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Department of Psychiatry Department of Psychiatry
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Student Research Assistants

Meet the Students

  • Isabella Mesa

    Isabella Mesa

    Hi! My name is Isabella and I’m a fourth year at UC San Diego. I’m majoring in General Biology and Clinical Psychology. I joined NSTAR in January of 2025 because I wanted to explore the research field in topics that were of great importance to me such as addiction, anxiety, and how neurology can reveal more about mental health disorders. I love learning so gaining research experience appealed to me greatly. In the lab I do data entry, backup and merging (I love data :) ) as well as phone screening, helping with scans and running treatment sessions. Outside of lab, I love to read, watch horror movies, go out to eat with friends and spend time with my two weenie dogs! I’m not fully sure what the future holds for me, but continuing my education further in either a graduate program or medical school is important to me because I want to continue to learn things and help others.
  • Kaleah Felan

    Kaleah Felan

    Hello! My name is Kaleah, I am a 4th year transfer student at UCSD majoring in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience! I joined NSTAR in Spring of 2025, and have been so excited to learn more about the clinical and research side of psychology, especially in a lab environment. I hope to eventually work more within this field and become a research coordinator after graduation. As a research assistant, I was given the role of screening lead. I help oversee all tasks related to screening new possible participants, including scheduling, evaluating, managing data, and ensuring everything is as up to date as possible! Outside of the lab, I love to scrapbook, hunt for new songs and artists on Spotify, work on my car, and love to play all types of video games! I have recently built my own gaming PC, and have done a lot of independent work on my car as well. Long down the line, I hope to eventually become a Neuropsychologist, a field I have a lot of passion and excitement for!
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    Brandon Guran

    Hi! My name is Brandon and I’m a third year transfer student at the University of California, San Diego majoring in B.S. Psychology. I’m interested in understanding the psychological and neurological factors that influence mental health, particularly anxiety and related disorders. I’m especially interested in the research process and how data can help reveal patterns and insights about mental health and behavior. I enjoy working with tasks such as data entry, organizing information for long term trends, and managing datasets. Outside of school and the lab, I enjoy surfing, golfing, parsing through new Spotify artists, and spending time with friends and family. I am also a big sports junky and a major fan of soccer and football. In the future, I hope to attend graduate school and pursue a Ph.D. so that I can continue conducting research and contribute to improving our understanding of mental health and developing better ways to support people who struggle with these challenges.