Lab Manager:

Angela Belsky

Angela received her BA in Psychology and Spanish from Rutgers University, where as an undergrad, she was a DiSH Lab RA. So she is thrilled that Dr. T stole her away to the west coast to manage the DiSH Lab, now at UCLA! Away from the lab, Angela helps run a non-profit in Kenya, and you'll usually find her on the next flight to somewhere crazy. But while her feet are on the ground, she is eager to pursue her research interests, specifically overall health within the interplay of eating behaviors, nutrition, and stress.

Students:

Laura Finch

Laura earned her B.S. in Human Development at Cornell University, with concentrations in Social and Personality development, as well as Nutrition and Health. In the Fall of 2012, she will begin her doctoral studies in UCLA’s Health Psychology program. Laura is interested in researching how biopsychosocial and environmental factors influence eating behavior. With a better understanding of the psychology of eating, she hopes to assist with the development of practical solutions for reversing the obesity epidemic. When she isn't in the lab, Laura loves spending time outdoors, whether it's hiking, swimming, snowboarding or playing tennis.

Jeffrey Hunger

Jeff Hunger, a graduate student at UCSB, grew up in Minnesota but is now enjoying the beautiful weather and awesome produce Santa Barbara has to offer.  When doing the whole graduate student thing, Jeff's research approaches health and eating from a social identity perspective.  With a name like Hunger, why wouldn't he be doing eating research?!

Learn more at JeffreyHunger.com

David Lowry

David, an engineer turned doctor-in-training, loves the health sciences. He gladly shares his passion for fitness with anyone willing to listen, especially captive audiences like study participants. He spends most of his time studying, experimenting in the kitchen, filling his belly with the successful dishes, and running to counterbalance all the eating.

Kris Mescher

Kris Mescher is a doctoral graduate student, pursuing her degree in social psychology. Her particular research interests involve social stigma, prejudice and using implicit methods to be sneaky about finding such information out. She’s been all over the dietary map (once managing several months as a strict vegan!) which has helped fuel her research interests in eating behavior. In her free time…she has no free time: she is a graduate student.

Mary Himmelstein

Mary is a doctoral student in social psychology at Rutgers University. A self-described saucy sassafras, she enjoys discussions, sometimes heated, with the ultimate trifecta: good food, good friends and good wine. She is broadly interested in research related to stress and health outcomes of stigma, prejudice, chronic dieting, obesity and interpersonal violence. She also enjoys studying influences on preventative healthcare and medical decision making. Never one to bite off more than she can chew, she also hopes to better understand the dandelion-orchid hypothesis of gene-environment interaction in future endeavors.