Research Assistants

Sophia is a first-year at UCSD majoring in Human Developmental Sciences with a minor in Biology. She joined the lab in the spring of 2023 and is interested in the interplay between genetics and the environment throughout the lifespan, as well as brain development and degeneration. In the future, Sophia aims to become an obstetrician or genetic counselor and in her spare time, she loves to play the piano, play volleyball, surf, and read.
 

Danna is a second-year undergraduate student at UCSD majoring in Psychology. She is interested in understanding more about the human psyche and how human interaction shapes experiences. After undergraduate, she hopes to pursue a career in the medical field. In her free time, Danna enjoys reading, trying new food places, and watching Asian dramas.
 

Kayce is a 4th-year transfer student working on her Business Psychology B.S. She has been a research assistant with the DN Lab since Fall 2022. Since working as an advanced behavioral intervention technician, she has become more interested in understanding how learning occurs and differs in neurotypical and autistic populations, and how a better understanding of these differences/similarities could benefit teaching behavioral programs. After graduation, she’s looking to join the workforce and to eventually earn a graduate degree in I/O Psychology to study her specific interest in how to integrate adult neurodiverse populations with job environments that would better fit to their unique workplace needs. Outside of the lab, Kayce works as a teacher’s assistant for Rady School of Management, and for fun she loves to sleep, cook with her husband, eat lots of food, and read fiction and fantasy books.
 

Sunshine is a third-year student at UCSD majoring in Psychology. She loves learning about everything psychology-related and wants to expand scientific literature about underrepresented groups, such as those with autism. After graduation, she wants to go to graduate school to become a therapist for young children and adolescents. Sunshine likes to travel, watch movies, and go to concerts in her free time.
 

Noah received his B.S. in Psychology and Human Health from UCSD in 2020, and has since been striving to further his knowledge and understanding of psychology and human behavior. Noah previously worked as a behavior interventionist for children with autism, but has shifted his focus to the clinical applications of hypnosis in medicine. Noah hopes to one day work as a scientist-practitioner who helps people to raise their quality of life by living as stress-free as possible. In his free time, you can find Noah either in the gym or stealing people’s souls on the jiu-jitsu mats.
 

Xiaoyang is a third-year student at UCSD majoring in Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience. This summer of 2022 is her first quarter working at DN Lab as a research assistant. She is passionate about developmental psychology and wishes to work on obtaining a Ph.D. degree after graduating from college. In her free time, Xiaoyang likes to read, travel with family, and watch movies. Her favorite movie of all time is Spirited Away by Studio Ghibli. 
 

Nicola is a fourth-year transfer student at UCSD majoring in Psychology. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Neuropsychology. Her interests lie specifically in investigating the neural underpinnings of transdiagnostic behavior in neurodevelopmental disorders. One of Nicola’s major passions is helping other transfer students get involved with research and is currently co-chair of UCSD’s Psi Chi Research Committee. In addition to the DNLab, she is a Data Documenter for Northwestern University’s Developmental Mechanisms (DevMech) Lab and a Clinical Interviewer at San Diego State University’s Translational Emotion and Neuroscience Development (TEND) Lab. In her free time, Nicola likes to paddleboard, camp, and play video games.