People
Principal Investigator
Mara Mather, PhD
Professor of Gerontology, Psychology, and Biomedical Engineering
Together with her lab members and research collaborators, she has conducted innovative work on the critical role of the noradrenergic system in cognition and aging, how emotion and emotional arousal affect cognition, and how inducing heart rate oscillatory activity benefits emotional brain networks and the aging brain. Her current research mission is to use physiological interventions to slow brain aging.
Research Faculty
Kaoru Nashiro, PhD
Research Associate Professor
Current Research Interests: My research interests include understanding the underlying mechanisms of emotional well-being, emotion regulation, cognitive control, interoception and mindfulness across the adult lifespan.
Research Scientists
Martin Dahl, PhD
Affiliated Research Scientist (based at MPI for Human Development in Berlin, Germany)
Current Research Interests: How noradrenergic neuromodulation shapes the communication in the brain. The influence of age- and disease-related changes in the locus coeruleus norepinephrine system on cognition.
Hyun Joo Yoo, PhD
Research Scientist
Current Research Interests: The relationships between brain function, physiological response, and emotion regulation. Effects of arousal on memory and cognition.
Post Doctoral Scholars
Martina D’Agostini, PhD
Post Doctoral Scholar
Current Research Interests: I am particularly interested in studying the effects of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on the locus coeruleus activity. Specifically, my most recent work has focused on the effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) and slow deep breathing in young adults. Currently, I aim to test and compare the effects of tVNS on the LC in young and older adults. I am also particularly interested in revealing potential demographic differences in LC integrity by looking at demographic differences in LC MRI contrast.
Andy Kim, PhD
Post Doctoral Scholar
Current Research Interests: The mechanisms by which noradrenergic activity modulates age-related distractibility.
Jungwon Min
Post Doctoral Scholar
Current Research Interests: How decision making interacts with emotion and how that interaction is modulated by developmental stages, how activity in the locus coeruleus affects memory and attention, employing various research methods to better measure emotion and cognition.
Graduate Students
Kalekirstos Alemu
Graduate Student
Current Research Interests: Interventions to improve autonomic function, specifically increasing parasympathetic activity, to enhance regulatory control of brain regions involved in emotion and cognition in older adults.
Wenhui Zhao
Graduate Student
Current Research Interests: My research interest lies in leveraging advanced brain imaging techniques and multivariate statistical methods to explore the functions of locus coeruleus (LC) and its relationships with human cognition and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), providing insights into future applications.
Staff
Christine Cho
Project Manager
Current Research Interests: The effects of aging on memory and cognition; the relationship between emotion, stress, and behavior; neuropsychological effects of trauma.
Paul Choi
Project Assistant
Current Research Interest: Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling to investigate the underlying mechanisms of psychophysiology across age; specifically, how heart rate variability can affect cognition (memory, attention) and subjective well-being. Examining survey and assessment psychometric properties for test efficacy.
Juliana Lee
Project Assistant
Current Research Interest: coming soon…
Ariel Danielle Ramirez
Project Assistant
Current Research Interest: My research interests focus on understanding how stress, emotions, decision-making, and lifestyle factors contribute to changes in cognition throughout life. I aim to explore how these elements shape daily functioning and how insight from this research can be applied in medical settings to improve well-being and cognitive health across lifespan.
Former Lab Members’ Websites and Publications
Shelby Bachman, PhD
Research Scientist, VivoSense (LinkedIn, Google Scholar)
Sarah Barber, PhD
Associate Professor, Gerontology and Psychology, Georgia State University (Publications, Lab)
David Clewett, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (Publications, Webpage)
Kelly Durbin, PhD
Clinical Neuropsychology Fellow, University of California, Los Angeles (Publications, LinkedIn)
Shubir Dutt, PhD
Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Fellow, UCSF Memory & Aging Center (Publications, LinkedIn)
Sara Gallant, PhD
Senior Research Associate, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada (Publications, LinkedIn)
Steven Greening, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Canada (Publications, Website)
Ringo Huang
PhD Candidate, University of California, Los Angeles (Publications)
Briana Kennedy, PhD
Tenure-Track Lecturer, School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia (Webpage)
Marisa Knight, PhD
Associate Professor, Psychology Department, University of San Francisco (Webpage)
Tae-Ho Lee, PhD
Assistant Professor, Psychology Department, Virginia Tech (Publications, Lab)
Nichole Lighthall, PhD
Assistant Professor, Psychology Department, University of Central Florida (Publications, Lab)
Bruna Martins-Klein, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California (Publications, Webpage)
Padideh Nasseri, PhD
Research Data Supervisor I, California Department of Social Services (LinkedIn)
Shawn Nielsen Alvarado, PhD
Field Application Scientist, Molecular Devices (Publications, LinkedIn)
Deanna Novak Carey, PhD
User Experience Researcher, Google (Linkedin)
Phil Opitz, PhD
Research Science Leader, Amazon (LinkedIn)
Allison Ponzio, PhD
Honors Research in Science Program Head, Marlborough School (Publications, LinkedIn)
Shai Porat, PhD
Senior Clinical Project Manager, RapidAI (LinkedIn)
Michiko Sakaki, PhD
Assistant Professor, Educational Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology, University of Tübingen (Publications, Webpage)
Jo Ann Sison, PhD
Principal UX Researcher at Johnson & Johnson, Robotics and Digital Solutions (LinkedIn)
Diana Wang, PhD
Research & Development Consultant, ZS (Publications, LinkedIn)
Alex Ycaza Herrera, PhD
Research Associate, EVALCORP Research & Consulting (Publications, LinkedIn, Personal Website)