Tessa E
- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)

Expertise

Human Computer Interaction, Digital Mental Health, Data Visualization, Behavior Change

Bio

Hi, I'm Tessa! I'm a fourth-year PhD student in Computational Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I did my B.S. at the University of Rochester in Brain and Cognitive Science, minoring in Psychology and Computer Science. Between undergrad and grad school, I worked in clinical research at Boston hospitals as well as at a biotech startup. My research interests stem from this work - I currently conduct research on technology to improve people's health and wellbeing. This falls under Human Computer Interaction and I do user studies on digital mental health apps and conversational agents. A major interest of mine is the barriers to adoption and adherence of health technology. I'm also interested in the sociality of mental health including how people with mental health conditions find support through alternatives to traditional treatment. This may be through online support forums, apps, social media, etc. In my free time I like to hike around Santa Cruz, go to the beach with my dog, ride bikes, do crossword puzzles, and watch cycling.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Social Media Screen Time

There is conflicting research on the effects of social media and screen time on mental health. This project could entail a survey of young adults to look at screen use habits, either on phones, computers, or a combination of both. Screen time is easily trackable thanks to built-in smartphone apps and tracking software on computers. We could compare how much time participants think they spend on social media vs. how much time they actually do, interviewing them on their opinions about their screen habits.

Coding skills

R, Javascript

Teaching experience

Starting as an undergrad, I TA'ed two semesters of Web Development which fueled my interest in teaching. I also was part of my major's mentorship program where I worked with a younger student to help them navigate their early days of college. After college, I worked with a group of four undergraduate interns at a biotech startup, teaching them about our product, working with human subjects, and how to run EEG studies. As a graduate student, I've been a teaching assistant for five quarters. These courses have been on 3D Modeling, Computer-Mediated Communication, and Game Design. I also have mentored 9 undergraduate research assistants which has been a very meaningful part of my experience thus far. I've really enjoyed working together on projects and teaching them about the research process and what it's like to be a grad student.

Credentials

Education

University of Rochester

BS Bachelor of Science (2016)

Brain and Cognitive Science

University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)

MS Master of Science

Computational Media