This posting is dedicated to the memory of fellow UCLA Bruin Brianna Kupfer whose innocent life was taken on January 13, 2022 by alleged killer Shawn Laval Smith.
Below is an email I received from my Alma Mater UCLA. When I receive communications like this it reminds me that it was a privilege to have been accepted to, attended and graduated from such an esteemed, renown university where great people do great things.
When I think of the hatred and jealousy I have been subjected to and have had to endure from certain members of my dysfunctional, broken family it reaffirms just how different I am than them. Ironically one of my worst haters is my recently retired LAPD officer brother Frank together with his cohort Lisbeth "Liz" Sebiane who is of very questionable character.
My education in the discipline of Psychology has allowed me to understand my family dynamic and put the strained and non-existent relationships in their proper perspective. My education, amongst other things, has allowed me to write in an articulate manner about multiple subject matter including, but not limited to, bullying, hatred and the dysfunctional family. I hope that my words and relevant blog postings help others with similar experiences.
Jacqueline Sebiane
From: LifeSciences@eamail3.ucla.edu
To: jsebiane@XXXXX.com
Sent: 1/7/2022 2:19:59 PM Pacific Standard Time
Dear UCLA Psychology Alumni and Friends,
On behalf of the Department of Psychology, I wish you a rewarding and healthy year ahead. After a quarter in which we conducted a combination of in-person and remote courses and collaborations, we look forward to increasing educational and scientific activities on campus this quarter, as the circumstances allow. As we traverse a changing academic landscape, it is reassuring that some things remain the same: the excellence of our program and the excellence of our students. In today’s message, I’d like to focus on our outstanding students. The students enrolled in our courses today are the scientists, innovators, and leaders of tomorrow. Please allow me to highlight some of our stars.
Two of our undergraduate students received truly remarkable honors last academic year.
Jiani Li (currently a senior) was selected as one of only
three recipients in the nation of the Undergraduate Research Excellence Award
by the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS).
The FABBS award acknowledges undergraduate student investigators who have
conducted research of superior quality and with potentially broad societal
impact. In this very sophisticated honors thesis, Jiani wrote code to create
representational similarity analyses (RSA) that allow her to examine whether
similarities in participants' emotional responses to political videos
correspond to their degree of neural synchrony (i.e., common neural
fluctuations) across time. In November, Jiani presented her findings to our
Department of Psychology Board of Advisors at their second meeting, as did her
mentor, Professor Matt Lieberman.
Faaizah Arshad (currently a junior) was honored as one of
two recipients of the 2021 Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics
(OHDSI) Titan Award for Community Support. The first undergraduate to ever
earn one of the OHDSI community’s top individual honors, Faaizah assumed a
leadership role in creating an inclusive and welcoming space for OHDSI
newcomers by co-establishing and leading the new Early-Stage Researchers
workgroup. Faaizah also provided an invited presentation on “Applying methods
sequentially” during the first plenary session of the 2021 OHDSI Global
Symposium. Similar to the unprecedented nature of her earning a Titan Award,
Faaizah has been the only undergraduate to date to present at any OHDSI
Symposium plenary session.
In addition, our remarkable graduate students consistently earn well-deserved honors. Following are just a few highlights from the last year:
Jennifer Gamarra (Clinical Area) received the Society of
Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology’s Leadership Education to Advance
Diversity (LEAD) Institute Fellow Award.
Joni Brown (Health Area) won the Outstanding Trainee Award
at the 2021 Health Preconference for the Society for Personality and Social
Psychology.
Akila Kadambi (Cognitive Area), Amanda Baker (Behavioral
Neuroscience Area), and Carolyn Ponting (Clinical Area) received the American
Psychological Association (APA) Dissertation Research Award.
Gio Ramos (Clinical Area) received the American
Psychological Foundation (APF) Queen-Nellie Evans Scholarship.
Claudia Aguirre (BNS Area) was selected for the highly
competitive Marine Biological Laboratory Summer Program in Neuroscience,
Excellence and Success.
Some of our graduate students are fortunate to be the beneficiaries of our donors’ generosity. Lindsay Meredith (Clinical Area) was selected by the Pritzker Committee for Excellence to receive the second annual Pritzker Graduate Scholar Award, which supports her in 2021-2022. The focus of Lindsay’s research is to develop and advance behavioral and pharmacologic treatments for addiction from a clinical and translational lens, as mentored by Professor Lara Ray. The Pritzker Graduate Scholar Award is intended to support graduate students in the Department of Psychology who demonstrate excellence in the conduct of psychological science with the potential for high public impact. We are deeply grateful to the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation for their incredible generosity and support of our Department and students.
Likewise, we are thankful for the support and friendship of
all our donors. During 2020-21, several graduate students received Psychology
Department Endowed Fellowships, which are made possible by the generous support
of our donors. For example:
Adam Gold (BNS Area) received the Atamdede Fellowship.
Corinne Meinhausen (Health Area) received the John Fels and
Sherri Abend-Fels Fellowship.
Crystal Venegas (Clinical Area) received the Irene Kassorla
Fellowship.
Shiyun Wang (BNS Area) received the Liu Yunghuo Bei Qui
Memorial Fellowship.
Maira Karan (Developmental Area) received the Norma &
Seymour Feshbach Doctoral Dissertation Award.
While our outstanding undergraduate and graduate students are diverse in their backgrounds and foci of psychological study, they are connected in their motivation toward excellence. I am honored to support this vibrant community of scholars. I am ever grateful for the support of our alumni and friends, and I look forward to keeping you posted on the exciting developments taking place in Psychology. In the meantime, I encourage you to visit our website to discover more.
With best regards,
Annette L. Stanton, Ph.D
Distinguished Professor and Chair
UCLA Department of Psychology
