Dr. Uma Rao

Dr. Rao is the Lead Researcher of the UCI BRoAD Lab, a professor of Psychiatry & Human Behavior at the UCI School of Medicine, and the Director of Education and Research in Psychiatry at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC).  She completed her training in General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the State University of New York at Stony Brook as well as a post-doctoral research fellowship in child Psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. She is board certified in General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Since completing training, she has had academic as well as clinical and research leadership positions in several nationally and internationally recognized academic institutions until she joined UCI in April 2017.  Dr. Rao has been involved in mood and substance use disorders research for over 25 years. Her primary areas of interest are adolescent depressive and addictive disorders, including neurobiological and psychosocial predictors of first onset and longitudinal clinical course in youth with familial and/or environmental risk, developmental/ethnic influences on the phenomenology and neurobiological processes, and translational intervention research. Recently, she has extended her work to include physical/medical conditions that frequently co-occur with these disorders, specifically obesity and pain, from a health disparities perspective.  Dr. Rao has published numerous research articles and has received awards from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Indo-American Psychiatric Association and community agencies for scientific and volunteer contributions. She has served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals and currently is the editor of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry News.

Velma McBride Murry, Ph.D

Dr. Murry is a nationally recognized expert examining ways in which racism affects family processes, behavior, and health outcomes of families. At Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, she holds the Endowed Lois Autrey Betts Chair, Education and Human Development, Joe B. Wyatt Distinguished University Professor, Co-Director of Vanderbilt Medical Center, CTSA, Community Engagement Research Core, Professor, Human and Organizational Development and Co-Director of the Community Engagement Research Core.  In addition to her renowned service at Vanderbilt, she is a Distinguished Senior Research Fellow at the George Brown School of Social Work at Washington University of St. Louis. She serves on several national boards, including Foundation of Child Development Board of Directors, National Academy of Medicine, Culture of Health Advisory Board, and Blueprints Advisory Board of Directors, to name a few.  Dr. Murry has published over 125 papers, presented her work in national and international conferences, and has received more than 25 external grants as principal investigator or co-principal investigator to fund her research activities. Her work is regularly published in premier journals such as Society for Research on Adolescence, Journal of Adolescent Health, Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology; Prevention Science; Journal of Clinical Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology; and Journal of Marriage and Family. Murry is co-editor of the National Academy of Medicine’s Perspectives on Health Equity & Social Determinants of Health (2017).

Theo Van Erp, Ph.D

Dr. Theo G.M. van Erp joined the University of California Irvine Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior in 2010. He received his doctorate in clinical neuroscience from the University of Utrecht in 2007 and continued working on several multi-center brain imaging projects as an Assistant Researcher at the University of California Los Angeles between 2007-2010. In 2010, he started the Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory with a research program focused on imaging and imaging genetics research in psychiatric disorders.  The primary aim of Dr. Van Erp’s Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory is to understand the mechanisms underlying psychotic and affective disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. To achieve this aim, he conducts structural neuroimaging, functional neuroimaging, and neurocognitive studies. Dr. Van Erp collaborates with investigators locally at the University of California Irvine, nationally, and internationally with regard to neuroimaging, neurocognition, and genomic research.

Shlomit Radom-Aizik, Ph.D

Dr. Aizik is the Founder & Executive Director of the Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center (PERC) at UC Irvine Health. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, working to advance exercise medicine through clinical and laboratory research using genomic and epigenetic approaches, and to promote and foster community partnerships to encourage physical activity across the lifespan. In her current position as the Executive Director of PERC, she has fruitful collaborations with multidisciplinary group of local and international researchers on an array of pioneering exercise-science studies including studies on exercise and the brain, exercise and bone health in children, exergaming and exercise medicine. Dr. Aizik is a Principal Investigator (PI) on two NIH Grants: 1) MoTrPAC pediatric clinical center, which is a nation-wide consortium to study the molecular maps in response to exercise, and 2) project REACH; Revamping Exercise Assessments in Child Health.

Kate Kuhlman, Ph.D

Dr. Kuhlman is an Associate Professor of Psychological Science at the University of California Irvine and the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at University of California Los Angeles. Dr. Kuhlman received her B.S. from New York University, her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan, and completed her postdoctoral training in Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA before joining the faculty at UCI. Her research is broadly focused on how childhood adversity confers risk for poor health outcomes throughout the lifespan, with a current interest in the neurobiological processes underlying depression in adolescence. Her research is currently funded by the National Institute for Mental Health and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Elaine M. Urbina, MD, MS

Dr. Urbina is Director of Preventive Cardiology at Cincinnati Children’s, where she leads a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, and dieticians in the treatment of high blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol (dyslipidemia). Her area of expertise is non-invasive imaging of the heart and blood vessels in youth with risk factors for heart attack and stroke. She leads the vascular core for many multicenter research studies and holds leadership

Heather C. Huszti, Ph.D

Heather Huszti, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and chief psychologist at CHOC as well as the section chief for pediatric psychology. She also is the director of training for the Psychology Training Program at CHOC. She completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis in family therapy from Texas Tech University and completed an internship and fellowship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). She was on faculty at OUHSC, where she was the director of the Pediatric Psychology Program. She joined CHOC in 2002.

She has served as a principle investigator on a number of federally funded research projects with a focus on adherence

Wyman Lai, Ph.D

Dr. Wyman Lai is a leading, internationally recognized pediatric cardiologist who treats the full spectrum of heart conditions at CHOC. He is an expert in the areas of fetal cardiology and non-invasive imaging for heart disease in fetuses and children. Dr. Lai’s research interests include the echocardiographic evaluation of complex congenital heart disease, the use of advanced imaging techniques for the assessment of cardiac function, and the potential contribution of artificial intelligence in cardiology.

Dr. Lai serves as assistant division chief of cardiology at CHOC Specialists and Medical Director, Echocardiography. He has served on American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) Board of Directors and currently sits on the National Board of Echocardiography Board of Directors. Dr. Lai is a prolific author who has written over 100 peer-reviewed research publications and many invited reviews and chapters. He is the lead editor of a comprehensive textbook on pediatric echocardiography, and he has lectured extensively in the United States and internationally.

Dr. Lai graduated from the Brown University School of Medicine, the Harvard School of Public Health, and, more recently, the UCI Paul Merage School of Business. He completed training in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology at the UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles. Dr. Lai underwent advanced training in congenital cardiac MRI at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Steve Cole, Ph. D

Steve Cole is a Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences in the UCLA School of Medicine. His research studies the biological pathways by which social environments influence gene expression by viral, cancer, and immune cell genomes. Dr. Cole received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University in 1993 and subsequently completed 5 years of Post-Doctoral Fellowship research in psycho-neuro-immunology at UCLA. He subsequently served as an Assistant Research Biologist (1998), Assistant Professor (2001), Associate Professor (2006), and Professor of Medicine (2011) at UCLA. In addition to his appointments in the Division of Hematology-Oncology in the UCLA Department of Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Dr. Cole is also a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Norman Cousins Center, the UCLA AIDS Institute, and the UCLA Molecular Biology Institute. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. Dr. Cole also serves as Director of the UCLA Social Genomics Core Laboratory, and provides consulting support on social regulation of gene expression to the Institute of Medicine, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the Santa Fe Institute for Complex Systems, and the MacArthur Foundation, among others.

Baolong Truong, BS 

Baolong graduated from UCI in June 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Data Science, and is currently a graduate student at UIUC pursuing a master’s degree in Computer Science. He joined the lab in July 2023 as a database administrator and analyst to support the researchers in data analysis and make a measurable impact at the BRoAD Lab. In the future, he is interested in

Derek Taylor, BS

Derek is our database manager and biostatistician (Data Geek), but has also been called “Data Ninja”. Derek took his first professional job at UCI as a neurochemistry consultant studying self-injury in persons with autism after completing a bachelor degree in Biochemistry and Biophysics from UC Davis.  His career includes six years coordinating a national study of alcoholic cirrhosis with the VA Cooper Studies, eight years as an programmer analyst at UCI Brain Imaging Center and Seven years as Biostatistician and DBA for a network of private neuropsychiatric clinics. Derek has contributed to twenty scientific publications with his favorite first author publication in American Journal of Applied Physiology.  When away from the data, Derek is an outdoorsman, excellent cook, wire artist, book author, musician, and singer touring with the Robert Allen Layman’s Gospel Chorus.

Sabrina Kuo, BS

Sabrina graduated from UCI in June 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health Sciences.  She originally joined the lab in January 2018 as a PH 194 clinical and translational research student, and continued volunteering with the BRoAD Lab until she officially transitioned to a research coordinator for the Eating Patterns & Activity Study in June 2019.  In the future, she hopes to work in the public health and healthcare fields to raise awareness about wellness and improve access to quality healthcare. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music and podcasts, learning new languages, and trying new foods.

Ece Tan, BS

Ece received her bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from UCI in 2017. After graduating, she became increasingly interested in the overlaps between biology and psychology, which led her to complete the Post-Baccalaureate Program in Psychological Science at UCI. Ece joined the BRoAD Lab as a research assistant while a student in the program in the spring of 2022 and was subsequently hired as a research coordinator that summer. She started the role as coordinator for the Life Skills Study and now primarily coordinates the Cardiovascular Study. Ece is passionate about pediatric mental health and really enjoys working with children and adolescents; for five years, she was a volunteer in the Child Life Department at CHOC. She is excited to be involved in research on adolescent development in the BRoAD Lab and hopes to conduct research in the areas of developmental psychopathology, psychoneuroendocrinology, and psychoneuroimmunology in her future career to improve outcomes for children and teens. In her free time, Ece enjoys playing tennis and board games, listening to pop music, and grabbing coffee with friends!

Ryan Lau, BA

Ryan Lau is a graduate from Chapman University who joined in July of 2022. After obtaining his bachelors degree in Psychology at Chapman university, he has since joined Pepperdine’s Masters of Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy. He intends to continue his education to the doctoral level in Psychology in the future, and continue to pursue research later in the future. In his free time, Ryan enjoys archery, listening to music, and playing video games with friends.

Veronica Alvarez, MA

Veronica graduated from UC Davis in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Chicana/o Studies. After graduating, she worked at a child abuse prevention center where she became interested in learning more about developmental psychology and its intersection with the law. Shortly after, she pursued a master’s in Legal and Forensic Psychology at UC Irvine, graduating in 2023. During her time as a graduate student, she joined the Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab, where she worked closely with juveniles who were or had been involved with the criminal justice system. Veronica was also one of the lead research assistants for two projects at the Child Narratives Lab, where she got to interview several children and learn more about how different social contexts and individual differences influence children’s reports about past events. Veronica hopes to continue her studies in the future and pursue a PhD in developmental psychology. Outside of academia and her professional life, Veronica enjoys going to festivals and concerts, loves to travel, and likes to wind down by going to the gym or reading a good book.

Haley Dveirin

Haley graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in psychobiology. After graduating, she completed UCI’s post-baccalaureate program in psychological science where she worked in Dr. Kate Kuhlman’s Teen Resilience Lab. Haley accepted a study coordinator position in Dr. Kuhlman’s lab in July and began working in the BRoAD lab shortly after in August. She is interested in the biological pathways connecting early life adversity to depression in adolescents, focusing on inflammatory and neuroendocrine responses to stress. Haley is currently applying to Clinical Psychology Ph.D. programs and hopes to become a professor and researcher. 

Gabriela Smith

Gabriela graduated from California State University, Fullerton in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice. In undergrad, she worked in a political psychology lab and forensic psychology lab which furthered her interests in research. To strengthen her research skills, she enrolled in the Post-Baccalaureate program at UCI where she joined Dr. Loftus’s Eyewitness Identification lab and Dr. Rinehart’s Violence and Sexual Trauma lab. After completing the Post-Baccalaureate program, Gabriela was hired in the BRoAD lab in Fall of 2024. In the future, she hopes to pursue a Ph.D in Psychology and the Law. In her free time, she enjoys going out to dinner with her friends and spending time at home with her pets. 

Ankita Mirchandani

Ankita is a second-year undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Biological Sciences at UCI. She is a pre-dental student interested in mental/behavioral health and began assisting in Fall of 2022. Her free time consists of coloring, reading, watching movies, doing calligraphy, and spending quality time with family and friends

Esther Lee

Esther is an undergraduate student studying Biological Sciences, B.S. at UCI and joined the BRoAD Lab in June of 2023. She is a pre-med student aspiring to enter the medical field as a physician with interest towards pediatrics and neurology. In her free time, she likes to listen to music, read, take drives to the beach, explore new food places, and spend time with family and friends.

Sarah Coscolluela 

Sarah is a post-bacc student in Psychological Sciences at UCI who joined the lab in the Fall of 2024. During her undergraduate years at UCI, she held research assistantships in Dr. Jessica Borelli’s Health, Relationships, and Interventions (THRIVE) Lab, as well as Dr. Zoe Klemfuss’s Child Narratives Lab. After graduating, she worked as a Youth Mental Health Specialist at a non-profit crisis residential facility, which solidified her career path in adolescent clinical psychology. In the future, Sarah hopes to conduct research in developmental psychopathology and early intervention to promote better outcomes for children and adolescents. Outside of classes and lab, she is a painter, ceramicist, animal lover, and avid consumer of media.

Charu Singh

Charu is an undergraduate student majoring in Human Biology, B.S. on the premedical track at UC Irvine. She joined the BRoAD Lab in the fall of 2024 to learn more about adolescent mental health. Charu is interested in how social and behavioral changes during adolescence shape positive or negative growth trajectories. In her free time, Charu enjoys traveling, hiking, going to the beach, and boba runs.

Bella Yu

Bella is a fourth-year undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Psychological Science with a minor in Biological Sciences. She is passionate about the intersection of psychology and biology, particularly in understanding human behavior and mental health. In the future, she hopes to apply her knowledge to research and clinical settings. Outside of academics, Bella enjoys dancing, exploring new food spots, spending time with dogs and friends, and discovering new music.

Harper Murphy

Harper graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2023 with a B.A. in Psychology. While attending the University of South Carolina, Harper worked as a research assistant for the Community Health Interventions and Resilience Promotion (CHIRP) lab, where she was involved in community-based participatory research aiming to address mental and physical health disparities through community-oriented interventions. After graduating, she completed UCI’s post-baccalaureate program in psychological science where she worked in Dr. Zalta’s Trauma and Resilience lab and Dr. Martin’s Behaviors, Emotions, and Affective Neuroscience (BEAN) lab. After completing the post-baccalaureate program, Harper began working in the BRoAD lab in the fall of 2024. Harper plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology in the future.