People

Read biographies of our hard-working staff here at the THRIVE lab. Learn more about their educational backgrounds, interests, and hobbies.

If you are interested in joining our lab, find out how you can become a postdoctoral fellow or research assistant here. We also welcome visiting students and scholars at all career stages! 

Check out awards our researchers have won here!

Directors

Aoife O'Donovan, Ph.D.

Director

THRIVE Lab Director Dr. O’Donovan completed undergraduate and graduate programs at University College Cork, the National University of Ireland, Galway, and University College Dublin in her native Ireland before coming to UCSF for graduate and postdoctoral training. In her current role as Associate Professor In Residence in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Research Psychologist in the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, she runs a laboratory dedicated to uncovering the mechanisms linking psychological stress exposure with ill health. Her lab conducts studies that determine both the effects of psychological stressors on the immune system, and the health consequences of stressor-related immune dysfunction. Many of their findings converge on altered inflammatory activity as a central mechanism linking stressor exposure with increased risk for mental and physical health problems. The lab is particularly focused on traumatic stressors, which are stressors involving threat of death, serious injury, or sexual violence, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The ultimate goal is to identify and develop interventions that can reduce the long-term negative impact of psychological stressors. Studies in the lab are currently investigating the potential of both digital app-based and pharmacological interventions. Outside of the lab, Aoife enjoys hiking, biking and skiing in the Bay Area and trips to Ireland.

Kristen Nishimi, Ph.D., MPH

Associate Director

Dr. Nishimi completed her MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences in 2016 and PhD in Population Health Sciences in 2020 at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. Her graduate training in social and psychiatric epidemiology focused on the social determinants of health, psychosocial stress and development, and quantitative research methods for causal inference. Her research examines the impact of trauma and adversity exposure on both mental and physical health outcomes across the life course. Specifically, she aims to use rigorous epidemiological and data science methods to uncover biological mechanisms linking trauma to chronic health outcomes and to understand multilevel processes of psychological resilience.

Check out Dr. Nishimi Google Scholar profile here.

Postdoctoral Scholars/Investigators

Dr. Dolsen completed her graduate training at UC Berkeley in Clinical Science under the mentorship of Dr. Allison Harvey. She completed her predoctoral clinical internship at VA Northern California HCS. Her research has focused on sleep disturbance as a transdiagnostic process related to the etiology and treatment of mental health disorders. Specifically, her research has investigated the interplay between psychological and biological processes in mental health disorders with the goal of leveraging these insights toward developing novel interventions.

Check out Dr. Dolsen's Google Scholar profile here.

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Emily Dolsen, Ph.D. 

Post-doctoral Scholar/Investigator

Yvette Szabo, Ph.D.

Post-doctoral Scholar/Investigator

Dr. Yvette Szabo is a licensed clinical psychologist and investigator at the VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans. Dr. Szabo completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Louisville, where she received an honor for excellence in graduate studies. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Michael E. Debakey VA Medical Center and a MIRECC advanced postdoctoral research fellowship at the VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans. Her research investigates the physiological mechanisms through which the environment influences behavior and health. The main focus of her research aims to understand the psychological (e.g., emotional, cognitive) and biological pathways (e.g., inflammation, genetics) through which stress or trauma leads to posttraumatic stress disorder and other negative trauma-related outcomes. Specifically, her lab focuses on examining bidirectional associations between the brain and immune system, as well as understanding how stress and trauma influence these relationships. Her research incorporates a combination of psychological and interdisciplinary methods, including laboratory-based tasks, analysis of blood and saliva samples, and clinical interviews. Through this work, she intends to identify potentially malleable factors and opportunities for novel or personalized interventions to improve health and quality of life in those exposed to stress and trauma. 

Check out Dr. Szabo Google Scholar profile here.

Dr. Khan is a licensed clinical psychologist and PTSD researcher. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Khan completed her clinical internship and a MIRECC advanced postdoctoral research fellowship in PTSD at the San Francisco VA under the mentorship of Drs. Shira Maguen and Aoife O'Donovan. She is currently completing an additional PTSD research fellowship at UCSD with Dr. Murray Stein. Her program of research investigates trauma typology and emotion regulation processes involved in the etiology and treatment of trauma sequelae, namely PTSD, moral injury, and depression/suicidality. Dr. Khan's research aims to better elucidate how specific traumatic experiences impact biopsychosocial-spiritual suffering and develop novel and non-traditional approaches (e.g., psilocybin) to healing treatment-resistant trauma sequelae.

Check out Dr. Khan Google Scholar profile here.

Amanda J. Khan, Ph.D.

Post-doctoral Scholar/Investigator

D. Parker Kelley, Ph.D.

Post-doctoral Scholar/Investigator

D. Parker Kelley, PhD is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California San Francisco in the Translating Psychedelic Research (TrPR) program working under Dr. Josh Woolley. Parker is also an affiliate Post-Doctoral Fellow in the THRIVE lab at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center (SFVAMC) working under Dr. Aoife O’Donovan.

Dr. Kelley began his post graduate studies at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in the Nutritional Neuroscience and Aging Lab under Dr. Donald Ingram studying the effects of calorie restriction on aging related disease and considers metabolism and allostatic load to be his fundamental orientations to the study of stress-associated disease. Dr. Kelley completed his doctorate in Biomedical Sciences at Louisiana State University studying molecular mechanisms of allostatic load and hippocampal dysfunction in rodent models of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and investigating experimental therapeutics for PTSD and depression. Dr. Kelley is trained in molecular biology, psychopharmacology, and behavioral neuroscience. During his doctoral studies, Dr. Kelley utilized multiple omics technologies including RNA Sequencing, LC-MS based Lipidomics, and Metabolomics to study the effects of stress on the hippocampus in rodent models and the effects of an anti-oxidant blueberry concentrate in blood of human patients diagnosed with depression and anxiety. In addition, Dr. Kelley is trained in the use of cutting edge techniques to measure mitochondrial function in tissue samples, the use of behavioral assays to study hippocampal contextual memory processing and pattern separation in rodent models, and psychometric evaluations in humans, all of which he seeks to translate into the study human patients with PTSD during his post-doctoral fellowship. Dr. Kelley is interested in the use of 5-HT2A agonist psychedelic drugs and other experimental therapeutics for PTSD. Dr. Kelley published on the use of pharmahuasca, a drug combination including N, N dimethyltryptamine, a 5-HT2A agonist psychedelic drug and harmaline, a beta Carboline MAOI in a rat model of PTSD progression and observed that pharmahuasca rescues aberrant gene expression in the prefrontal cortex overlapping between the model and human PTSD, and rescues aberrant reactive oxygen species production, indicative of neuroprotective effects. Dr. Kelley is also interested in philosophy of mind and bioethics and is currently working on several projects in this area.

Dr. Kelley was awarded the Heidi Lott Scholarship from the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences at Louisiana State University and has published in high impact journals including Geroscience, Journal of Gerontology, Royal Society of Chemistry Advances, and American Chemical Society Chemical Neuroscience.

Check out Dr. Kelley's Google Scholar profile here.

 

To be updated.

Check out Dr. Bürgin's Google Scholar profile here.

David Bürgin, Ph.D.

Post-doctoral Scholar/Investigator

 

Lab Managers

 

 

Tommy Atwater

Lab Manager, Study Coordinator

 

 

Tommy graduated from Bates College with a B.A. in Psychology. He currently works at the THRIVE Lab as the research coordinator for the SMART Study, which is evaluating an app-based intervention to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress. His research interests include exploring the relationship between nutritional supplementation and mental health, the microbiome’s role in managing chronic health conditions, and the importance of effective communication about healthy food choices. He plans to pursue a Master of Public Health in Nutrition. In his free time, Tommy enjoys exploring the world of lacto-fermentation, foraging, and cooking with gourmet mushrooms.

 

 

 

 

 

Rachel (Nienhsuan) Su

Lab Manager, Study Coordinator

 

 

Rachel graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology (Neurobiology emphasis) and Psychology. She is currently working at the THRIVE lab to better understand how psychological stress can affect health and cognition. Her research interests include examining sex differences in symptoms involved in various diseases, like PTSD.  She intends to pursue a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience. In her free time, Rachel enjoys reading and taking walks with the neighborhood cats.

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Srouji

Lab Manager, Study Coordinator

 

Michael earned a B.A. in both Psychology and Communication from UCLA. His research interests focus on the neural mechanisms underlying trauma and PTSD. Michael aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.

Study Staff and Research Assistants

 

Graduate Students

Mary Smirnova

Doctoral Student

Mary Smirnova is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at University of Nevada, Reno. Mary's current research focuses on examining risk and resilience factors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and utilizing these factors to help guide treatment. Specifically, she is interested in leveraging social support and gratitude to help individuals with elevated PTSD symptoms. Additionally, she is excited about examining the relationship between biological factors, such as inflammatory markers, and the development of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

Check out Mary's Google Scholar profile here.

Anna is a medical student at the University of Copenhagen, where she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine from and is currently studying for her Master’s degree in Medicine. She has joined the THRIVE Lab through the DARE Fellowship program to strengthen the research bond between Denmark and the US. Anna is a part of a research group in Copenhagen that focuses on Immunopsychiatry and precision medicine in Psychiatry. She also has a great interest in psychedelic therapy and expanding the field of knowledge in new psychiatric treatments. When she isn’t working she likes to use social media for spreading knowledge on mental disorders and also hiking, music, food and skiing.

Anna Skovgaard

Graduate Student

 

Students

 

Alumni

Here is a list of THRIVE Lab alumni. Many of our alumni have moved on to careers in psychological research, medical school, and graduate school in various disciplines.

Students:

  • Ashkan Ahmadian
  • Joy Lin
  • Adam Luxembourg
  • Jennifer Paulson
  • Rebecca Rosser
  • Jessica Zahm

Research Assistants:

  • Ahmad Jiha, Research Assistant (2019-2021)
    • Ahmad assisted the THRIVE Lab with studies for over a year. He was the recruitment manager for the SMART study. 
  • Nora Huey, Research Assistant (2018-2019)
    • Nora assisted the THRIVE Lab with studies for over a year. She ran REPS 2.0, and is now training for a PsyD. 
  • Emily Kalantar, Research Assistant (2018)
    • Emily was accepted to a Clinical Psychology PhD program.
  • Hiep Nguyen, Research Assistant (2016-2017)
    • Hiep studies Biology at UC Berkeley. 
  • Belén Rogowski, Research Assistant (2016-2017)
    • Belen is a student at UC Berkeley. 
  • Annika Williams, Research Assistant (2016-2017)
    • Annika is applying to medical school. 
  • Zachary Matheson, Research Assistant (2016-2017)
    • Zach assisted the THRIVE Lab with studies for over a year. He transitioned to working at the BAND Lab in October 2017. 
  • Gowri Sundar, Research Assistant (2016-2017)
  • Yeelen Edwards, Research Assistant (2017)
  • Vivien Shifei Li, M.A., Research Assistant (2016-2017)
  • Sasha Afroz, Research Assistant (2021)
  • Jeri Tan, Research Assistant (2021)
  • Andrew Tsai, Research Assistant (2021)

Lab Managers/Study Coordinators:

  • Samantha McGirr, Lab Manager/Study Coordinator (2016-2017)
  • Rachel Tenney, Lab Manager/Study Coordinator (2016-2017)
  • Kim Friedland, Study Coordinator (2017)
    • Kim worked in the lab during summer 2017 and coordinated the REPS 2.0 study. She left to pursue work at Airbnb.
  • Paige Tripp, Lab Manager/Study Coordinator (2019-2021)
  • Zoe Zong, Lab Manager/Study Coordinator (2022-2024)

Postdoctoral Fellows/Scholars:

  • Andreas Kuffer, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar (2014-2017) 
  • Ana Pesquita, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow (2017)
    • Dr. Pesquita will still be collaborating remotely with the lab on the analysis of REPS 1.0 data.

Up to 2016

Key Collaborators