Directors

Graduate Students

Malayka Mottarella

Research Interests:

Complex skill learning
Language aptitude
Resting-state brain measures
Working memory

Malayka Mottarella (she/her) is a fifth-year Psychology Ph.D. candidate in the Cognition and Perception area supervised by Dr. Chantel Prat. Malayka received her B.A. in Psychology from Willamette University in 2017 and her M.S. in Psychology from UW in 2022. Her research is broadly focused on understanding individual differences in the neural underpinnings of complex skill performance and acquisition among healthy adults. Her current work uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how phonological language networks support comprehending computer code. To view her CV click here.

Ariel Xinyue Li

Research interests:

Cognitive neuroscience
Emotional memories
Stress and decision making

Ariel (she/her) is a fourth year Psychology Ph.D. student supervised by Dr. Andrea Stocco. Ariel received her B.A. in Psychology and Neuroscience from Bryn Mawr College in 2020 and her M.S. in Psychology at UW in 2024, with a focus behavioral neuroscience exploring fear circuitries in the brain and risky decision making. Her current work at CCDL focuses on emotional memories (such as those in PTSD) using a combination of experimental methods, computational modeling, and memory assessment tools. She is interested in applying these research findings to enhance mental health care and improve online learning tools. Outside of research Ariel enjoys hiking, tennis, and teaching her cat Minnie tricks.

Faculty

Anaïs Capik

Research Coordinator

Research Interests:

Cognitive neuroscience
Memory
Dementia-related illnesses

Anaïs Capik (she/her) is a postbac fellow at the Cognition & Cortical Dynamics Laboratory, having earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Washington. Her research journey began at the LCD Laboratory at UW, where she explored the correlation between pupil dilation and short-term memory.

Currently, Anaïs spearheads a project investigating the impact of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on individuals afflicted with early-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia-related conditions. Additionally, she is actively engaged in a project in the CCDL laboratory, focusing on the assessment of memory quality in children and memory over the lifespan. This initiative is part of a broader project aimed at quantitatively measuring memory decline. Anaïs Capik’s academic path is marked by her diverse research interests in memory, cognition, and neuroscience.

Siqi Mao

Research Coordinator

Research Interests:

Cognitive Modeling

Memory

Cognitive Neuroscience

Siqi Mao is a postboc fellow at the Cognition & Cortical Dynamics Laboratory. She received her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Informatics from University of Washington in 2024. During her undergraduate studies, she conducted her honors project under the supervision of Dr. Andrea Stocco, focusing on the effects of mindfulness on long-term memory. Presently, Siqi is coordinating a research project that examines the impact of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Honor Students

Siyu (Louisa) Chen

Psychology Undergraduate Student

Louisa is an undergraduate student at the University of Washington, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Informatics, Data Science, and Global Health. She has a particular interest in cognitive psychology and the intersection of psychology and technology. She is working on investigating the role of breaks in the frequency of mind wandering during sustained attention tasks in CCDL. Outside of research, she also enjoys Chinese calligraphy, playing the piano, photography, and cooking.