Director
Tiffany Ho, Ph.D.
Dr. Tiffany Ho is the director of the CANDY lab and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at UCLA. Dr. Ho studied Cognitive Science as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley before earning her Ph.D. in Psychology at UC San Diego. Dr. Ho returned to the Bay Area to receive postdoctoral training in clinical neuroscience at UC San Francisco in the Department of Psychiatry and in affective science at Stanford University in the Department of Psychology. From 2018-2019, Dr. Ho was an Instructor at Stanford University in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. From 2019-2022, Dr. Ho was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UC San Francisco. Outside of the lab, Dr. Ho enjoys checking out open houses and new restaurants with her husband and two kids.
Study Coordinators
Sara Wong – Lab Manager
Sara Wong (she/her/hers) graduated from Emory University in 2023 with her M.A. in Clinical Psychology. She is interested in the interaction of affective and cognitive processes in the context of developmental psychopathology and aims to obtain a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and become a pediatric neuropsychologist.
Tiffany Widjaja – Lab Manager
Tiff Widjaja (she/her/hers) graduated from UC San Diego in 2023 with a B.S. in Clinical Psychology and a minor in Cognitive Science. She is broadly interested in adolescent neurodevelopment and mood disorders and aims to obtain a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Abby Droeger
Abby Droeger (she/her/hers) graduated from The New School for Social Research in 2023 with her M.A. in Psychology. She is working as a DBT skills coach for Evolve treatment center. She hopes to eventually get her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and is broadly interested in how parenting styles impact development and psychopathology.
Paris Taylor
Paris graduated from Columbia University in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology/Neuroscience & Behavior. She is a mental health coach at Prospera and specializes in perinatal wellness. She is interested in how stress, including experiences of discrimination and adversity, affect the brain and hopes to eventually get a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
Michelle Hsieh
Michelle Hsieh (she/her/hers) earned her B.S. in Statistics from UCLA in 2020. Currently, she works as an Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) coach at PCH Treatment Center, where she specializes in guiding clients with OCD through exposure sessions. She is interested in understanding the psychopathological development of social and emotional functioning in adolescents. Michelle aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, driven by her passion for enhancing mental health interventions and support systems for youth.
Graduate Students
Collaborating Graduate Students
Haley Wang
Haley is a fourth-year doctoral student at UCLA in the Clinical area working under the mentorship of Dr. Katie Karlsgodt. She completed her BSc at Beijing Normal University and MSc at King’s College London then worked at the Imaging Research Center at UC Davis before coming to UCLA. Haley is interested in using computational methods to map brain network heterogeneity with transdiagnostic symptom dimensions. Outside of the lab, she enjoys rock climbing, scuba diving, and spending time with her dog.
Saché Coury
Saché is a first-year doctoral student at UCLA in the Developmental area working under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Silvers. She received a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University and worked with Dr. Ian Gotlib on a wide range of longitudinal neuroimaging studies examining the effects of early adversity and depression on adolescent brain development.
Elizabeth McNeilly
Elizabeth is a fourth-year doctoral student at the University of Oregon in the Clinical area working under the mentorship of Dr. Nicholas Allen. She is focused on understanding the effects of social media usage on adolescent brain development and mental health outcomes and leveraging passive sensing technology as a lens for assessing cognition and affect ecologically.
Amar Ojha
Amar is a fourth-year doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh in Neuroscience working under the mentorship of Drs. Bea Luna and Cecile Ladouceur. He received a B.A. in Neuroscience and Philosophy from Bates College and worked with Dr. Ian Gotlib at Stanford University on a wide range of longitudinal neuroimaging examining the effects of early adversity and depression on the developing brain.
Collaborating Postdoctoral Scientists
Jennifer Somers, Ph.D.
Jenn Somers (she/her/hers) is an NIMH-funded postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Psychology at UCLA working with Dr. Steve Lee. Before starting at UCLA, Jenn earned her doctorate in clinical psychology at Arizona State University. Her research interest is in biobehavioral processes through which close relationships can support or hinder socioemotional functioning and psychological adjustment, especially among children and caregivers who are at risk for developing mental health problems. By evaluating biobehavioral processes that unfold between children and their caregivers across multiple timescales (e.g., second-by-second processes that occur during social interactions, longer-term adaptation that unfolds across development), this research provides a framework for characterizing the effects of early social experiences on children’s development, which bears implications for both children and their caregiver’s wellbeing. Outside of the lab, Jenn enjoys spending time with friends and family, trying new recipes, and going to the beach with her rescue dog Rosie.
Aileen Echiverri-Cohen
Dr. Echiverri-Cohen is a project scientist and leads clinical assessment training for the CANDY Lab. In addition to seeing patients in private practice, Dr. Echiverri-Cohen works at the UCLA Anxiety and Depression Research Center directed by Dr. Michelle Craske.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Eden Alter
Eden is a junior at the University of California, Los Angeles studying Cognitive Science. Her research interests include psychopharmacology, the physiological underpinnings of various mental disorders, and human-environment interaction. When not in the lab, she enjoys going outdoors and exploring the LA area. Eden hopes to attend graduate school and pursue a career in academia and research.
Michael Srouji
Michael is a senior at the University of California, Los Angeles studying Psychology and Communications. His research interests include PTSD and depression, their underlying neurological systems, and their intersection with mindfulness. When not in the lab, he enjoys running and playing video games. Michael hopes to attend graduate school and pursue a career as a clinical psychologist.
Cheryl Sun
Cheryl is a senior at the University of California, Los Angeles studying Psychology. Her research interests include how social factors influence the development, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders. When not in the lab, she enjoys baking and traveling. Cheryl hopes to apply to a clinical psychology program and continue to be involved in research in the future.
Adriana Schaff
Adriana is a junior at the University of California, Los Angeles studying Neuroscience. Her research interests include OCD, eating disorders, depression, and anxiety. When not in the lab, she enjoys drawing, writing, reading, and watching horror movies. Adriana hopes to become a psychiatrist and work on research focused on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Akansha Magal
Akansha is a junior at the University of California, Los Angeles studying Neuroscience. Her research interests include adversity response and intervention as well as the effects of early-life stressors. When not in the lab, she enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, trying new foods, and cuddling with cats. Akansha hopes to attend graduate school and pursue a career as an academic researcher to explore factors that promote emotional and physical well-being for children and adolescents who have experienced trauma.
Kennedy Shultz
Kennedy is a freshman at the University of California, Los Angeles studying Psychobiology. Her research interests include clinical psychology and neuroimaging. When not in the lab, she enjoys reading and spending time with friends. Kennedy hopes to attend medical school and become a psychiatrist.
Lia Bae
Lia is a freshman at the University of California, Los Angeles studying Psychobiology. Her research interests include developmental psychology and the biological causes of depression and cognitive disorders in young adults. When not in the lab, she enjoys advocating for mental health justice. Lia hopes to attend medical school and become a pediatric psychiatrist to help children struggling with mental health.
Volunteers
Alumni
Mikaela Kupfer (Staff)
Natalie VanderNoot (Staff)
Brett Crosby (Undergraduate RA)
Naina Pasricha (Undergraduate RA)
Crystal Hsueh (Undergraduate RA)
Ariel Wang (Undergraduate RA)