Psychology Department Faculty
Department Chair
Violet Cheung | vcheung@usfca.edu
Dr. Violet Cheung is a professor in the department of psychology at the University of San Francisco. Her research on mass emotions started after 9/11 while she was completing her doctorate degree at UC Berkeley. She examined angry responses to the terrorist attack and how the public sentiment precipitated the U.S. to go to war. She now focuses on anxious and fearful responses in the new contexts of cyber insecurity, the migrant crisis, and the Covid pandemic. She also uses big data analytic tools to examine public sentiments on social media.
Department Chair
Kevin Chun | chunk@usfca.edu
Kevin M. Chun, PhD, is professor of psychology and co-founding faculty member of USF’s Asian American Studies and Critical Diversity Studies programs. Professor Chun uses community-based research methods to study acculturation effects on Asian American immigrant health and psychosocial adjustment. His research program aims to improve acculturation theory and measures, and develop health interventions that reduce immigrant families’ acculturation stress.
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Professor
Saera Khan | srkhan@usfca.edu
Saera Khan is a social psychologist who received her PhD at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research explores the social cognitive processes involved in the reliance of stereotypes for judgment and the consequences of these prejudicial judgments for stigmatized groups. She also studies the role of identity and culture in the formation of moral judgments. She teaches Psychology Practicum, Social Psychology, and Advanced Research Methods
Senior Vice Provost for Equity, Inclusion, & Faculty Excellence | Professor
Pamela Balls Organista | organistap@usfca.edu
Pamela Balls Organista, has a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Her areas of research include health issues in underserved populations, ethnic minority psychology, community-based research, and preventive interventions.
Professor
Edward Munnich | emunnich@usfca.edu
Edward Munnich, PhD, is a cognitive psychologist. He received his degree from the University of Delaware. He teaches research design; learning, memory and cognition; and related courses. His research focuses on whether, and to what extent, statistics influence people's beliefs and preferences about personal and public policy issues.
Associate Professor
Benjamin Levy | bjlevy@usfca.edu
Ben Levy is a cognitive neuroscientist who received his PhD from the University of Oregon. His research focuses on memory and cognitive control, with a particular interest in understanding why we forget. He teaches biological psychology, research design, and learning, memory and cognition.
Associate Professor
J. Garrett-Walker | jgarrettwalker@usfca.edu
J. Garrett-Walker is an associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of San Francisco. She earned a B.A. from University of San Francisco and a PhD from the Graduate Center of City University of New York. Professor Garrett-Walker is a developmental psychologist whose research focuses on multiple identity development for Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) emerging adults. Professor Garrett-Walker's work has emphasized the role of identity in the development of culturally competent HIV prevention interventions and community resources.
Associate Professor
Marisa Knight | mrknight@usfca.edu
Marisa Knight, PhD, specializes in cognitive neuroscience. She teaches biological psychology and research design, and her research is focused on the interplay between motivation, emotion and cognitive functioning across the lifespan.
Assistant Professor
Aline Hitti | ahitti@usfca.edu
Aline Hitti is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at the University of San Francisco. She completed her doctoral degree in Human Development and Quantitative Methodology from the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on children’s and adolescents’ social cognitive and moral development in intergroup contexts. She has authored and co-authored several chapters on social exclusion and intergroup peer relations, highlighting how morality is applied in these social contexts and across development.
Program Director
Sarah Hillenbrand | shillenbrand@usfca.edu
Sarah Hillenbrand is a cognitive neuroscientist and an educator. She earned her PhD in neuroscience at UC Berkeley, using functional magnetic resonance imaging to study human motor learning. From there, she moved on to teach courses in neuroscience, general scientific method, science writing, and storytelling at Stanford University in the Thinking Matters program and the Program in Writing and Rhetoric. More recently, she has taught courses on psychology, social justice, media literacy, and...
Professor
John Pérez | jperez6@usfca.edu
John Pérez received his PhD in Clinical Psychology at Yale University and completed his postdoctoral research fellowship at UCSF. His research focuses on exploring how diverse people use religious and spiritual resources (e.g., prayer, support from religious communities) to cope with stressful life events and chronic illnesses. In addition, he studies health promotion interventions among low-income, underserved Latinos, especially depression prevention and cancer prevention via faith-based organizations. He is particularly interested in the mechanisms that link religious/spiritual behaviors to both positive and negative health outcomes.
Professor
Lisa Wagner | wagnerl@usfca.edu
Lisa S. Wagner, PhD is an Associate Professor at the University of San Francisco. She completed her BA in English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan, and her PhD in Social and Personality Psychology at the University of Washington. Through a grant from National Institute on Aging, her research has examined age-related stereotypes and older adults’ experience of stereotype threat. Her recent research promotes intergenerational interactions between younger and older adults and examines effects of these interactions on attitudes toward both age groups. She teaches courses on social psychology, psychology of prejudice, social psychology of aging, adulthood and aging, and a unique intergenerational course, Generation to Generation, that enrolls traditional college-aged students and retired older adults.
Associate Professor
Saralyn Ruff | sruff2@usfca.edu
Professor Ruff received a Master in Education, a Master in Couples and Family Therapy, and a doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies. She worked in Solano County at a nonprofit clinic as a Program Supervisor and Lead Clinician, at A Home Within as Program Director, and in private practice -- all focused on the treatment of adolescents and maltreated youth.
Associate Professor
Indre Viskontas | ivviskontas@usfca.edu
Combining a passion for music with scientific curiosity, Professor Viskontas works at the intersection of art and science. She has published more than 50 original papers and chapters related to the neural basis of memory and creativity. Her scientific work has been featured in Oliver Sacks’ book Musicophilia, Nautilus, Nature: Science Careers, and Discover Magazine. She has also written for MotherJones.com, American Scientist, Vitriol Magazine, and other publications. Her first book, How Music Can Make You Better, was published by Chronicle Books in April, 2019, and within a week was the best-selling music appreciation book on Amazon. She also serves as the Director of Communications for the Sound Health Network, an initiative promoting research and public awareness of the impact of music on health and well-being.
Assistant Professor
Alexander Ochoa | aochoa4@usfca.edu
Dr. Ochoa received his PhD from Saint Louis University. His research focuses on values in sports, specifically looking at the impact of a system on value transmission.
Assistant Professor
Joyce Yang | jpyang@usfca.edu
Joyce P. Yang, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist who earned her doctoral degree as a clinical scientist from the University of Washington. She received her postdoctoral research training in the Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment at Stanford University in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the National Center for PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) at VA Palo Alto Health Care System. She completed her predoctoral clinical internship at VA Palo Alto Health Care System, her MA in experimental psychology at Boston University, and her AB in psychology and biology at Washington University in St. Louis.
Assistant Professor
Zachary A. Reese | zreese@usfca.edu
Zachary Reese's research focuses on social comparison, competition, and close relationships. He teaches Research Design, Writing in Psychology, Social Psychology, and African-American Psychology.
Assistant Professor
Maria Cristina Samaco-Zamora | msamacozamora@usfca.edu
Maria Cristina Samaco-Zamora is a Clinical Psychologist. She completed her doctorate degree from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. Her areas of interest are Wellness Psychology and Personality. She has worked with children and adults in the areas of intelligence assessments, psycho-emotional assessment, and various forms of therapy.
Adjunct Professor
Mel Ciena | ciena@usfca.edu
Dr. Mel Ciena is a New Yorker who has been teaching at the University of San Francisco since 1991. He has been honored with the Distinguished Lecturer Award twice, the Dean's College Service Award, and the Sister Vickie Sui Award for outstanding Service all at the University of San Francisco. Dr. Ciena is multilingual in French, English, and Spanish. His research interests include motivation and orientation in second and third language acquisition and how children learn from a cognitive and brain-based point of view. He is also a professional DJ, and has worked for Bill Clinton, Elizabeth Taylor, Gavin Newsom, and Willie Brown.
Adjunct Professor
Grace Huckins | ghuckins@usfca.edu
Grace Huckins is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at Stanford University and a freelance science writer. At Stanford, they work on building models and explanations of mental illness that are not only useful for scientist but are also able to be communicated to patients. As a journalist, they cover topics ranging from neuroscience and psychiatry to gender-affirming medical care and AI for publications like WIRED, Slate, and Scientific American. In their free time, they enjoy reading fiction and hiking around the Bay Area with their two husky mixes, Winnie and George.
Adjunct Professor
Jeremy Doughan | jddoughan@usfca.edu
Dr. Doughan received his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota. He subsequently received his master's and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology. During his graduate tenure, he completed a neuropsychology practicum at Hennepin County Medical Center and an advanced practicum in geropsychology at the Minneapolis VA Healthcare System. In addition, he worked as a clinical research assistant for the University of Minnesota, Department of Psychiatry, on several R01 grants investigating cocaine addiction. Dr. Doughan completed his pre-doctoral clinical psychology internship at the Miami VA Healthcare System, where he completed rotations in Geropsychology and Neuropsychology. After his internship, Dr. Doughan trained in the Clinical Psychology postdoctoral fellowship at the Boston VA Healthcare System, specializing in Geropsychology. Dr. Doughan held academic appointments as a Teaching Fellow in Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, as well as Clinical Fellow in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Adjunct Professor
Kathrine Gapinski | kdgapinski@usfca.edu
Professor Kate Gapinski received a PhD in clinical psychology from Yale University, where her research focused on eating disorders and social perceptions of weight. She also worked in a lab dedicated to gender research for several years. After completing postdoctoral work in behavioral medicine at Stanford University, she became a founding partner in an evidence-based clinical psychology practice in San Francisco, where she currently treats individuals and couples. In addition, she has facilitated support groups for medical residents at UCSF, and has been involved in training Stanford University medical residents in the treatment of social anxiety.
Adjunct Professor
Lauren Haack | lmhaack@usfca.edu
Lauren Marie Haack, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist whose work focuses on cultural influences to mental health conceptualization, assessment, and treatment, and accessible and culturally appropriate evidence-based services for vulnerable youth and families. In addition to teaching courses at USF since 2013, She serves as Assistant Professor and Attending Psychologist in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Weill Institute for Neurosciences.
Adjunct Professor
David Ziegler | dziegler@usfca.edu
Dr. Ziegler completed his PhD in Systems Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he took a cutting-edge multimodal neuroimaging approach to examine the effects of healthy aging and Parkinson’s disease on cognitive control systems in the brain.
In addition to his appointment at USF, Dr. Ziegler is Director of the Technology Program for Multimodal Biosensing at Neuroscape and is a Specialist in Neurology at UCSF with affiliations in the Weill Institute for Neurosciences & Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience. The current focus of his research is on unmasking the neural mechanisms that account for age-related changes in cognitive control and translating these basic neuroscience findings into cognitive neurotherapeutic interventions to alleviate impairments in attention in diverse populations. He has a particular interest in merging complementary mind-body approaches, such as meditation and yoga, with neuroplasticity-based tech-focused interventions to improve cognition while also enhancing overall wellbeing.
Adjunct Professor
Emily P Schell | eschell@usfca.edu
Emily Schell is a doctoral candidate in Developmental and Psychological Sciences at Stanford University's Graduate School of Education (GSE). Prior to starting doctoral study, Emily received her bachelor's (with honors) from Brown University in East Asian Studies and International Relations. She also served as a Fulbright English Teacher in Taiwan and received her master's in International Comparative Education from Stanford's GSE.
Emily's research concerns how higher education can shift their student support services and pedagogical approaches to support their increasingly diverse student bodies. Her dissertation studies how universities can create culturally responsive advising systems for minoritized immigrant and international students. In addition to her research, Emily has served as an adjunct faculty member at USF for the last year and has taught multiple seminars and community-engaged learning courses at Stanford.
Adjunct Professor
Mark Bauermeister| mbauermeister@usfca.edu
Dr. Mark Bauermeister's interests include examining the macro-micro social relationships determining human behavior, environmental health, human ecology, social movements, and change. Current research includes examining the influence of social structure upon human emotion, behavior, and mental health. Dr. Bauermeister teaches social psychology.