Team

Lab director

Monica Thieu, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, Cognition, & Behavior at the University of San Diego. She uses behavioral, computational modeling, and neuroimaging methods to quantify the contributions of perceptual information to emotional experience. She also contributes to community maintenance for open-source scientific computing software.

Monica earned her B.A. in psychology from Stanford University under Drs. Melina Uncapher and Anthony Wagner, where she also worked as a lab manager, and her Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University under Dr. Kevin Ochsner. She then completed postdoctoral training as an NIH IRACDA FIRST fellow at Emory University, both in research under Dr. Philip Kragel, and in teaching at Spelman College under Dr. Jimmeka Wright.

CV

Undergraduate research assistants

Ari Bradford, ’26 is an undergraduate student at the University of San Diego, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience with a minor in Philosophy. Her acadmic interests focus on the intersection of neuroscience with the human experience. Her research interests include Alzheimer’s disease, psychiatric disorders, and the neural mechanisms underlying emotion.

Sonya Patel, ’29 will graduate from the University of San Diego ’29 with a B.A. in Psychology and minor in Cognitive Science. She is interested in understanding the structures of the brain and how they relate to our internal beliefs and behaviors. She plans on pursuing her PhD in clinical psychology. Her current studies include childhood adolescence & development and neuroscience statistics.

Sophie Johnston,’29 is a student majoring in Neuroscience at the University of San Diego. Her research interests focus on the intersection between Neuroscience and Engineering, with a particular focus on brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. Her academic path reflects a passion in advancing neurotechnology, while preparing to translate innovations into the Business and Entrepreneurial sphere. She is especially motivated by the challenge of developing BCI tools that can restore function and expand human–machine interaction, redefining how humans connect with technology.

If you are an interested USD student, please contact Dr. Thieu to submit a statement of interest! I recruit research assistants on a fluctuating, rolling basis depending on project needs and fit.