Scientific Advisory Board

Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, PhD, Research Professor of Psychology, Clark University, http://jeffreyarnett.com

Gerd Gigerenzer, PhD, Director Emeritus, Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition, and Harding Center for Risk Literacy, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin

Sigrid S. Glenn, PhD, Regents Professor Emeritus, University of North Texas

Steven C. Hayes, PhD, Foundation Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno

Melbourne F. Hovell, PhD, MPH, Distinguished Professor of Public Health, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University; Director, Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health

Kennon A. Lattal, PhD, Centennial Professor of Psychology, University of West Virginia

Lewis P. Lipsitt, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Medical Science and Human Development, Brown University

Elizabeth Loftus, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine

Stephen W. Porges, PhD, Distinguished University Scientist, Kinsey Institute, Indiana University Bloomington; Research Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, http://stephenporges.com

J. E. R. Staddon, PhD, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University 

Bruce A. Thyer, PhD, LCSW, BCBA-D, Distinguished Research Professor, College of Social Work, Florida State University

Philip G. Zimbardo, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Stanford University, http://zimbardo.com

Institutional Review Board

Daniel Moriarty, PhD, IRB Chair; Professor of Psychology, University of San Diego

Steven Cesare, PhD; Industrial Psychologist, The Harvest Group

Kenneth D. Keith, PhD; Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of San Diego

Stephanie Stolarz-Fantino, PhD; Research Psychologist, American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology

Rebekah Wanic, PhD; Senior Lecturer, National University of Singapore

Distinguished Research Fellows

P. Scott Richards, PhD., retired in 2019 as professor of counseling psychology at Brigham Young University and is the Director of Research for the Center for Change in Orem, Utah. His research encompasses spirituality, eating disorders, online assessment, and mental health, and his many publications include authored and edited books published by the American Psychological Association. 

Mark A. Runco, PhD, Torrance Professor of Creative Studies, University of Georgia; Founder and Editor, Creativity Research Journal; co-editor, Encyclopedia of Creativity.

Research Psychologists

Teresa Buccheri, PhD
Beth Coke, PhD
Ayanna Cummings, PhD, MBA
Harris L. Friedman, PhD
Gerald S. Graham, PsyD, MBA
Victor N. Karandashev, PhD
Sébastien Montel, PhD
Stephanie Stolarz-Fantino, PhD
N. Bruce Walton, PhD, MBA
Brooke Wilken, PhD
Ping Zheng, MD, PhD

Research Associates

Jeana Arter-Passy, MA
Victoria S. Brown, MA
Hossein Fattahi, MD
Josh Klein, MPS
Cathryn L. Leff, LMFT
Ashali Rajgarhia, BS
Camille Reid, PhD
Holly Stead, MSc
Hongyu (Olivia) Wang, MS

Staff

Amanda Newland, Research Director. Amanda is a graduate of the University of California San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in social psychology and a minor in computational social science. From her work at AIBRT and various volunteer positions, she has co-authored multiple research reports and scientific presentations on multiple topics including sexual health literacy, sexual and relationship satisfaction, body image, and online manipulation. Amanda hopes that through research and education she can help equip people with the tools they need to make changes in their lives that will positively impact their relationships and wellbeing. She aspires to earn a Ph.D. in social psychology so she can continue pursuing her passions in psychology research.

Bonnie Bertano, Director of Development. Bonnie has an extensive background in business development, grant procurement and nonprofit work. Prior to joining AIBRT in March of 2023, she supported critical programming and grant procurement as a County-Stakeholder liaison with the Casa de Oro Alliance, and as a Center Coordinator with the Industrial Assessment Center at San Diego State University. Bonnie graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, transitioning into marketing and nonprofit work. Bonnie is committed to advancing her passion for nonprofit and advocacy work: in her spare time she enjoys organizing wellness retreats, and serving on the executive board for Good Neighbor Community Builders, a social impact organization which provides resources and training to underserved populations.

Robert Epstein, PhD, Senior Research Psychologist. Epstein is a research scientist and media professional, as well as the author of 15 books and more than 300 articles on psychology-related topics, including empirical studies in Science, Nature, Psychological Science, PLOS ONE, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A PhD of Harvard University, where he was the last doctoral student of eminent psychologist B. F. Skinner, Dr. Epstein is the former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today and is the founder and Director Emeritus of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, as well as the co-founder of AIBRT. He has hosted several national radio programs, including "Psyched!" on Sirius/XM between 2005 and 2008. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here: @DrREpstein. His c.v. can be downloaded here (PDF). To learn about Dr. Epstein's background, view his 2023 Congressional testimony (6-min. video) listen to his 2019 STEM Talk interview (87-min. audio), view his 2019 Congressional testimony (7-min. video), view his 2022 interview on The Joe Rogan Experience (160-min. video), or read his 2006 autobiographical essay in Perspectives on Psychological Science. For further information, visit https://drrobertepstein.com.  

Teddy Caligiuri, Assistant Director. Teddy is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles, where he received his bachelor’s degree in psychology. Since joining AIBRT, he has co-authored two research publications on the topic of parenting and teenage development. Teddy is passionate about changing lives through his research, and hopes that he can continue to make an impact with his work at AIBRT. He plans to attend graduate school to pursue his interests in clinical psychology.

Recent and current interns: Jessica Aceret, University of California San Diego; Nataly Acosta, San Diego State University; Seham Albalawi, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Sophia Alderman, University of California Los Angeles; Sarah Alley, University of California San Diego; Savannah Aries, University of California Los Angeles; Emma Arroyo, University of Southern California; Ryan Ashby, University of California Berkeley; Vatche Bahudian, University of California San Diego; Sebastian Barajas, St. John's College; Tom Bate, Arizona State University; Sara Bock, Point Loma Nazarene University; Maria Bordyug, University of California San Diego; Marco Buenaventura, University of California San Diego; Teddy Caligiuri, University of California Los Angeles; Rebecca Carter, Grinnell University; Ya-Han Chen, University of California San Diego; Yijing Chen, Rice University; Philip Cheung, University of California Irvine; Jeet Choksi, University of Colorado Boulder; Harrison Cook, University of San Diego; Khadizhat Dakaeva, University of California Los Angeles; Miki Ding, University of California Berkeley; Matea Djokic, University of California San Diego; Aurora Dolorfino, Point Loma Nazarene University; Megan Drew, Missouri State University; Phillip Dyck, University of California San Diego; Nicole Edmonds, University of California San Diego; Jenelle Epstein, Mira Costa College; Georgiana Estrada, University of California Berkeley; Nicole FitzGerald, Pepperdine University; Alex Flores, University of California San Diego; Faith Flores, California Baptist University; Wendy Gao, University of Chicago; Anna Ginther, University of California Berkeley; Ciara Giordani, University of California Santa Barbara; Sofia Godoy, University of California San Diego; Kelly Grebbien, California Baptist University; Eshanya Gupta, University of California San Diego; Medhaansh Gupta, University of California San Diego; Jake Hacker, California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo; Megan Elan Ho, Scripps College; Shaojie Hou, University of California San Diego; Yuxiang Hou, University of Southern California; Connan Houser, University of Richmond; Yunyi Huang, University of California San Diego; Justin Huynh, University of California San Diego; Timothy Hwang, University of California San Diego; Seojin Hyun, University of California San Diego; Samiya Ijaz, University of California Riverside; Arriell Jackson, Point Loma Nazarene University; Minsung Kang, University of California San Diego; Camille Karner, University of California San Diego; Hannah Kim, University of California San Diego; Jane Kim, Loyola Marymount University; Moonjung Kim, University of California San Diego; Gina Kirkish, University of California San Diego; Sophia Knappertz, University of Vermont; Lexi Knipp, Denison University; Sanvi Kolluru, University of California Santa Barbara; Jordan Krikorian, University of California San Diego; Arnaud Laprais, University of California Santa Barbara; Megan Lao, University of California San Diego; Christopher Le, University of California Irvine; Natalie Le, University of California San Diego; Elizabeth Lee, University of California San Diego; Lee R. Lee, University of California San Diego; Vivian Lee, University of California Santa Cruz; Lauren N. Lewark, University of California San Diego; Jeffrey Li, University of California San Diego; Hanna Liao, University of California San Diego; Ethan Lin, University of California San Diego; Mhairi London, University of California San Diego; Michael Lothringer, California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo; Leland Lugo, University of California Santa Barbara; Emilyn Malatag, University of California Riverside; Jada Martin, Point Loma Nazarene University; Jeremy Martinez, Point Loma Nazarene University; Martha Martinez, University of California San Diego; Megan McNamara, University of San Diego; Paul McKinney, University of California San Diego; Miyako McLaughlin, University of California Los Angeles; Miles Megerdoomian, University of California San Diego; Xiaowen Mei, University of California San Diego; Jonathan Mejia, University of California San Diego; Roger Mohr, University of California San Diego; Christine Mourani, Columbia University; Eldar Nabi, San Diego State University; Priyanka Nanayakkara, University of California Los Angeles; Anthony Nassif, University of California Berkeley; Patricia Natalie, University of California Los Angeles; Amanda Newland, University of California San Diego; Agelique Nguyen, San Diego State University; Emily Olson, Wellesley College; Jonathan Ortega, University of California Los Angeles; Jett Palmer, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo; Mayuri Pandit, Loma Linda University; Daniel Hyun Gyu Park, University of California Santa Cruz; Tara Parsik, University of California San Diego; Sara Parsons, University of California Santa Barbara; Alina Patel, University of California San Diego; Thomas Peeler, University of California Los Angeles; Lauren Peirson, University of California San Diego; Adam Peng, University of California San Diego; Victoria Phan, University of California San Diego; Ashali Rajgarhia, University of California San Diego; Camille Reid, University of the South Pacific; Leah Rivera, University of California San Diego; Haley Rubin, Emory University; Lucy Ryall, Loyola University; Alyssa Salcedo, California Baptist University; Dylan Sapong, University of California San Diego; Zoë Scandalis, University of Southern California; Marie Sckocheva, University of California San Diego;  Sandi Shaner, San Diego State University; Pramukh Shankar, University of California Santa Barbara; Rachel Smith, Chapman University; Chelsea Song, University of California Berkeley; Holly Stead, King's College London; Kendyl Stewart, University of Southern California; Dayna Stout, University of California Berkeley; Cong Sun, University of California San Diego; Chloe Sutlick, University of California San Diego; Vicky Tan, University of California San Diego; Li Yu Tang, University of California San Diego; Basil Thaddeus, University of California San Diego; Ghirish Thaenraj, University of California Irvine; Xin Tong, University of California San Diego; Felix Tran, University of California San Diego; Christina Tyagi, University of California San Diego; Rachel Uda, University of California San Diego; Tyler Vasconcellos, University of California San Diego; Steven Veld, University of California Los Angeles; Rebecca Vered, California State University, San Marcos; Sanika Walimbe, University of California San Diego; Ning Wang, Pepperdine University; Ruixiao Wang, University of California Los Angeles; Shaina Wang, University of California Los Angeles; Makena Westbrook, University of California Santa Cruz; Ivy Wong, University of California San Diego; Wi Wu, University of California San Diego; Ruijia Xiao, University of California San Diego; Vanessa Zankich, University of California San Diego; Hanwen Zhang, University of California San Diego