Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Founded in Fall 2017 by Jenna Martin and Riley McDanal, the Psych & CogSci Lab has a vision of offering an experience that benefits all undergraduates in the research community while facilitating the training and growth of aspiring researchers.
We follow a replicate and extend structure. Mentees will be divided into groups of 4-5 and assigned a mentor that will guide them through a year-long project. The first semester will be spent replicating a published study and the second semester will be spent extending the methods based on an original idea. The studies will be provided through a database compiled by the ULab Board of Directors and dedicated graduate students. Each group will have the opportunity to select studies in areas that interest them the most. This will also allow an opportunity for projects to be published!
Our projects this year involve behavioral psychology, fMRI analyses, visual field cortices, language processing, cognitive neuroscience, and other areas. All projects will be published in a paper and poster series via UC eScholarship Open Access publishing. Posters will be presented to faculty members and peers at UC Berkeley. This will certainly aid in getting on-campus research.
Currently, Dr. Mark D'Esposito, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at UC Berkeley, serves as primary faculty advisor. As the ULab Board of Directors pursues new projects and initiatives, Dr. D'Esposito oversees their work to ensure the advancement of ULab's mission.
Want to join us?
Applications for 2026-2027 can be found at the following hyperlinks: Mentor App, Mentee App. Deadlines and details are provided on the applications. For periodic updates, sign up for our newsletter here
Our Staff
Tvisha Joshi
3rd year psych major, research interests- social/personality psych, sense of self, outside of class I like reading and crafting!
Tvisha Joshi
Anika Krishnan
I am a third year majoring in Computer Science and Psychology. I'm interested in how children perceive the world around them and how they grow to interpret caregivers in their lives. I am also interested in finding answers to developmental psychology questions using Computational methods. I plan to go to graduate school to pursue a Clinical Child Psychology Degree. In my free time, I like to play volleyball, weight-lift, and read.
Anika Krishnan
Alisha Paracha
I'm a senior at UC Berkeley pursuing a degree in Psychology with an inclination towards clinical and behavioural psychology. My main academic and research interests focus on OCD, anxiety, adolescent mental health, and ambition and motivation. I love collaborating with others and using my communication skills to build meaningful connections within the lab and the broader academic community. Alongside research, I am very passionate about peer mentorship, and I really enjoy supporting fellow students through their academic journeys by sharing the insights and lessons I've learned along the way. After graduating, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology to build a career as both a researcher and clinician!
Alisha Paracha
Brian Lin
TBD!!
Brian Lin
Vaidehi Chandra
Vaidehi is a Psychology major at UC Berkeley with an interest in how people think, learn, and interact with the world around them. Outside of ULAB, she enjoys dancing, singing, and finding good coffee spots!
Vaidehi Chandra
Kritika Jhamatt
TBD
Kritika Jhamatt
Nick Zhang
Hi! I am a senior majoring in cognitive science and philosophy. I am also a researcher assistant at Berkeley Early Learning Lab, studying numerical cognition through neuroimaging techniques. I started in ULAB as a mentor and continued as the lab manager the following year. As the current research director, I hope to foster a great research community here at ULAB!
Nick Zhang
Fei Xu
Fei Xu
Check out our publications here.
ULab Division Calendar
This calendar has all of the events and deadlines for the year. Exact days and times are subject to change.