People
Aaron Fisher is an Associate Professor of Psychology and the director of the Idiographic Dynamics Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his PhD from the Pennsylvania State University in 2012 and joined the Department of Psychology at UC Berkeley in 2013 after a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University.
Dr. Fisher’s research seeks to measure, model, and understand dynamic processes in individual behavior and health.
Peter Soyster is a PhD candidate in the Clinical Science Program. Is it possible to accurately predict when someone will use a drug, hours before they use it? If so, could such knowledge be used to improve treatments for substance use disorders? Peter’s research employs idiographic methods to understand substance use dynamics and predict future use at an individual level. Specifically, he is interested in understanding how biological, psychological, and social factors contribute to momentary decisions to use tobacco and alcohol. In his free time, Peter enjoys playing bass guitar and wrestling with his cat.
Esther Howe is a PhD student in the Clinical Science Program. Esther's research aims to understand the impact of sexual assault on mental health. Can we use data collected in the acute post-trauma period (one-month post-assault) to predict long-term PTSD outcomes? Could these same post-assault data also shed light on developmental trajectories of PTSD? Esther aims to answer these questions by examining within-person symptom dynamics during the acute post-trauma period, and identifying group-level patterns of these dynamics. She is particularly interested in understanding how social reactions to sexual assault survivors contribute to PTSD development, and in incorporating passive measurement of physiology and social context into her work. She sees her current research as an important first step towards the development of empirically-based momentary interventions that prevent PTSD.
Jiyoung Song is a PhD student in Clinical Science at UC Berkeley. His research aims to create a personalized modular treatment protocol by identifying and leveraging between and within individual differences in the formation and maintenance of psychopathology, specifically in the context of external stressors such as homophobia experienced by the LGBTQ+ community. He is also interested in studying how to best disseminate evidence-based treatments to community health clinics outside of research settings. In his free time, he is in constant search for portrait subjects.
Kelly Dombek is a PhD student in the Clinical Science Program. Kelly's research focuses on the dynamic relations between physiological states and emotional experience, with the aim of integrating and leveraging this data to individualize psychosocial interventions for mood, anxiety, and stress-related disorders. Outside of the lab, Kelly can often be found browsing the philosophy section of Half Price Books on Shattuck Ave, rewatching The Sopranos, or taking a nap.
Griffin Kreit is Post-Baccalaureate student in Psychology at UC Berkeley. Working as lab manager at the Idiographic Dynamics Lab, Griffin trains the undergraduate RAs on running in-person participant sessions and organizes after-hour lab socials. He plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology where he will investigate how idiographic methodology can enhance treatment personalization and novel therapeutic development, with a particular focus on cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. In his free time, Griffin enjoys meditating, bouldering, and listening to live music.
Lab Alumni
Hannah Bosley, Ph.D.
Jon Reeves, Ph.D.
Allison Diamond Altman, Ph.D.