*This page is currently in progress*
Principal Investigator: Vanessa Brown, PhD
I am an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Emory University since January 2024. Previously, I was an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. I completed my PhD in clinical psychology with Pearl Chiu in the Department of Psychology and at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech, my clinical internship at Western Psychiatric Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh with Alex Dombrovski and Rebecca Price.
I study how psychiatric disorders like anxiety and depression are related to maladaptive decision making. My research examines how such disorders are related to problems learning from and choosing actions based on positive and negative information in the environment. To do so, I use computational models of behavior (primarily reinforcement learning) and neuroimaging (primarily fMRI). My long term goal is to better define these disorders and develop and refine treatment approaches.
In my free time, I enjoy running, gardening, reading, and exploring new places.
Lab Manager: Julia Borthwick
Research Specialist: Jayati Maram
Jayati graduated from UVA in 2024 with a degree in biomedical engineering. Her research interests include using computational modeling to understand the neural mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders. Her long-term research goals are to improve translational medicine for clinical populations.
If Jayati could live in any cinematic universe, she would want to be in the SpongeBob SquarePants world. Jayati would be a regular at the Krusty Krab!
Undergraduate RA: Janvi Choksi
Undergraduate RA: Amy Lu
Undergraduate RA: Mary Guan
Undergraduate RA: Erin Yi
Undergraduate RA: Srija Potluri
Undergraduate RA: Sunny Xie
Sunny is sophomore studying psychology. Sunny is primarily interested in mental health research, especially the role of biological mechanisms in psychiatric disorders.
If Sunny could exist in any cinematic universe, she would jump into the Inside Out world because she would love to find out which emotions work together when she is making decisions and which emotions typically dominate her mind. Her favorite character from Inside Out is Embarrassment because of his warmth and eagerness to help his friends.
Undergraduate RA: Joeli Luong
Joeli is a senior studying quantitative sciences on the psychology track. Her research interests include computational and mathematical modeling of decision making in psychopathology and behavioral game theory (fun fact: game theory is her favorite class this semester).
If Joeli could live in any cinematic universe, she thinks she would either be in the Harry Potter or How to Train Your Dragon world.
Pet Member: Karl
Karl enjoys watching birds, napping in the sun, and training his owner Vanessa to give more back rubs.
Pet Member: Jasper
Other Random Pictures!
