Principal Investigator
Amitai Shenhav is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at UC Berkeley. Prior to becoming a faculty member, he earned a B.A. in Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley in 2005, a Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard University in 2012, and completed a C.V. Starr Postdoctoral Fellowship at Princeton University.
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Lab Manager
Laura Spieler is a current undergraduate student majoring in psychology at UC Berkeley. She is a lab manager and research assistant at the Shenhav Lab, as well as an undergraduate research assistant for the Joyner C.R.E.A.M. (Clinical Research on Externalizing and Addiction Mechanisms) Lab at the University of California, Berkeley. Broadly, Laura is interested in how people perceive goals and how substance seeking is affected by decision-making processes.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Jason Leng received his PhD in cognitive science at Brown University in 2024. Before that, he earned his BSc. in Optical Engineering at Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, China), and his MASc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen’s University (Kingston, ON). He then worked on the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression program with Dr. Sidney Kennedy, focusing on the dysfunction of reward system in depression and its association with antidepressant treatment outcome. In his free time, he likes reading science fiction and history books, cooking Chinese food, and playing board games.
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Debbie Yee received her B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT in 2011, and earned her Ph.D. in Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis in 2019. She is interested in integrating computational, neuroimaging, and psychopharmacological approaches to investigate cognitive and neural mechanisms of motivational/affective processes and their interaction with cognitive control and decision-making across the human lifespan (e.g., healthy aging) and in mental disorders. In her spare time, she enjoys running half marathons, hiking, and both consuming and making interesting flavors of artisanal ice cream.
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Ivan Grahek completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Belgrade, Serbia, and received his PhD in psychology from Ghent University, Belgium. His research is focused on the relationship between motivation and cognitive control in healthy and depressed individuals. He combines behavioral, neural, and computational methods to investigate how components of motivation guide the decision-making process about the allocation of cognitive control.
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Ziyao Zhang received his PhD in cognitive neuroscience from UT Austin in 2025. He earned his MSc from Lehigh University and his BSc from Central China Normal University. His research integrates behavioral, neural, and computational methods to investigate how working memory and attention interact to support flexible behavior, and how motivation shapes these processes. In his spare time, he enjoys rock climbing and matcha.
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Graduate Students
Yi-Hsin (Sheen) Su had his BSc. in Electrical Engineering and Physics (double-major) and his MSc. in Electronics Engineering at National Taiwan University (NTU). After working as an engineer for one and a half years, he decided to shift his career into understanding how human minds work with the ultimate goal to help those suffering from mental illness. His general research interest lies in computational psychiatry. Before coming to Brown, he worked at the Modeling and Informatics Lab with Dr. Tsung-Ren Huang at NTU, focusing on the nature of learning-rate bias in experience-based decision-making. In his free time, he likes baseball, scientific writing, and rock music. He has also been engaged in fighting stigma toward people with mental illness.
Ziwei Cheng is set to begin her PhD studies in Fall 2023. Ziwei completed her BA in Psychology and Statistics at the University of Colorado Boulder. Before joining Brown, she worked at the Research on Affective Disorders and Development Lab and focused on neurocognitive markers for psychiatric health in adolescents and young adults. She is broadly interested in goal-directed behavior across motivational contexts and the translational utility of computational research.
Skylar Brooks received her B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT in 2020. Currently, she is a neuroscience PhD student and is co-advised between the Shenhav and Hsu labs. Her research broadly examines how social and motivational factors shape decision-making. Her interests include understanding how individuals evaluate and pursue goals, and how emotions influence these processes. Outside of the lab, she enjoys practicing aerial arts and drumming.
Reed Walker Boardman is a PhD student in Psychology on the Cognitive Neuroscience track. Reed received his BA in Psychology with Honors from the University of Iowa in 2025. Reed then worked as a post-baccalaureate researcher before joining the Shenhav lab in Fall 2026. Reed is interested in understanding cognitive control in the human brain. Specifically, Reed is interested in the neural dynamics underlying error monitoring, motor inhibition, and adaptive control. In his free time, Reed enjoys hiking, calisthenics, and EDM.
If you are interested in joining the lab as a graduate student, you should apply through Berkeley’s Psychology Department.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Crystal Xu is an undergraduate research assistant majoring in neurobiology (graduating Spring 2027) working with Sheen Su. She is particularly interested in decision making and the biological aspects that underlie the decision making process. In her free time she enjoys art and exploring new hobbies with friends.
Daniel Porter is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley majoring in Statistics (graduating Fall 2026) . He is interested in the fundamental mechanisms of cognition and how they can be computationally modeled. In his free time, he enjoys building computers, experimenting with computer systems, and working on personal cybersecurity projects.
Ella Ryan is a fourth-year student at UC Berkeley double majoring in Psychology and Data Science (graduating Spring 2026) . She is passionate about exploring cognitive psychology and decision-making processes, particularly how data-driven approaches can enhance our understanding of human behavior. She enjoys camping, skiing, surfing, and other outdoor activities in her free time.
Hani Jamila Haris is studying Statistics and Cognitive Science (graduating Spring 2027). She is particularly interested in exploring decision-making, motivation, and neurodegenerative diseases. In her free time, she loves to exercise, chill with her cats, and create art.
Inna Habibollahzadeh is studying Psychology (graduating Spring 2027). She is passionate about exploring the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying attention, decision-making, memory, and motivation, as well as the intersection between cognitive neuroscience and clinical psychology. In her free time, she enjoys playing board games, knitting, hiking, trying new recipes, and spending quality time with her family and friends.
Gabby Laurente is double majoring in Psychology and Spanish (graduating Spring 2026). She is passionate about exploring mental health treatments and interventions, the role of mental health in motivation and decision-making, and the impact of social relationships and interpersonal connections on the mind. Beyond her academic and research interests, Gabby enjoys arts and crafts—especially creating collages—along with reading and spending time with family and friends.
Maddie Grieb is double-majoring in Psychology and Neuroscience (graduating Spring 2026). She is passionate about researching the neural mechanisms underlying affect and decision-making, as well as neurodegenerative disease and learning-related plasticity in the brain. In her free time, she enjoys taking her two Maltipoos to the park, skiing, hiking, and spending time with her twin sister.
Audrey Wang is a student at UC Berkeley studying Cognitive Science and Analytics (graduating Spring 2028). She has interested in using computational methods to understand emotions, decision-making, and human behavior to develop responsible AI/ tech. In her free time, she enjoys journaling, exploring nature, and writing calligraphy.
Alumni
Ana Hernandez - Lab Manager
Meriel Doyle - Lab Manager
Psychology PhD student at Harvard University
Carolyn Dean Wolf - Lab Manager
Medical Student at the The University of Arizona College of Medicine
Maisy Tarlow - Lab Manager
Sales Engineer at Datadog
Joonhwa Kim - Lab Manager
PhD student at Brown University
Adanne Ogbaa - Lab Manager
Master’s student at Brown University
Postdoctoral Fellows
Jasmin Brummer
AI Insights Expert at Delta Labs
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University
Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Birmingham
Quantitative UX Researcher at META
Graduate Students
Harrison Ritz
C.V. Starr Postdoctoral Fellow at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute with Jonathan Cohen and Nathaniel Daw, website
Mahalia Prater Fahey
Postdoctoral Fellow at King’s College
Undergraduate Students
Adrian Lopez
Clinical Research Assistant at Rhode Island Hospital
Ailita Eddy
Ainsley Bonin
PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania
Aislinn Baxter
Ali Zaidi
Alice Bai
Allegra Friedman
Alessandra Bianco
Alli Loynd
Product researcher for Shiseido Global Innovation Center in Yokohama, Japan
Angela Zhang
Anna Park
Anna Xu - Thesis Student
Graduate Student in Russ Poldrack’s Lab at Stanford
Arden Orwicz
Ayenna Cagaanan
Charis Tang
Chris Bravo
Cora Ordway
Project Coordinator for the Biobehavioral and Social-Emotional Development Lab at Boston University
Cornelius Braun
PhD Student in Machine Learning and Robotics
Eva Swartz
Clinical Research Coordinator at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Felicia Renelus
Gloria Feng
Graduate Student at the Rutledge Lab at Yale
Hattie Xu, MPH
Henry Chan Lin
Isabel Shaw
MBA candidate at The Wharton School
James Nesbit
Lab Manager for the Social and Moral Cognition Lab at Columbia University
Kaila Zimnavoda
Kaitlyn Gosakti
Kaitlyn Mundy
PhD Student at the Columbia Social Neuroscience Lab
Keelin Lyons
Kia Sadahiro
Liz Cory - Thesis Student
Linda Zhang - Thesis Student
Developmental Psychology PhD Candidate at the University of Michigan
Maja Nieweglowska, MS
Maximilien Boucher
Maya Hoffman
Meg Talikoff
MA student in Marriage and Family Therapy at Syracuse University
Michelle Basta
Milena Rmus, Phd - Thesis Student
Natalie Knowles
J.D. Candidate at the University of Michigan Law School
Noa Mintz
Stealth Health Tech startup Cofounder and CEO
Paulina Sengeridis, MS
Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Oxford, MS in Translational Neuroscience
Peyton Strong
Rohan Kumaran
MD Candidate at the Yale School of Medicine
Ryan Waite
Sam Nevins
Savannah Doelfel
JD/MD student at Harvard Law School and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Selin Baydar - Thesis Student
Master's student in Clinical and Therapeutic Neuroscience in the department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford
Sydney Tucker
PhD student in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation at the University of Oxford
Thomas Summe
PhD Student at the University of Notre Dame
Tony El Nemer
Wasita Mahaphanit - Thesis Student
PhD candidate in Luke Chang’s Computational Social Affective Neuroscience Lab at Dartmouth
William McNelis
Yihuan Dong
Research assistant in Bernardo Sabatini's lab under Neurobiology Department at Harvard Medical School
Zhuo Chen, MPH
High School Students
Natalie Cardoso
B.S. in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute