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People in the Rivera Lab

Core Faculty

Susan M. Rivera, PhD (University of California, Berkeley) , Associate Professor, Psychology: tel: 530-747-3802 office: 202 Cousteau Pl., Suite 250, Room 245
Dr. Rivera conducts research on the origins and development of symbolic representation in both infants and children. She uses classic behavioral as well as neuroimaging (fMRI) techniques to investigate such things as the development of dorsal vs. ventral visual processing, object representation, numerical cognition and affective processing. As a member of the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, she also conducts research contrasting typical development with that of children with neurodevelopmental disorders including Autism and fragile X Syndrome. One of her main research goals is to build a framework for integrating the previously disparate methodological and theoretical orientations of cognitive developmental and neuroscience research. By employing a variety of converging research techniques, she strives to elucidate the complex brain-behavior relationships that underlie cognitive development.

Jacqueline Acuna, Graduate Student, Rivera Lab: office: 202 Cousteau Pl, Suite 250

Faraz Farzin, MA (UC Davis) , Graduate Student, Rivera and Whitney labs: tel: 530-747-3808 office: 202 Cousteau Pl., Suite 250, Room 249 keywords: development of spatial and temporal visual attention, fragile X syndrome
I am a developmental psychology graduate student advised by Susan Rivera and David Whitney. My research interests include development of the visual system to select, attend to, and identify objects over time and space- and how these abilities may be impaired in infants with developmental disorders. I use psychophysical and eye-tracking techniques to assess these processes. Research with infants with fragile X syndrome is done in close collaboration with Dr. Randi Hagerman at the M.I.N.D. Institute.

Naomi Hatt, MSW, Graduate Student, Rivera Lab: tel: 530-747-3808 office: 202 Cousteau Pl., Suite 250, Room 249
Naomi is a third year psychology graduate student. Her research explores the functioning of the mirror neuron system in people with autism, and its role in understanding the actions and intentions of others. She is also working on a study defining the neurocognitive profile of people on the fragile X spectrum.

Alireza Javan, BS (UC Berkeley) , Graduate Student, Rivera Lab: tel: 530-747-3808 office: Center for Neuroscience

Emily Owen, BS, Graduate Student, Rivera Lab: tel: 530-747-3808 office: 202 Cousteau Pl., Suite 250, Room 249

Jun Yi Wang, MS (University of Texas at Dallas) , Postdoctoral Scholar, Rivera Lab: tel: 469-237-0689 office: 202 Cousteau Place, Suite 250, Room 225 keywords: The relationship between gene, brain, and cognition
Jun Yi is a postdoctoral scholar under Susan Rivera and Paul Hagerman. She conducts research to find the links between the gene, brain, and cognitive deficits in Fragile X syndrome. Currently, she performs diffusion tensor tractography to detect structural connectivity abnormalities in Fragile X and studies how these changes relate to gene, brain functioning, and cognitive profile. Her main research goal is to define the genetic and structural basis for human intelligence.

Frederick Bassal, BS (UC Davis ) , Junior Specialist, Rivera Lab: tel: 530-747-3808 office: 202 Cousteau Place, Suite 250, Room 249 keywords: Amygdala, MRI, FXS
Frederick (Freddy) graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in Psychology (Biology emphasis) in the spring of 2009. He is most interested in the use of neuroimaging techniques to study, diagnose, and potentially treat developing individuals, spurring his desire to become a Neurologist. Currently, he manages an MRI study examining the amygdala’s function in children and adolescents with Fragile X Syndrome and performs hippocampal tracing on structural images for another MRI study examining the role of the limbic system in Fragile X Premutation carriers.

Pamela Gallego, MA (York University) , Junior Specialist, Rivera Lab: tel: 530-747-3808 office: 202 Cousteau Pl., Suite 250, Room 249 keywords: Memory, Attention, Neurocognition

Ryu-Ichiro Hashimoto, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar, Rivera Lab: tel: 530-747-3808 office: 202 Cousteau PL, Suite 250, Room 248
I received my Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Tokyo, Japan. I started my research career studying the brain mechanism of language processing using fMRI. During the postdoctoral training, I extended my research interests to applications of the MRI techniques to clinical populations with language and cognitive deficits, such as schizophrenia and autism. Currently I am working on the fMRI, DTI, and MRI-based morphometric studies of the fragile X syndrome.

Eric Charles, PhD (University of California, Davis) , Graduate Student, Rivera Lab: http://www.aa.psu.edu/psych/faculty.htm

Kristi Hendrickson, Junior Specialist, Rivera Lab: Kristi Hendrickson recently graduated from U.C. Davis with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science. She is a Junior Specialist and her responsibilities include coordinating participant visits and administering standardized assessments to the infants. Kristi plans on attending a clinical psychology graduate program and hopes to pursue a career in Sports Psychology.

Colleen Phillips, Undergraduate Assistant, Rivera Lab: Colleen is a 4th year undergraduate double-majoring in Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity (B.S.) and Psychology (B.A.). She assists the research of Ms. Farzin and Ms. Hatt. She has also conducted research on the functional morphology of the fish Hydrolycus scomberoides, and plans to pursue an M.D. in Psychiatry.