa Barbara
June 2022 to Present
Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research (ISBER) 20 hours per week
McNair Scholar and Edison STEM Graduate Student Mentor & Writing Specialist
As a Graduate Student Mentor, I prepared qualified undergraduates for entrance to graduate programs in all fields of STEM studies. The goals of the McNair scholars and Edison STEM programs are to increase the number of first-generation, low-income, and/or historically underrepresented students in doctoral programs to ultimately help diversify the faculty in colleges and universities across the country. I led courses, seminars, and workshops on topics related to graduate school preparation and gave students individualized guidance to help them complete a research project with the goal of presenting at local, regional, and national conferences.
Founder and Director, Preparing Undergraduates for Graduate School (P.U.G.S.)
P.U.G.S. is a free program I created for UCSB affiliates with the goal of helping students navigate the graduate school application process and prepare to take the GRE. Specifically, PUGS is designed to support and advocate for underrepresented students and promote a more diverse and inclusive academic community.
Summer Graduate School Workshops 3 hours per week - July to November 2022
Organized a series of in-person and virtual workshops to aid underrepresented students with the process of applying to graduate school.
Topics included graduate school application timelines, information on how to find programs, developing school lists, writing C.V.s, how to network, learning to use social media in academia, statements of purpose, personal history statements, diversity statements, requesting letters of recommendation, and how to find funding for graduate school.
Mediated student presentations regarding their work and subsequent feedback from me and their peers.
Met with students individually to give more personal feedback and guidance.
Ten-day Summer GRE Bootcamp 40 hours per week - June 21st to July 6th 2021
Organized a Graduate Readiness Exam (GRE) 10-day Bootcamp for over 170 students via Zoom.
Awarded a grant from the Associated Students Community Foundation to fund instructors for the Bootcamp ($5400)
Collaborated with other UCSB entities such as the Campus Learning Assistance Services (CLAS), Career Services, Graduate Division, the McNair Scholars Program, the Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities (URCA) program, and Opening New Doors to Accelerate Success (ONDAS) to gather more resources and give presentations to students to prepare them with the graduate school application process.
Winter 2019 GRE Bootcamp 8 hours per week - December 2018 to March 2019
Organized an in-person GRE Bootcamp for over 70 students.
Connected students with other UCSB entities such as the Education Opportunity Program (EOP) and ONDAS to help them secure funding and other resources for graduate school applications and taking the GRE.
Created a resource bank of GRE and Graduate Application materials for students in the program and for those who were unable to attend the Bootcamp.
Tutored small groups and individual students on GRE strategies and graduate school applications.
University of California, Santa Barbara Graduate Division
August 2020 to October 2020 & September 2021 to November 2021
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Writing Consultant 5 - 10 hours per week
Met with individual students to review and provide feedback on their NSF GRFP applications, specifically the student’s personal statement and research project proposal.
University of California, Santa Barbara,
September 2018 to March 2019 & September 2019 to December 2019 & April 2020 to June 2020
Teaching Assistant, Psychology 10A: Research Methods
Teaching Assistant, Psychology 120L: Advanced Research Method
20 hours per week
Led classes of 5-30 undergraduate students in lessons designed by the instructor.
Graded written homework assignments, in-class activities, and a final research paper.
Tutored small groups and individual students.
UC Santa Barbara Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences.
Graduate Student Mentor for Undergraduate Honors Thesis Students.
September 2018 to June 2023
Miller Lab, Santa Barbara, CA.
Jasmine Chuey, 2022/2023, “The Effects of Social Pressure on Criterion Shifting”
Aarushi Agrawal, 2021/2022, “Effects of Oral Hormonal Contraceptives on the Ease of Recall of an Emotional Autobiographical Memory.”
Jessica Simonson, 2021, “The Effects of Hormonal Contraception on Auditory Emotional Memory.”
Ana Bobrycki, 2020/2021, “From mom to university: attachment style and autobiographical recall do not influence students’ decisions”
Chinmayee Balachandra, 2018/2019, “Effects of stress on cognition and performance”
Teaching Experience
Volunteer Experience
University of California, Santa Barbara
March 2022 to Present
College of Letters & Sciences Faculty Executive Committee, Graduate Student Representative
2 hours per week
The Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) is responsible for coordinating the academic affairs of the university and overseeing the welfare of its students. The FEC regularly opines on curricular issues, authorizes new courses, course revisions, and minor changes to degree programs (majors and minors), and reviews significant changes to degree programs.
University of California, Santa Barbara
October 2021 to March 2023
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences Graduate Admissions Committee, Graduate Student Representative
2 hours per week
Participated in outreach efforts to prospective Ph.D. candidates; advised on the allocation of recruitment resources and recruitment slots to faculty; assisted in planning for the recruitment weekend for the department.
University of California, Santa Barbara
May 2021 to September 2022
Queer & Trans Graduate Student Union (QTGSU)
4 to 6 hours per week
Treasurer
The purpose of the QTGSU organization is to provide a safe space for queer and trans identified UCSB graduate students to socialize, organize, and seek support. Our mission is to advocate for the rights and well-being of LGBTQQIA+ identified students and will provide mentorship to undergraduate students. Furthermore, the QTGSU will work to foster ties with the LBGTQQIA+ community in the greater Santa Barbara area. Assisted the President and Vice President in the procurement of funding for all projects, programs, and activities and handled all financial affairs and budgeting of the organization.
WEAVE Inc., Sacramento, CA
July 2015 to March 2017
Support Line Volunteer & Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Advocate
4 to 8 hours per week
Completed 70 hours of California Peer Counselor training to prepare for working with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault; provide emotional and informational support over the phone to residents of Sacramento County; connect survivors (of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other trauma) to advocate response teams; accompany survivors of sexual assault to evidentiary exams and inform them of available resources provided by the State and WEAVE.
Workshops & Training
4T|Phys BIOPAC Human Physiology Conference (2023, July) held at UC Santa Barbara by Frazer Findlay, CEO, BIOPAC
Kavli Summer Institutes in Cognitive Neuroscience (2022, June) held at UC Santa Barbara by George (Ron) Mangun, Ph.D., Barry Giesbrecht, Ph.D., Michael Miller, Ph.D., & Michael Gazzaniga, Ph.D.
Weil Cornell Summer Institute on Psychology and the Law (2016, July) held at the Weil Cornell Medical College in New York, New York by BJ Casey, Ph.D.
ERP Bootcamp (2015, July) at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain by Steven J. Luck, Ph.D. and Emily Kappenman, Ph.D.
Administration Workshop for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV & Structured Interview for Prodromal Symptoms (2015, July) held at the UC Davis Imaging Research Center by Dr. Tara Niendam, Ph.D. and Dr. Tyler Lesh, Ph.D.
Cognitive Interview Training (2015, August) at UC Davis by Gail Goodman, Ph.D., Deborah Goldfarb, J.D., Ph.D., & Ronald Fisher, Ph.D.
Assessments trained by Clinical Staff:
Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence I & II (WASI-I; WASI-II) – Total approximately 100 hours.
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-V – Total approximately 50 hours.
Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule – Parent (ADIS) – Total approximately 70 hours.
Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-IV) – Total approximately 20 hours.
