Director
Naomi Eisenberger is a Professor in the Social Psychology program at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is director of the Social and Affective Neuroscience laboratory as well as co-director of the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory.
Lab Members
Erica received her BA with her major in Psychology from the University of Chicago and her PhD in Psychology from UCLA. During her doctoral work, she conducted the first-ever examinations of the intersection of social support and Pavlovian fear learning processes, revealing that social support figures have unique effects on fear acquisition and extinction and have the potential to bring about long-term fear reduction. She has received funding from NSF and NIH to continue building this line of research during her postdoctoral work, examining the boundaries and underlying mechanisms of the effects of social support on fear learning as well as the potential of these effects for clinical application. Outside of science, she enjoys spending time with her daughter and drinking lots of coffee…most likely at the same time.
Mona completed her BS in Psychobiology and PhD in Psychology both at UCLA. Throughout her graduate and postdoctoral work, she has examined the reciprocal interactions between social psychological processes (e.g., social connection) and immunological processes (e.g., inflammation), as well as how these relationships are relevant for health, sex, and aging. For example, she has examined how experimentally increasing inflammation affects socioemotional responding, as well as sex differences in these effects. She has also received NIH funding to examine the other side of this relationship, by testing the effects of a social connection intervention on self-reported well-being and inflammatory markers. Outside of science, she enjoys reading political news and fiction books, watching TV comedies, and traveling with her husband.
Michael uses social and affective neuroscience approaches to investigate the biological basis and development of regulatory strategies utilized in social evaluative contexts (e.g., self-enhancement, self-compassion). Specifically, his research applies behavioral methods, functional neuroimaging, machine learning, computational modeling, and meta-analytic techniques to better understand the neural mechanisms underlying these forms of self-regulation. More broadly, Michael has long-term interests in understanding the full array of neurobiological and psychological processes involved in experiencing a sense of self (e.g., self-knowledge, self-evaluation, self-regulation).
Carrie received her BA in Psychology, Sociology, and Criminology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. At UCLA, she has been interested in the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the link between social relationships and health. Her dissertation examines the neural correlates of prosocial learning across development by utilizing reinforcement learning models to quantify and understand prosocial behavior. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her dog, eating dessert, and doing puzzles (both jigsaw and brain).
Razia received her B.A. from NYU in Psychology and Philosophy, and M.A. from Georgia State University in Neurophilosophy where she studied emotional intelligence and the social functions of emotions. Razia joined UCLA to examine how people manage their emotional states on their own and with help from others, as well as how emotional experiences and wellbeing are implicitly shaped by social relationships. Outside of the lab, Razia enjoys baking for friends, playing on the beach, and martial arts.
Laura received her B.A. from UC Berkeley in Cognitive Science and Human Geography. After graduating, she worked for two nonprofit organizations dedicated to solving community health issues. This brought the powerful relationship between social connection and health to the forefront of her mind, and inspired her to pursue a lab manager position with Dr. Tristen Inagaki at the Social Health and Affective Neuroscience Lab, where she investigated the neurobiology of social warmth. At UCLA, Laura’s research focuses on the neural and immune mechanisms underlying the health benefits of positive social emotions, and how kindness, social connection, and well-being spread within social networks. In her free time, Laura loves cooking for friends, going for long runs, impromptu dance parties, and exploring the beauty of nature on hiking/backpacking trips.
Lee completed a BA in Psychology with a minor in Disabilities Studies from UC Berkeley. During her time at UCLA, Lee has been broadly interested in studying prosocial behavior. Some of her current work explores how giving is linked to brain development and health, how prosocial behaviors can reduce the physiological stress response, and what factors may work to promote giving. In her free time, Lee loves going on long hikes, swimming in the ocean, cooking, and road tripping along the coast of California.
Isabelle received her BA in psychology at UNC Chapel Hill before pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology at UCLA. Isabelle is interested in researching loneliness in young adulthood as a transdiagnostic factor contributing to psychiatric disorders. She is particularly interested in investigating possible cognitive, behavioral, and social support interventions for reducing loneliness. Outside of lab, you can find Isabelle hanging out with her miniature schnauzer, Douglas.
Celeste received her B.S. from UC Irvine in Cognitive Neuroscience. After graduating, she worked for a neuroscience company where she conducted clinical research evaluating patient neurophysiological response to rTMS treatment. Much of her work focused on the impact social support has on mental health outcomes. Celeste is interested in utilizing functional neuroimaging and computational modeling to explore how social connectedness affects overall health, examining the neural networks processing social support figures, and exploring how these networks may change over time. Outside of the lab, Celeste enjoys hiking with friends, discovering new brunch eateries, and writing fiction.
Lab Manager
Kate E. Byrne Haltom is the SC/AN Labs manager and the lead project coordinator.
Lab Alumni
Benjamin Tabak is an Assistant Professor at Southern Methodist.
Janine Dutcher is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Carnegie Mellon University.
Liz Castle is a project coordinator with Ex-Consultants Agency.
Jared Torre is a data scientist at Adobe.
Tristen Inagaki is an Assistant Professor at San Diego State University.
Meghan Meyer is an Assistant Professor at Dartmouth University.
Kristina Tchalova is a graduate student at McGill University.
Ivana Jevtic is a researcher in Hawkwan Lau’s Lab, UCLA.
Katarina Dedovic is a Research Associate at Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University and Postdoctoral Fellow Affiliate.
Keely Muscatell is an Assistant Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Sylvia Morelli is an Assistant Professor at University of Illinois, Chicago.
Bob Spunt is a Postdoctoral Fellow at California Institute of Technology.
Eva Telzer is an Assistant Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Michael Jarcho is an Assistant Professor of neuroscience at Loras College.
George Slavich is an Assistant Professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA.
Baldwin Way is an Assistant Professor of psychology at The Ohio State University.
Carrie Masten is a Research Scientist at the State of California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.
Sarah Master is a Dean at Los Angeles Mission College.
Saskia Giebl is a graduate student at UCLA.