Principal Investigator

Lucía Magis-Weinberg

MD, PhD (she/her/ella)

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at University of Washington and director of the interACTlab. I originally trained as an MD in the National Autonomous University of México, followed by an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience and then a PhD in Experimental Psychology studying adolescent cognitive development in University College London. I was a postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley, where I launched my research on adolescent digital media use in Latin America.

Click here for CV.

Research Coordinator

Marissa Arreola Vargas

BS (she/her/ella)

Marissa is the lab coordinator at the interACT lab. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago in May of 2022, where she majored in both psychology and cognitive behavioral neuroscience. She joined the lab in the summer of 2022 and plans to apply to clinical psychology doctoral programs in the near future. Her research interests are rooted in the etiology of mental illnesses and the neural correlates of emotion and affective disorders, specifically in marginalized populations of adolescents.

UW Graduate Students

Carly Gray

BS (she/her)

Carly Gray began her PhD in developmental psychology in the fall of 2019. Raised in Portland, Oregon, she earned her B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavior from the University of Notre Dame in 2014. Her research aims to understand the effects of young people’s interactions with natural and digital environments on mental health and emotion regulation. Her research to date has investigated the effects of interaction with nature (a) for children during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (b) for adolescents in a group home context. She has also been part of conceptualizing and developing a new scale to measure the construct Presence. Carly’s previous research prior to UW included working as a research assistant investigating Alzheimer’s therapeutics in mouse models and on an intervention study aimed at improving conflict resolution skills in families. She has also worked in adolescent inpatient mental health treatment and worked as a multi-day kayak guide for a non-profit serving adolescents and young adults. (edited)

Daniela Muñoz Lopez

BA (she/her/ella)

Daniela (Danny) Muñoz Lopez was born in México but grew up in Fresno, CA. She started her joint PhD in Developmental and Child Clinical Psychology in the Fall of 2022 at the University of Washington. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2021, where she received a B.A in Psychology and minored in Early Development and Learning Science. For her undergraduate honors thesis, Danny conducted a project that analyzed the association between impulsivity, reinforcement learning, and working memory. Broadly speaking, Danny’s research interests are in understanding the risk and protective factors pertinent to the mental health of underrepresented and underserved adolescents. More specifically, she is interested in understanding the underlying factors that could help explain the relationship between digital media and mental health among Latine adolescents. In her free time, Danny enjoys listening to music and podcasts, reading, and spending time with her family back home.

Kimberly Nielsen

BA (she/her)

Kimberly Nielsen started her PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Washington in Fall 2023. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, she graduated from the University of California, Berkeley 2019, where she received a B.A. in Integrative Biology. After graduation, she coordinated a longitudinal study on adolescent smartphone use and wellbeing at Stanford University. Kimberly is broadly interested in the influences of digital technology on adolescent development, including attention and emotional regulation, as well as the use of digital technology for detecting emerging mental health symptoms. In her free time, Kimberly enjoys hiking, reading, watching movies, and spending time with her loved ones.

Affiliated Graduate Students

Estelle Berger

Estelle Berger is a former lab manager for the Adolescent Research Collaboration at the University of California, Berkeley. She graduated from Brown University with a BA in 2016, where she majored in Urban Studies. After working in various industries, she completed the Psychology Graduate Program at UC Berkeley in December 2019. During his time at Berkeley, she has committed to studying adolescent development and the connections between the use of digital media, the social context and mental health. She is currently doing her doctoral studies in clinical psychology at the University of Oregon.

Victoria Guazzelli Williamson

MS, BS (she,ela,ella)

Victoria is a doctoral student in clinical and developmental psychology at the University of Oregon. She is interested in adolescent social cognitive development (understanding of the self and others) and mental health outcomes, particularly internalizing disorders. Victoria has a special interest in the development and wellbeing of Latinx youth in the United States and Latin America. Victoria is eternally grateful for the opportunity to work with the brilliant Transitions team on important scientific questions. Click here to view Victoria’s website.

Christopher Gys

BA, (he/him/él)

Chris Gys is the former lab manager. He received a BA in Hispanic Studies from Bowdoin College and worked as an English teacher in Japan before transitioning into developmental and clinical psychology. He is interested in the influences of technology, culture, and self-regulatory abilities on the social-emotional development of Latin American and US immigrant youth. He is currently doing his doctoral studies in clinical science at UC Berkeley.

Fabrizio López De Pomar

BA, he/him

Fabrizio holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and pursued undergraduate studies in Computer Science. Additionally, he has received training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and serves as a co-director of a humanistic organization in his home country. His academic interests are rooted in the fields of developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and existential risks (concerns related to the climate crisis, geopolitics, and emerging technologies). His primary focus revolves around harnessing the safe use of artificial intelligence to enhance prosocial behaviors such as wisdom and altruism, with the ultimate goal of fostering long-term cooperation within the human species to safeguard its full potential. Click here to view Fabrizio’s website.

Chun-Chi (Sarah) Yang

MA, BA (she/her)

Chun-Chi (Sarah) Yang, a former high school teacher for 20 years in Taiwan, is a post-baccalaureate student at the University of California, Berkeley, preparing for her pursuit of a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. From her teaching experience, she became interested in how emotional disorders, particularly depression, develop and manifest in childhood and adolescence. She is focused on investigating how factors of sleep, culture and technology impact the regulation of emotions and emotional disorders in adolescent girls.

Research Assistants

Giovanna Abrahão

(she/they)

Giovanna is currently an undergraduate student pursuing a BS in psychology. Her current interests include working with marginalized youth to create culturally-sensitive mental healthcare practices. By participating in this lab, they’re hoping to understand the issues that this current generation is facing with the explosion of easily-accessible technology, and how this is affecting their development. She’s hoping to continue working with underrepresented youth, particularly Latine youth, in their future career as a clinical psychologist

Valeria Fierro

(she/her)

Valeria is an undergraduate student at the University of Washington pursuing a double major in Psychology and Informatics. She is interested in the intersection of social sciences with technology, especially in how cognitive psychology can help leverage the design of information systems. Valeria hopes to study digital interactions among different communities to understand how to better serve marginalized groups. She is passionate about designing inclusive and accessible technologies for diverse identities. Valeria hopes to pursue a career in User Experience Research or User Experience Design in the future. In her free time, Valeria likes to watch movies, crotchet, and drink coffee!

Sarrah Khan

(she/her)

Sarrah Khan is an undergraduate student pursuing psychology and CHID (Comparative History of Ideas) at the University of Washington. She is interested in how culture interacts with development, especially in an increasingly connected world. She is also interested in comparing marginalized and immigrant communities in the U.S. with the experiences with those internationally to understand the intersection of culture and mental health. She hopes to expand on these interests in the future by pursuing a career in clinical psychology.

Shreshth Kharbanda

Shreshth Kharbanda is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering at the University of Washington. Currently, he is a developer for a research lab, that focuses on how technology and social media affect adolescents. Aside from research, he is also passionate about entrepreneurship and pursues entrepreneurial ventures or opportunities when possible. The technology stack that he currently works with and is proficient in includes JavaScript, Node.js, MongoDB, and Linux. After earning his Bachelor’s degree, he aspires to leverage the potential of technology through design and development to support underrepresented communities. Outside of academics, he enjoys playing sports, getting boba with friends, and traveling.

Yilin Liu

Yilin Liu is a recent graduate of the University of Washington majoring in Psychology and French. She is interested in developmental psychology, especially the various dilemmas faced by adolescents. Through this project, she hopes to learn more about how social media and electronics can better help adolescents’ psychological development. In the future, she hopes to engage in more research on adolescent development and pursue a career in psychological education.

Adriana Lopez

(she/her)

Adriana is currently an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelors in Psychology and Linguistics at the University of Washington. She is broadly interested in developmental and cognitive psychology as well as bilingualism. More specifically, in the implications of second language acquisition in school settings. In the future she hopes to expand on these interests and pursue a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology. In her free time, Adriana likes going on hikes, reading, and knitting sweaters.

Caleb Lee

Caleb Lee is currently a second year undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. He is extremely passionate about social justice and equality. In the future, he hopes to combine his passion for psychology and social justice to start a practice that focuses on working with marginalized communities that lack mental health resources.

Taylor Mitsuko Ka’omealani Nishimoto

(she/her)

Taylor is a senior graduating this spring with her BA in psychology. She’s passionate about working with underrepresented youth, specifically Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations, to develop culturally resonant mental health resources. In the summer term, she will begin pursuing her MA in Counseling Psychology, specializing in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo.

Mary Saldeen

(she/her)

Mary is an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor of science degree in psychology and statistics. She is interested in developmental and social psych and hopes to dive deeper into both of these fields in the future through research. Through this lab, she wants to learn more about how today’s youth are interacting with digital media in a world where everything is online and help to provide information and interventions for youth using the internet. Outside of UW, she works for a market research company as a retail consultant intern over the summer. In the future, she wants to go to graduate school with the hopes of continuing to pursue a career in research to combine the fields of both psychology and statistics.

Diana Carolina Sanchez Polo

she/her/ella

Diana graduated from Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia in August 2019 with a degree in Psychology. Her initial experience in psychological research involved serving as a senior project at the Cognitive Skills Center (CSC) of Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia. Her work focused on assessing cognitive and developmental skills in language-impaired children. Over time, her interests have shifted towards learning and language, and how these significantly contribute to our understanding of brain structure, cognitive function, and the neurological mechanisms underlying human communication. Diana is intrigued by exploring the intricate interplay between emerging technologies, particularly social networks and smartphone usage, and their potential impact on adolescents’ developmental trajectories, specifically in the realm of second language acquisition within the context of public education in Latin America. In the future, she plans to apply to doctoral programs in developmental psychology.

International Collaborators

Camila Bossano

Camila Bossano is a specialist in Education and Socio-Emotional Development. She is an administrator from the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences and has a master’s degree in Social Development from the Graduate Institute Geneva. She has managed education projects in the public, private and NGO sectors, both inside and outside of Peru. She led the Personal Development area of Innova Schools Peru where she developed the tutoring program for the network of more than 50 schools and was in charge of the implementation of the “Transitions” project in collaboration with UC Berkeley.

Alexia Carrizales

Gabriela Fernández Theoduloz

PhD (she/her/ella)

Dr. Gabriela Fernández Theoduloz is an Associate Professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology, Universidad de la República (Uruguay). She obtained her B. Sc. and M. Sc. in Psychology at the Universidad de la República. Afterwards, she obtained her PhD in Psychology at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Argentina). Her research interests focus on factors associated with depression and anxiety in adolescents and young adults. Currently, she coordinates the research line “Emotional, cognitive and biological factors associated with depression and anxiety in adolescents and adults”. She is a researcher of the National System of Researchers of the National Agency for Research and Innovation of Uruguay.

Camila Quispe Martijena

Camila Quispe Martijena is a Clinical psychologist from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Currently, she is pursuing a second specialization in clinical psychoanalysis. Clinical experience in evaluation and psychological counseling individually and in groups to adults in a psychiatric hospital. She is also working for a non-profit organization that focuses on psychological care for children from low-income educational institutions. Interest in mental health and in knowing how technology can have an impact on the psychological and social sphere of people. As a result of this project, she has been able to know how important social networks are in adolescents and how relevant it is to raise awareness about the regulation of their use and become aware of having a more responsible use.