Tristen Inagaki, PhD
Lab Director
Tristen is an associate professor in the department of psychology at San Diego State University and a mentor in the SDSU-UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. Before moving to San Diego, she was an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh in the Biological-Health and Social areas and received her PhD at UCLA.
Email: tinagaki@sdsu.edu
Sarah Dembling
Doctoral Student
Sarah is a student in the Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. After graduating from Dickinson College with a major in Neuroscience, she pursued behavioral neuroscience research at the NIH. She then worked as a project coordinator at the University of Oregon’s Developmental Social Neuroscience lab. Sarah is interested in using multimodal methods (e.g. neuroimaging, behavioral assessment, physiological measures) to learn about mechanisms related to social support and health.
Seo Young Yoo
Doctoral Student
Seo Young is a student in the Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. She obtained her bachelor’s in Neuroscience from Princeton University and then worked as a project coordinator at UCLA’s Adolescent Development Lab and Mind-Body Research Lab. Her research interests primarily focus on the complex neurocognitive and behavioral mechanisms underlying the interactions between close social connection and physical, emotional, and mental well-being.
Caroline Steele
Project Coordinator
Caroline graduate from the University of California San Diego with a bachelor’s in Psychology, with a specialization in Clinical, and a minor in Biology. She is interested in how cultural upbringing and familial relationships influence one’s sense of identity, and the relationship between neuroscience and psychopathology. Caroline hopes to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology in the future.
Noa Aoyagi
Project Coordinator
Noa graduated from UCSD with a master’s in Global Health. She has done previous research to understand the historical and contemporary significance of Black midwives in the U.S. and how their work could help the current national health crisis. Noa hopes to develop her career in research and further her education in the future.
Current Research Assistants
Audrey Duane is majoring in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience and minoring in interdisciplinary studies. She is interested in the impact of social interaction and social determinants of health on psychological and physical well-being. She hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology.
Kylie Hawkins is majoring in psychology with a minor in cultural proficiency. She is interested in clinical psychology and hopes to pursue a career in psychiatry.
Eleanor Chun is majoring in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience with a minor in child and family development. She is interested in child psychopathology + behavioral neuroscience and intends to pursue a career in the medical field.
Tina Campos is majoring in psychology and minoring in child development. She is very interested in behavior analysis, social impacts on behavior, and mood disorders, and hopes to be able to integrate those topics into her work in the future. Her goal is to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology and work primarily with adolescents.
Ella Leeb is majoring in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience and minoring in women’s studies. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in either social neuroscience or clinical psychology. She is particularly interested in the brain mechanisms underlying subjects such as empathy, relationships, prejudice, and social isolation, and hopes to explore how these factors relate to mental and physical health.
Hana Ibarra graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s in Psychological and Brain Sciences and a minor in Applied Psychology. She hopes to pursue a PhD in social neuroscience to expand on her previous research on interoception and empathy in romantic couples.
Myah Tuupo is majoring in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience and a minor in child development. She is interested in environmental impacts and developmental factors that contribute to the onset of mental disorders. She plans to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology in the future.
Recent Lab Alumni
Zoe Damon (Project Coordinator) – Lab Manager of the Brain & Body Lab at the University of California, Los Angeles (Summer 2025)
Alexis Pinela (Project Coordinator) – Graduate student in Social-Personality area of Psychology at Wayne State University (Fall 2024)
Molly Gonenne (Project Coordinator) – Graduate student in Clinical Science at the University of Southern California (Fall 2024)
Alicia Assang (MA student)
Isabela Cruz-Vespa (NIH-supported postbacc researcher) – Graduate Student in Public Health at University of California, Los Angeles (Fall 2024)
Nicole Abaya (MA student) – Research Associate with the Cognitive Dynamics Lab, Department of Psychiatry, UCSD
Andrea Chavira – full-time research assistant at the South Bay Latino Research Center (Spring 2025)
Grace Kathman – project coordinator at San Diego State University (Fall 2024)
Nancy Huynh – lab manager at the University of Arizona (Spring 2024)
Julie Kersey – graduate student in Rehabilitating Counseling at San Diego State University (Fall 2023)
Naomi Crone – graduate student in Psychology at Alliant University (Fall 2023)
Kassandra Vasquez – graduate student in Psychology at Alliant University (Fall 2022)
Solana Kenyon – graduate student in Psychology & Neuroscience at Maastricht University (Fall 2021)
Social-Health and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory 