OUR TEAM
STEFANIE DREW, PHD
Professor, Department of Psychology
Co-Director, Psychological Science Graduate Program
Director, Pedagogy Fellowship Program
POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS
Researcher
Arianna Roby, M.A.
Ari, a post-graduate student of the Clinical Psychology program, is interested in investigating the effects of perceived gender expression and identity on folks from the LGBTQ+ community through VR. They are also interested in exploring the efficacy of evidence-based treatments and technology to treat PTSD and trauma experienced by individuals in the LGBTQ+ community.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Researcher
Ivan Alatorre
Ivan is a first-year graduate student in the psychological science program and an NIH Bridges to the Ph.D. program with research interests in decision-making and health behaviors. He is interested in examining the role future-oriented ways of thinking play on behaviors such as physical activity engagement.
Researcher / Co-Lab Manager
Eleni Benchek
Eleni is a second-year graduate student in the Psychological Science program and an NIH Bridges to the Ph.D. trainee with research interests combining cognitive psychology and education. Her research focuses on science and math learning, underrepresented students in STEM, and technology used for instruction.
Researcher
Ann Hillary Buenafe
Ann Hillary Buenafe is a first-year graduate student in the Psychological Science program and a TIPs instructor here at CSUN. Her research interest is in the realm of cognitive psychology and psychophysics.
Researcher
Brian Burr
Brian is an incoming graduate student for the fall of 2024. His research interests revolve around the use of innovative technology to address anxiety.
Researcher
Ethan Castanon
Ethan is an incoming graduate student for the fall of 2024. His research interests revolve around utilizing mixed-reality devices to improve daily functioning.
Researcher
Carlos Couzin
Carlos Couzin is an incoming graduate student for Fall 2024. His research interests include examining user behavior, satisfaction, symptoms, and immersion across various Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality mediums.
Researcher
Dante del Rosario
Dante's current research interests are cognition and its integration with technology, specifically how people think and seeing if it can be further analyzed with the usage of VR. His sub-interests, and a future goal, is to research ADHD and how those with ADHD-like symptoms interact with technology.
Researcher
Ronald Gutierrez
Ron is an incoming graduate student for the fall of 2024. His research interests revolve around the intersection of psychology and technology.
POST-BACCLAUREATE STUDENTS
Researcher
Olivia Ramos Jacquez
Olivia Ramos Jacquez has her BA in psychology with a minor in Child and Adolescent Development. She was a 2020-2022 BUILD PODER scholar. Her current interests are cognition, and neuroscience, and she is the co-lead on a study primarily examining the efficacy of EEG systems
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Researcher
Katrina Bortfeld
Katrina Bortfeld is currently a third year student majoring in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Science. She is in the U-Rise program for the 2023-2025 academic school years. Katrina’s research interest is any and all subjects related to the mind-body connection.
Researcher
Mariah Duran
Mariah Duran is currently a junior student majoring in Psychology. She is in the U-Rise program
for the 2023-2025 academic school years. Mariah’s Research Interest include cognitive
psychology, neuroscience, and abnormal disorders.
Researcher
Alberto Guerra Lopez
Alberto was a U-R.I.S.E scholar for the 2021-2023 school years and is also part of the V.I.S.N lab. His research interests include helping research the effects of mindfulness and impacts that it has on the brain as well as the transference of spatial learning from virtual environments to the real world.
Research Assistant
Onyx Harrison
Onyx is a sophomore majoring in Psychology. They are currently exploring their interests within the psychological field, however, within the lab their inquiries surround behavior and social relations, visual cues and fashion, diversity within psychology, and the relationships between fashion, gender expression, and perception of gender.
Research Assistant
Casper Stubberud
Casper is a freshman majoring in Psychology. He is currently looking at different interests in the field of psychology but is currently interested in sports psychology, social psychology, and psychology in media.
RESEARCH COLLABORATORS
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