Meet the Team
Principal Investigator
Dr. Cheryl Chancellor-Freeland
Dr. Cheryl Chancellor-Freeland is a neuroscientist and the principal investigator at INI. Dr. Chancellor-Freeland received her PhD in psychology and biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She completed her post-doctoral studies as a neurobiologist and psychoneuroimmunologist at Boston University Medical School.
Dr. Chancellor-Freeland’s research focus is in stress, cultural and socioeconomic factors, as well as mental and physical health. Her particular focus is on stress mitigating factors.
Dr. Chancellor-Freeland is the recipient of multiple grant awards, two of which have been NIH funded. She has served as an evaluator on the NIH (MBRS) Grants Review Panel. She is also a member of the Latino Behavioral Health Institute, Western Psychological Association and Society of Neuroscience.
Dr. Chancellor-Freeland is currently a Professor at San Jose State University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, which include Biopsychology and Neuroscience. She is also a departmental advisor for undergraduate psychology majors.
Lab Managers
Cheyenne Murphy, B.A. Psychology
Cheyenne is a graduate student at SJSU in the Research and Experimental Psychology M.A. program. Her current research experience includes analyzing stress in college students and clinical treatments for Parkinson’s disease psychosis. She is also interested in researching the neuroimmunological effects of stress and trauma, and studying regenerative therapy for neuropsychological diseases. Her academic goals are to obtain her Ph.D. in Psychology and continue to research stress and the effects on neurological health. Besides her passion for psychology, Cheyenne also loves art and nature. Her hobbies include painting, cooking, and going on walks with her partner and their dog, Indi.
Edith Contreras, B.A. Psychology
Edith is an SJSU graduate with a BA in psychology and a minor in biological sciences. She has been an INI Lab member since 2021 and has led a project on post-traumatic growth during and following the COVID-19 pandemic and is currently involved in our experiment which looks into the effects of stress on cognitive tasks. She aspires to complete a Ph.D. program in neuroscience or psychology and is particularly interested in behavioral neuroscience in relation to the effects of neurodevelopmental disorders. In her free time, Edith enjoys dancing, concerts, and spending time outdoors with her friends and family. She also loves checking out new music and tv shows with her cat Wednesday and discovering local foods.
Graduate Research Assistants
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Hannah Suozzi
Hannah is a graduate student in the Research and Experimental Psychology MA program at SJSU. Her research areas of interest include loneliness and its impact on well-being and social surrogacy, particularly parasocial relationships. Her future goals are to earn a PhD in Social Psychology and to become a professor and researcher, continuing to look into ways that negate loneliness. Aside from academics, Hannah enjoys drawing, reading, and listening to music.
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Santi Decunto
Santi is a graduate student at SJSU in the Research & Experimental Psychology MA program. His background is in Neurology - having worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator for Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease drug trials across 5 years. His primary interests are the psychopharmacological relationships between Cannabis and mental illness, and the sociopolitical implications of Cannabis policy on the therapeutic landscape. Santi will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and a Clinical Psychopharmacology postdoctoral fellowship. He’s originally from Argentina, and is an avid lover of animals and the arts. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, acting, spending quality time with family, and practicing piano.
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Marc-Emil Sevilla
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Research Assistants
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Samantha Ruelas, B.A.
Samantha is a recent SJSU graduate with a B.A. in psychology. Her research interests include neuroscience, causes and treatment of anxiety disorders, social relationships and their effects on mental health, and chronic stress effects on the mind and body. She’s also interested in the neurobiological effects of trauma and epigenetics. Her goals include pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and researching neurological effects of stress and anxiety. She also hopes to one day become a licensed psychologist and have her own practice. Other than psychology, she loves going on walks or outside in general, trying out new restaurants, reading, and biking.
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Max Barela, B.A.
Max is a SJSU graduate with a B.A. in Psychology. Some of their research interests are neuroscience and cognitive psychology. After graduating they plan on pursuing further education to acquire a PhD somewhere in the field of neuroscience. Outside of academics, Max enjoys a mixture of gaming and being active. In their freetime, you can find them getting coffee, rock climbing, hiking, or playing hockey.
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Roman Garcia
Roman is currently a senior at SJSU majoring in psychology. His research interests include the investigation of the intricate dynamics of stress and aggression in online gaming environments, acute grief and its effects on cognition and nervous system regulation, and exploring the link between exercise and mental health. He intends to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Outside of school, he enjoys playing guitar in his band, listening to music, hiking, and lifting weights.
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Natalie Khayo
Natalie is a senior at SJSU majoring in Psychology. She has many research interests, including the study of psychological, physiological, and neurological effects of war-related trauma and violence. She is also interested in social psychology, specifically studying stereotypes, negative biases, and discrimination - and the media’s impacts on attitudes towards specific outgroups. In the future, she plans on pursuing Ph.D. degree. When she’s not busy with her academics, she enjoys drawing portraits of people, discovering new music, learning more about her culture, and spending quality time with her loved ones.
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Drayson Paul
Drayson is an undergraduate Psychology major at SJSU that transferred in the fall of 2023, and joined the INI Lab within the first weeks of the semester. Previously enamored with facets of the medical field such as anatomy, physiology, and biology in general, he further broadened his interests in the social sciences and found where these disciplines intersect. Fascinated by the dialogue between cognitive processes and physiological response, he’s found a home amongst the research team in the Psychology department.
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Calvin Alcantara
Calvin is an undergraduate Psychology major at SJSU. He originally majored in mechanical engineering but has recently changed to psychology. He is interested in the research aspects of psychology and may be leaning more towards human factors. As of now his main goal is to gain further experience in research and getting into a related masters program. Outside of education, he likes learning more about cars and working on them as well. A recent hobby he has picked up is growing different types of gourmet mushrooms.
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Sierra Neven
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Zahra Mohammad Yousuf
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Amari Dabadghav
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Rennie-Laurens Stewart
Rennie is a senior psychology major at SJSU and a proud first-generation college student. Born and raised on the East Side of San José, he is determined to make history in his family and aims to become the first to earn a PhD. With a passion for cognitive neuroscience and neurophysiology, he aspires to lead a research lab dedicated to mentoring and inspiring the next generation of scientists. Outside academia, Rennie enjoys working on cars, traveling to new destinations, and capturing memories through his film cameras.
Research Alumni
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Kayla Gray, M.A.
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Carmen Kischmischian, B.A.
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Alyssa Mendoza, B.S.
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Odalis Castellanos, B.A.
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David Han, B.S.
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Kelsey Lee, B.A.
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Neema Mohseni, B.S.
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Ashley Tedesco, MA
