Meet the Team!

Dr. Jillian Lee Wiggins

Director
Email: jillian.wiggins@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-2188

Research Interests: We study brain activation patterns involved in typical and impaired socio-emotional development (for example, social interaction with other people, reading people’s emotions, and reacting to people’s facial expressions). In particular, we are interested in understanding factors (e.g., genetics, social, family) that affect brain function in children and adolescents without disorders, in addition to youth with autism, depression, anxiety, and irritability symptoms. To accomplish this, we use functional MRI, functional connectivity, and genetic, behavioral, and neuropsychological tools. Dr. Wiggins is happy to talk with any interested students about these research topics.

Doctoral Students

Johanna Walker

Doctoral Student
Email: jcwalker@sdsu.edu

Career Goals: I am working towards my Ph.D. in clinical psychology in the SDSU/UCSD joint doctoral program with a focus on experimental psychopathology. I am planning to pursue a career in independent research in a multidisciplinary academic setting in the future.

Research Interests: I am interested in the neural correlates of cognitive biases and emotion dysregulation that influence the development and maintenance of psychopathology in youth. Specifically, I am interested in using multimodal assessments (e.g., neural, physiological, cognitive, socio-emotional) to examine how these mechanisms explain the manifestations of issues, such as changes in attention, memory, and information processing, that contribute to the experience of internalizing disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Ruiyu Yang

Doctoral Student
Email: ryang7428@sdsu.edu

Career Goals: I am currently a first-year doctoral student working toward my Ph.D. in clinical psychology in the SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program with a focus on experimental psychopathology. My career goal is to conduct independent research in the field of translational and affective neuroscience.

Research Interests: I am interested in examining the underlying mechanisms of neurodevelopmental and affective disorders with a combination of behavioral and neuroimaging tools. In particular, I look into the dynamic interactions among neurobiological processes, social and cultural conditions, and environmental factors and how these interactions manifest along the developmental trajectories in children and adolescents.

Grace Cotter

Doctoral Student
Email: gcotter8662@sdsu.edu 

Career Goals: I am obtaining my Ph.D. in clinical psychology in the SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program focusing on experimental psychopathology. I intend to pursue a career in psychological research at an academic institution.

Research Interests: My research focuses on child and adolescent psychopathology, with an emphasis on irritability and anger. I use neuroimaging and behavioral methods to study the neural correlates and mechanisms of psychopathology, as well as how lived experiences (e.g., trauma exposure and peer dynamics) influence its development and maintenance.

Master’s Students

Alexa Duran

Master’s Student
Email: aduran6298@sdsu.edu

Career Goals: I am currently pursuing a master’s degree in Psychology at SDSU. I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology after graduation to ultimately become a clinical scientist focused on leveraging neurodevelopment to inform better mental health treatments for adolescents.

Research Interests: I am interested in using brain imaging methods to understand the mechanisms of emotional functioning that contribute to the onset and progression of mental disorders in adolescents. I am excited to examine longitudinal differences in emotional functioning to uncover how we can use this knowledge to inform future interventions.

Munira Binte Hasan

Master’s Student
Email: mhasan9499@sdsu.edu

Career Goals: As a first-year master’s student at San Diego State University, my career goal is to become a clinical scientist specializing in youth mental health. I aim to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. My ultimate objective is to conduct innovative research that advances our understanding of youth mental health issues and contributes to the development of more effective interventions and treatments. I hope to play a significant role in improving mental health outcomes for children and adolescents.

Research Interests: I am interested in understanding the mechanisms of emotion regulation in children and adolescents, particularly as they relate to the development of internalizing disorders. I want to explore how different patterns of emotion regulation contribute to healthy development and mental health outcomes. I’m excited to use brain imaging methods like MRI and fMRI to investigate these processes. By studying emotion dysregulation in early childhood, especially in toddlers, I hope to uncover insights that can inform future interventions for improving mental health in young populations

Victoria Medina

Master’s Student
Email: vmedina3462@sdsu.edu

Career Goals: Having earned my B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Child Development, I am working toward my M.A. in psychology. After graduating, I plan to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in developmental/clinical psychology. I plan to work as a professor and researcher, informing and developing accessible treatments for youth with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Research Interests: I am interested in developmental psychopathology and developing treatments for ASD and anxiety disorders. I want to study the interaction between brain development and social functioning, leveraging this to better inform and create methods of treatment for these disorders. I want to investigate the cognitive and neural underpinnings of emotion regulation in children, particularly those with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD and ADHD.

Lab Staff

Brianna Hernandez

Project Coordinator/Lab Manager
Email: bhernandez3@sdsu.edu

Career goals: With my M.A. in Developmental Psychology from San Francisco State University, I intend to pursue my PhD in Counseling or Clinical Psychology, with the goal of becoming both a licensed clinician and researcher in an academic or clinical research setting.
Research interests: Broadly, I’m interested in learning more about how minoritized and underserved groups, particularly those who are often stigmatized in the U.S., make sense of their experiences with stigma, prejudice, and discrimination. I am also interested in how these experiences influence mental health outcomes (e.g., willingness to seek help), and I’d like to identify factors and mechanisms that buffer against poorer outcomes. As a Latina, I also have a particular interest in conducting research with Latinx populations.

Grace Kathman

Project Coordinator
Email: gkathman@sdsu.edu 

Career Goals: Having earned my B.A. in Psychology from San Diego State University, I plan to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and work as a professor and researcher. I hope to play a significant role in understanding how we can improve mental health across the lifespan.

Research Interests: My research interests include developmental psychopathology, cognitive neuroscience, and social psychology. I am particularly interested in exploring how intersectionality influences developmental processes and mental health outcomes.

Ashutosh Ambley Manoj

Project Programmer
Email: aambleymanoj@sdsu.edu
Career Goals: I aim to build impactful AI-driven systems at the intersection of machine learning, computer vision, and large-scale distributed computing. My long-term goal is to contribute to cutting-edge research and translate it into products that solve real-world challenges in fields like autonomous systems, healthcare, and scientific computing. I am also passionate about creating intuitive, human-centered AI tools that make advanced technology more accessible.

Research Interests: My research interests include deep learning, computer vision (especially segmentation, object detection, and inpainting), large language models, multimodal AI, and systems for efficient AI model training and deployment. I am particularly fascinated by how AI can be used for interactive visual understanding, spatiotemporal data analysis, and building responsive, real-time applications.

Research Assistants

Madelin Gredvig

Research Assistant
Email: mgredvig2350@sdsu.edu

Career Goals: I am working towards my bachelor’s degree in Psychology. After graduating, I hope to continue my education and gain a Ph.D. in Neuropsychology. Ultimately, I want to help better our understanding of brain injuries and disorders and how we can improve the lives of those with them.

Research Interests: I am interested in how the brain forms our existence and lives through personality, temperament, and experiences. I am especially interested in researching how different disorders or injuries can impact these qualities and the brain.

Kayla Ta

Research Assistant
Email: kmta@sdsu.edu

Career Goals: With my B.A. in Psychology from San Diego State University, I later plan to pursue a master’s degree in social work. My goal is to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Research Interests: My focus is on how effectively evidence-based interventions will enhance emotional well-being in children and families impacted by psychological and developmental challenges. More specifically, I am interested in learning how we can utilize neuroscientific tools to deepen our understanding of children’s cognitive processing and emotional regulation.

Natalie Raviv

Research Assistant
Email: nraviv7436@sdsu.edu

Career Goals: I am currently pursing a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and double majoring in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. After graduation, I plan to pursue a Master’s in Speech Pathology. Ultimately, I hope to work as speech-language pathologist for children and help others.

Research Interests: My research interests include mental health and speech pathology. I am interested in the functioning, communication, and development of people, and how disorders impact these things.

Hannah Serrano

Research Assistant
Email: mserrano0501@sdsu.edu

Career Goals: Currently, I’m working towards my bachelor’s degree in Psychology and I hope to further my education and work toward a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology. My ultimate goal to eventually conduct research concerning children’s behavior.

Research Interests: As mentioned above, I am interested in the behavior of children and adolescents. My interest is especially piqued with the way that individual parenting styles can affect the externalized and internalized behavior of the child.

Caitlin Jensen

Research Assistant
Email: cjensen2690@sdsu.edu   

Career Goals: I’m in my final year of undergrad at San Diego State, getting ready to graduate in the spring with my B.A. in Psychology and minors in Child Development and Counseling and Social Change. I hope to go on and earn my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and work with adolescents and young adults in treating anxiety and depression.

Research Interests: My primary interest is how the treatment of our bodies, especially what we eat, affects our mental health in regards to anxiety and depression. I find the gut-brain connection to be fascinating and am curious to see how symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders are correlated to this connection. I want to gain more knowledge on this relationship and how diet can affect functioning of the brain.

Nami Iruthayarajah

Research Assistant
Email: niruthayarajah@sdsu.edu     

Career Goals: I am currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with double minors in Counseling and Social Change and Interdisciplinary Studies. Following graduation, I intend to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. My ultimate aspiration is to establish my own practice that integrates principles of social psychology and neuropsychology to provide care for BIPOC.

Research Interests: My research interest lies in wanting to bridge a gap between BIPOC mental health issues and neuropsychology, specifically working with children, teenagers, and young adults. More specifically, I am interested in how things such as stigma, racial-based trauma, and stereotypes affect BIPOC communities looking for science-based evidence through neuroscience to back up my claims.

Jill Peterson

Research Assistant
Email: jpeterson3272@sdsu.edu

Career Goals: I plan on earning my BA in psychology with a minor in sociology by December of 2025! I would love to go to grad school and study developmental psychology and work with children. Working with kids has always been my passion and I would love to work with youth and help with finding treatments and bettering mental health and developmental disabilities for kids.

Research Interests: I am interested in studying brain development in children and emotional regulation and development of psychological disorders. I am eager to look at and study children and youth to see how their experiences affect development and furthering treatment plans and improving mental health for future generations.

Callie Watson

Research Assistant
Email: cwatson5925@sdsu.edu      

Career Goals: I am currently working toward my bachelors degree in Psychology with an Emphasis in Neuroscience. I plan to go to graduate school to either get my Master’s in Counseling or Ph.D in Clinical Psychology. I hope to one day conduct child mental health care whether that be in a counseling or clinical setting.

Research Interests: I am passionate about helping children with trauma who experience anxiety, depression, or PTSD. Additionally, I am interested in the field of developmental psychology and learning more about the factors that influence our behavior and personality growing up.

Rose Gomez

Research Assistant
Email: rgomez7581@sdsu.edu  

Career Goals: I am currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Neuropsychology and a minor in Family and Child Development. As I approach graduation, I plan to gain further research experience to deepen my understanding of both psychological theory and research methodology. I believe this foundation will be critical as I work toward my long-term goal of earning a Ph.D. in Neuropsychology. I am especially passionate about children’s mental health and hope to continue researching this area while applying my findings in clinical settings. Ultimately, I aspire to become a licensed Neuropsychologist, working with children and families in hospitals or private practice—and eventually, I hope to open my own clinic that integrates evidence-based care with continued research and community support.

Research Interests: My primary research interest lies in child development, with a focus on understanding why children respond to situations the way they do—emotionally, behaviorally, and neurologically. I am particularly interested in how early experiences such as trauma and neglect impact brain development, mental health, and overall well-being. I want to explore the physical and psychological effects of these experiences and how they influence long-term development. Additionally, I am deeply interested in the development of mental health in children and how to support them in building healthy coping mechanisms. Through research and clinical experience, I hope to contribute to creating effective, compassionate interventions that help children heal and thrive. Working with children is a passion of mine, and I am committed to becoming a stronger advocate and asset to their well-being.

Myah Tuupo

Research Assistant
Email: mtuupo9774@sdsu.edu     

Career Goals: I am currently in my undergrad pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Neuroscience and a minor in Child Development. After graduating, I hope to pursue my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. My long-term goal would be to work as a clinical psychologist, working primarily with adolescents dealing with anxiety, depression, OCD, and other disorders in a private practice or hospital setting.

Research Interests: I am really interested in understanding more about the adolescent brain and how its functions affect behavior. I am intrigued by how early life experiences, family environments, and developmental factors contribute to the onset of mental disorders. Not only this, but how evidence-based interventions and tailored treatments can help aid children’s mental health.

Rebecca Espat

Research Assistant
Email: respat1173@sdsu.edu  

Career Goals: I am a current senior preparing to graduate in the spring with my B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Child Development. After completing my bachelor’s degree, I plan to pursue a master’s degree and become a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT).

Research Interests: I am interested in understanding the social, emotional, and developmental factors that influence mental health in children and families. Furthermore, I would like to learn how to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice to better support children and families facing emotional or behavioral challenges. I am also drawn to exploring how counseling and therapeutic interventions can promote resilience, foster healthy relationships, and facilitate positive emotional growth.