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Meet the Team

Iony D. Ezawa, PhD

Iony D. Ezawa, PhD

Principal Investigator

Dr. Ezawa is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Depression Treatment Laboratory at the University of Southern California. She completed her doctoral training at The Ohio State University, clinical internship at the University of California, San Diego/Veterans Affairs Consortium, and postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Ezawa is primarily interested in the treatment of depression. In line with this interest, her research focuses on investigating how treatments for depression achieve their effects and how they can be adapted to meet the needs of different patients.

Iony D. Ezawa, PhD

Principal Investigator

Dr. Ezawa is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Depression Treatment Laboratory at the University of Southern California. She completed her doctoral training at The Ohio State University, clinical internship at the University of California, San Diego/Veterans Affairs Consortium, and postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Ezawa is primarily interested in the treatment of depression. In line with this interest, her research focuses on investigating how treatments for depression achieve their effects and how they can be adapted to meet the needs of different patients.

Iony D. Ezawa, PhD
Francisco N. Ramos, BA

Francisco N. Ramos, BA

Lab Manager

Francisco Ramos is the lab manager of the Depression Treatment Laboratory at the University of Southern California. He is interested in studying the development of accessible, evidence-based interventions for mental health disorders, particularly major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder. He hopes to further investigate the implementation of new technologies (e.g. the metaverse) in mental health services and how such interventions may be made accessible for underserved populations, particularly Latine communities.

Francisco N. Ramos, BA

Lab Manager

Francisco Ramos is the lab manager of the Depression Treatment Laboratory at the University of Southern California. He is interested in studying the development of accessible, evidence-based interventions for mental health disorders, particularly major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder. He hopes to further investigate the implementation of new technologies (e.g. the metaverse) in mental health services and how such interventions may be made accessible for underserved populations, particularly Latine communities.

Francisco N. Ramos, BA
Rachel A. Bernstein, BA

Rachel A. Bernstein, BA

PhD Student

Rachel Bernstein is a first-year graduate student in the Clinical Science PhD program at USC. After completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, she worked as a post-bac research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In the Depression Treatment Laboratory, Rachel is interested in leveraging technology to better understand psychotherapeutic mechanisms of change in the context of depressive and anxiety disorders. She hopes this knowledge will inform the development of scalable and personalized interventions for these disorders.

Rachel A. Bernstein, BA

PhD Student

Rachel Bernstein is a first-year graduate student in the Clinical Science PhD program at USC. After completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, she worked as a post-bac research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In the Depression Treatment Laboratory, Rachel is interested in leveraging technology to better understand psychotherapeutic mechanisms of change in the context of depressive and anxiety disorders. She hopes this knowledge will inform the development of scalable and personalized interventions for these disorders.

Rachel A. Bernstein, BA
Anh Dao, BA

Anh Dao, BA

PhD Student

Anh Dao is a first-year graduate student in the Depression Treatment Laboratory at the University of Southern California. Anh graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Medicine, Health, and Society and Psychology in 2021. Anh was an undergraduate honors student from 2019 to 2021 before becoming the manager of the Mood, Emotion, and Development lab from 2021 to 2023. Anh's research interests include the use of multi-method predictors of depression treatment response to individualize treatment selection, and understanding how client-therapist variables influence responses to interventions. In her free time, Anh enjoys taking pictures of her duck, Mimi, creating potato art, and trying different sweets.

Anh Dao, BA

PhD Student

Anh Dao is a first-year graduate student in the Depression Treatment Laboratory at the University of Southern California. Anh graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Medicine, Health, and Society and Psychology in 2021. Anh was an undergraduate honors student from 2019 to 2021 before becoming the manager of the Mood, Emotion, and Development lab from 2021 to 2023. Anh's research interests include the use of multi-method predictors of depression treatment response to individualize treatment selection, and understanding how client-therapist variables influence responses to interventions. In her free time, Anh enjoys taking pictures of her duck, Mimi, creating potato art, and trying different sweets.

Anh Dao, BA
Anna Ng

Anna Ng

Research Assistant

Anna is a senior undergraduate student majoring in Behavioral Economics and Psychology at the University of Southern California. Before coming to USC, Anna studied Philosophy at New York University with a focus on the mind-body problem. She is interested in neurocomputational consciousness theories and the philosophy of the mind. In her free time, she enjoys dancing and sunbathing. She plans to pursue a PhD after undergrad and is grateful to contribute to the depression treatment lab at USC!

Anna Ng

Research Assistant

Anna is a senior undergraduate student majoring in Behavioral Economics and Psychology at the University of Southern California. Before coming to USC, Anna studied Philosophy at New York University with a focus on the mind-body problem. She is interested in neurocomputational consciousness theories and the philosophy of the mind. In her free time, she enjoys dancing and sunbathing. She plans to pursue a PhD after undergrad and is grateful to contribute to the depression treatment lab at USC!

Anna Ng
Prajna Wankawalla

Prajna Wankawalla

Research Assistant

Prajna Wankawalla is a first-year undergraduate student from Mumbai, India studying at the University of Southern California. She is majoring in Cognitive Science with a minor in Artificial Intelligence Applications and is a part of the Thematic Options Honors Program. Throughout her high school career, Prajna immersed herself in researching depression and her primary focus area has revolved around how stigma influences the mental health of LGBTQ+ members in India. In the Depression Treatment Lab, Prajna hopes to refine therapeutic modalities to reduce treatment duration, particularly for depressive disorders. She further aims to destigmatize discussions surrounding mental health conditions, particularly among high school students, with the intent of optimizing the efficacy of treatments for psychological disorders. Apart from exploring the field of depression, Prajna also loves exploring matcha cafes around LA, sunset spots and mountain summits.

Prajna Wankawalla

Research Assistant

Prajna Wankawalla is a first-year undergraduate student from Mumbai, India studying at the University of Southern California. She is majoring in Cognitive Science with a minor in Artificial Intelligence Applications and is a part of the Thematic Options Honors Program. Throughout her high school career, Prajna immersed herself in researching depression and her primary focus area has revolved around how stigma influences the mental health of LGBTQ+ members in India. In the Depression Treatment Lab, Prajna hopes to refine therapeutic modalities to reduce treatment duration, particularly for depressive disorders. She further aims to destigmatize discussions surrounding mental health conditions, particularly among high school students, with the intent of optimizing the efficacy of treatments for psychological disorders. Apart from exploring the field of depression, Prajna also loves exploring matcha cafes around LA, sunset spots and mountain summits.

Prajna Wankawalla
Image by Ben White

You?

Prospective Student

The DTXL at the University of Southern California is devoted to training the next generation of clinical scientists who are dedicated to the study and advancement of psychological interventions. If you have a passion for research and examining and improving treatment methods, please click the button below to learn more.

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