Alumni

BEDLab Alumni

Former faculty, doctoral students, masters students, research associates, and undergraduate research assistants.

Former Faculty and Collaborators

Charles Zhang (inaugural co-director)

Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of California, Riverside (2014-2023)

Charles Zhang's main research interest is judgment and decision making with an emphasis on numerical judgment and inference. Some of his published work is focused on how the granularity of communicated numbers conveys information that goes beyond the magnitude of the numbers. Professor Zhang also has some work on metaphor and embodiment.

Professor Zhang graduated from the University of Michigan with a PhD in Marketing. At UCR, he teaches Marketing Research to both MBAs and undergraduates, which he enjoys a lot owing to his earlier training in statistics and survey methodology as well as his industrial experience from Young & Rubicam and eBay. Prior to joining UCR in 2014, Professor Zhang taught at Boston College. In his leisure time, Professor Zhang enjoys classical music and board games.

Now: Research Professor at Advanced Institute of Business, Tongji University

Doctoral Students

Hang (Henry) Shen (inaugural member)

Founder and CEO, Lake West Analytics

Visiting Fellow, London School of Economics

(Initial placement) Assistant Professor of Data-Driven Marketing, IÉSEG School of Management, Paris, France

Yun (Joseph) Jie (inaugural member)

Distinguished Research Fellow, School of Tourism Management, South China Normal University

Prior positions:

(Initial placement) Assistant Professor of Marketing, SolBridge International School of Business, Republic of Korea

Assistant Professor of Marketing, Sun Yat-Sen Business School, Guangzhou, China

Alyssa Wicker

Alyssa graduated with a PhD in Marketing. Alyssa’s research focuses on positive emotions and their influence on consumer behaviors. She is particularly interested in the effects of gratitude on tipping, forgiveness of service failures, and gullibility. Prior to coming to UCR, Alyssa examined the impact of positive emotions on income allocation, cultural differences in emotion experience, and emotion regulation choices, as well as worked to understand the boundaries of psychological inertia. She graduated with a Master in 2018 from San Francisco State University, where she wrote her thesis on psychological inertia.

Ziyi Zhang

Ziyi Zhang graduated with a PhD in Management. Her research focused on the social and personal-cognitive foundations of organizational behavior, including how people's beliefs influence ethical and unethical behavior, performance, and emotions. Before joining UCR School of Business, Ziyi earned her Master's degree in Global Finance from Fordham University.

Initial Placement: Postdoctoral researcher in Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Masters Students

Sam Haoyang Fan

Sam Fan earned a Bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics and Management Science. At BEDLab, he worked on interdisciplinary research connecting data science, management science, behavioral economics, and business.

Project: Using Natural-Language Processing to improve compliments in organizations

Xiang Shi

Xiang Shi graduated with a Masters of Analytics from Viterbi Engineering School at the University of Southern California. She has a bachelor's degree in Financial Engineering. She is interested in combining machine learning with consumer behavior, finance, and related areas.

Projects: Using NLP to improve Compliments; What predicts citations for Management papers

Next Steps: PhD Program in Economics at University of Nevada - Reno

Undergrad Research Associates (led research projects)

Shreya Deshmukh

Shreya Deshmukh majored in economics at UCR and was interested in medicine. She joined BEDLab to learn more about behavioral economics and decision-making in healthcare, especially public health and patient adherence to treatment.

Project: Nudging gym attendance among UCR students

Next Steps: Medical school at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Matthew Dimandaal

Matthew Dimandaal majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Business Analytics at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he explored the intersection of behavioral economics and decision-making, with a focus on how people perceive and respond to AI-driven interactions.

Project: Replicating and extending AI Hyper-realism (Miller et al. 2023)

Next Steps: Marketing Analytics Intern at Live Nation

Alyssa Fundal

Alyssa Fundal double-majored in Environmental Science and Psychology at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, she researched the intersection of environmental sustainability, consumerism, and behavioral economics.

Project: Reducing food waste with social norms at UCR Residence Restaurants

Next Steps: CORO Fellowship - SoCal class of 2024-25

Milena Guidotti

Milena Guidotti majored in Business Administration at UC Riverside with a concentration in Finance and a minor in International Relations. Her BEDLab research examined the pain of paying and how different payment methods affect spending habits and emotions across age groups.

Project: Does paying with credit cards hurt more or less than cash? Pain of payment in young adults

Win Thant Tin Han

Win Thant Tin Han majored in Computer Science at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he studied how college students perceive and use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT as part of his Honors Capstone project.

Project: Exploring Perceptions of College Students Regarding Usage of Generative-AI tools (Honors Capstone)

Next Steps: Masters of Computer Science at USC

Helen Huang

Helen majored in Business Economics and was a part of the Honors Program. She completed her honors capstone research on how speeding up video advertisements changes how consumers perceive the ad. Her research was published in the UCR Undergraduate Research Journal. Helens plans to gain work experience after graduation in economics and then may pursue a master's degree.

Project: Speeding Up Ads

Publication: Helen Huang & Ye Li (2023). Less is Less: Fast Ad Delivery Undermines Impact. UCR Undergraduate Research Journal, Volume XVII, p.57-65.

Karlee Labrador

Karlee Labrador joined BEDLab as a second year and graduated in Business with a concentration in Marketing. She was a member of UCR's Healthy Campus and a tutor for the University Writing Program. Her research interests include attitudes and social cognition toward sustainability. She completed a research project on UCR student sustainability attitudes and behaviors and what determines the gap between attitudes and action.

Project: Measuring the link between sustainability beliefs and behaviors at UCR

Iva Mihajlovic

Iva Mihajlovic majored in Economics at UC Riverside with minors in Finance and Mathematics. In BEDLab, she led projects on dietary habits, mindfulness, and decision-making related to health and well-being.

Projects: 1) Mindfulness and financial decision making, 2) Nudging healthy eating at Scotty's

Next Steps: PhD in Marketing at USC starting Fall 2025!

Gabriel Morada

Gabe joined BEDLab as a third year as a Honors student, where he eventually completed an honors capstone project on "Instagram Happiness." He was interested in understanding what contributed to satisfaction with using Instagram. He graduated with a concentration in Marketing.

Project Lead: What leads to greater satisfaction with Instagram usage?

Marah Salloum

Marah Salloum completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at UC Riverside after earning associate's degrees from Riverside City College in Psychology and Childhood/Adolescent Development. In BEDLab, she worked on her Honors Capstone project on anxiety and decision-making.

Project: Anxiety Effects on Decision Making by College Students (Honors Capstone)

Publications: Marah Salloum & Ye Li (2025). Anxiety Effects on Decision Making by College Students. UCR Undergraduate Research Journal, Volume XIX, p.101-108.

Michael Wong

Michael Wong joined BEDLab as a second-year student and completed his honors thesis on emotion, loneliness, and decision-making. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems and a minor in Applied Statistics.

Project: How loneliness impacts decision making among college students

Undergraduate Alumni

Soumya Agarwal

Data Analyst

Soumya Agarwal graduated with a degree in Business Administration, concentrating in Business Analytics. She was interested in data work and its intersections with AI, healthcare, decision-making, and psychology.

Her BEDLab experience expanded her exposure to data analysis in a real-world research setting and helped her build skills for transforming raw information into meaningful insights.

Riya Borole

Riya Borole majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. In BEDLab, she explored how cognitive and emotional factors influence financial choices while gaining hands-on research experience.

Reanna Alam

Reanna Alam majored in Computer Science with Business Applications. Her interest in consumer psychology led her to join BEDLab, where she contributed to research on consumer and managerial decision-making.

Alberto Campos

Alberto Campos majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he strengthened his research skills and worked with data-driven approaches to business and decision-making questions.

Keerthi Chidella

Keerthi Chidella majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Management at UC Riverside. Her interests included organizational change, project management, and how organizations can make work more fulfilling.

Arini Derrick

Arini Derrick is an undergraduate Business Administration student concentrating in management. Her academic interests span from international political economy, psychology, and decision making, with a particular curiosity about the role of emotions in shaping choices both inside and outside the business world. She is eager to explore and contribute as a lab assistant, collaborating with others and applying her skills to gain deeper insight into how people make decisions. Arini looks forward to transforming knowledge into practical solutions that can address challenges in organizational, economic, as well as everyday contexts.

Shlok Garg

Shlok Garg studied Business Administration at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he explored the intersection of business and psychology and gained experience with behavioral research.

Jasmine Hanna

Jasmine Hanna majored in Computer Science with Business Applications at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, she explored how behavioral economics and consumer psychology influence decision-making, while combining analytical and creative approaches to research.

Shreya Jain

Shreya Jain joined BEDLab as a first-year economics student interested in behavioral economics and consumer psychology. She used BEDLab to build on her earlier experience with cognitive psychology research.

Transferred: UCSB

Chuqi (Angel) Jin

Data Analyst

Chuqi (Angel) Jin majored in Statistics with a concentration in Statistical Computing and planned to minor in Accounting. In BEDLab, she explored behavioral economics, financial decision-making, and data-driven research.

Next Steps: Masters of Data Science, USC

Celine Korfali

Celine Korfali majored in Public Policy at UC Riverside with concentrations in Public Health Policy and Policy Processes and Institutions. In BEDLab, she examined how decisions are made and how well-designed policies can encourage healthier choices.

William Lam

William Lam majored in Economics at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he explored choice architecture and consumer decision-making.

Jordan (Grayson) Law

Jordan (Grayson) Law majored in Business Economics and minored in Mathematics at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he built technical skills for policy analysis and research.

Julian Lu

Data Analyst

Julian Lu majored in Economics at UC Riverside. His interest in behavioral economics led him to join BEDLab to gain hands-on experience with research and projects.

Next Steps: UT Austin for Masters of Business Analytics

Kalyani Mantirraju

Data Analyst

Kalyani Mantirraju majored in Data Science with a minor in Mathematics. In BEDLab, she applied data analysis methods to behavioral research.

Chandrahaas Mariserla

Chandrahaas Mariserla majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems. In BEDLab, he studied consumer behavior and strengthened his data analysis skills.

Victor Nguyen

Victor Nguyen majored in Business Administration with a focus on Management. In BEDLab, he explored organizational behavior, behavioral science, AI, and decision-making in consumer and corporate environments.

Next Steps: Masters of Management at UCI

Ashwin Ramaseshan

Ashwin Ramaseshan majored in Computer Science at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he worked on research connecting statistical models, behavioral psychology, and consumer economics.

Raghav Rapaka

Raghav Rapaka joined BEDLab as an undergraduate business student interested in artificial intelligence and algorithms. In BEDLab, he explored how algorithmic and AI tools can make workplaces function more efficiently.

Bill Tamayo Jr

Bill Tamayo Jr. is the founder of Insight Strategy Lab, a research-driven consulting practice focused on integrating people, processes, and technology for mission-driven organizations.

He holds a BBA in Human Resource Management, an MS in Management, and an MA in Military Studies. His BEDLab research interests focused on artificial intelligence, strategic foresight, and performance analytics in organizational systems.

Arshleen Toor

Data Analyst

Arshleen Toor majored in Business Administration with a minor in Economics at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, she applied data analytics skills to projects involving machine learning, artificial intelligence, and organizational decision-making.

Sean Veve

Sean Veve majored in Economics at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he explored questions about artificial intelligence in healthcare and how people respond to human versus automated systems.

Richard Wang

Richard Wang studied Business Economics at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he gained experience with the research process and explored behavioral economics and consumer decision-making.

Yixiang (Reece) Wang

Yixiang (Reece) Wang joined BEDLab as a first-year Economics student interested in AI and human decision-making. In BEDLab, he built skills in data collection, analysis, and behavioral research.

Sonali Whittle

Sonali Whittle majored in Psychology at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, she developed her research skills and applied her psychology background to behavioral research.

Oscar Guo

Economics

Oscar Guo majored in Business Economics at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he built technical skills in data collection and research while exploring macroeconomics, policy, and individual decision-making.

Chloe Hwang

Business

Chloe Hwang is a second-year Business Administration student concentrating in Finance in the University Honors Program at UC Riverside. She is interested in improving business strategy on a global scale and understanding how consumers interact with the market. Chloe joined BEDLab to develop hands-on research skills and study the influences of decision-making. She looks forward to contributing to BEDLab projects with curiosity and impact!

Kaitlyn Huang

Business

Kaitlyn Huang is a BEDLab alumnus/a with a background in Business.

Krishna Vijayendra

Economics

Srikrishna Vijayendra majored in Economics at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he gained hands-on experience with data analytics and consumer decision-making research.

Charlie Nguyen

Management

Charlie Nguyen is a BEDLab alumnus/a with a background in Management.

Melina Shafie

Marketing

Melina Shafie majored in Business with a concentration in Marketing at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, she explored consumer decision-making, beauty, branding, digital influence, identity, and self-perception.

Isaac Solnick

Economics

Isaac Solnick is a BEDLab alumnus/a with a background in Economics.

Linlin Liu

Linlin Liu majored in Statistics at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, she learned about behavioral research topics and developed skills in data collection and data analysis.

Luis Macedo

Luis Macedo joined BEDLab as a third-year Business Administration student concentrating in Marketing. His research interests included consumer behavior, consumer decision-making, and brand persuasion.

Ashlynn Wan Kwan Mai

Ashlynn Wan Kwan Mai joined BEDLab as a first-year Biology student interested in psychology, human minds, and behavior. She was also involved with Brain Exercise Initiative, a student organization focused on cognitive exercises for people diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.

Transferred: Cornell

Anika Mehta

Anika Mehta joined BEDLab to gain exposure to the research side of business. Outside BEDLab, she held student leadership roles in the Undergraduate Business Association and South Asian Federation.

Bidisa Mukherjee

Bidisa Mukherjee majored in Economics/Administrative Studies with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Applied Statistics. Her research interests included consumer research and behavioral economics.

Ooha Nakka

Ooha Nakka majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems and minored in Applied Statistics. In BEDLab, she applied analytical skills to consumer behavior and decision-making research.

Rainita Narender

Rainita Narender double-majored in Psychology and Economics. In BEDLab, she explored decision-making mechanisms while building on her experience in both BEDLab and the Sleep and Cognition Lab.

Jenny Nguyen

Jenny Nguyen majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Management. In BEDLab, she explored behavioral research and its applications to decision-making in business environments.

Fariha Patel

Fariha Patel majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Information systems but also has an interest in finance. In terms of research, her interests include understanding how socioeconomic backgrounds affect consumer behavior. Outside of school, Fariha is an AVID tutor for middle school students.

Harsh Patel

Harsh Patel studied Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance. His research interests include consumer behavior and decision making. He is a member of Alpha Phi Omega and his recent interest in the stock market has inspired him to seek more opportunities in the finance world.

Nicholas Ramos

Nicholas joined as a 3rd year Business Major concentrating in business analytics. He also works at the Basic Needs Department at UCR as an R'Pantry Intern.

Joshua Schmidt

Joshua Schmidt majored in Economics with a minor in Business Administration at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, he studied factors that drive economic decisions by individuals and firms.

Shayona Shah

Shayona Shah majored in Economics and Administrative Studies with a concentration in Marketing. In BEDLab, she explored connections between human behavior, economics, research, and business.

Nadine Shuhaibar

Nadine Shuhaibar majored in Business with a concentration in Information Systems. Her research interests included consumer research and behavioral studies.

Amanda Sze

Inaugural Webmaster

Amanda Sze was a Business Administration student with a concentration in Marketing at the University of California, Riverside. Her research interests include consumer behavior, especially in regards to brand awareness. Amanda is involved on campus as a student ambassador for the School of Business and a Consulting Team Lead for Students Consulting Non-Profit Organizations (SCNO).

Adithi Suresh

Adithi Suresh joined BEDLab as a Pre-Business Administration student interested in finance, information systems, and data analytics. In BEDLab, she explored consumer choices and behavioral research in business.

Transferred: UC Berkeley

Devan Velji

Devan Velji studied Statistics and was interested in economics. In BEDLab, he explored how society forms expectations and the economic effects that follow.

Transferred: UCSD

Michelle Wan

Michelle Wan was an undergraduate Business Administration student with a concentration in marketing. She is interested in the psychology of marketing and decision making, and looking to further expand her knowledge in marketing. In addition, her interest also ties into the psychology behind Search Engine Optimization and identifying consumer intent with search engines.

James Wen

James Wen majored in business administration with an accounting/auditing emphasis. Besides being an research assistant, he was a student ambassador for the Wellness Center and a tax preparer for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance of the IRS.

Kaelen Wong

Kaelen majored in management. Her research interests include studying consumer behavior and behavioral economics. In addition to being a research assistant, she was also a member of Alpha Chi Omega and a Social Media Editor Intern for DearBrightly.

Kameron Woo

Kameron Woo majored in Statistics at UC Riverside and worked as a research analyst for BEDLab.

Billy Yu

Billy Yu studied Business Analytics at UC Riverside and became an incoming Risk and Advisory Analyst for Cyber at Deloitte.

Dhruv Ahuja

Dhruv Ahuja joined BEDLab as a Business Administration student concentrating in Finance. He was interested in data analysis, organizational design, and the intersection of human behavior and finance.

Transferred: UCSD

Devon Barnes

Devon Barnes majored in Business Management at UC Riverside. In addition to BEDLab, he worked as a Student Information Systems intern for UCR ITS and was interested in HR and organizational behavior.

Michael Beeli

Michael Beeli joined BEDLab as an Economics and Public Policy student. His research interests included behavioral economics and imperfect consumer rationality.

Transferred: Georgetown University.

Rohan Bijukumar

Rohan Bijukumar joined BEDLab as a data science student interested in applying analytical methods to business, economics, and behavioral economics.

Transferred: UC Berkeley.

William Bryant

William Bryant studied Statistics and Economics/Administrative Studies with a concentration in Production Management at UC Riverside. He was interested in data science, machine learning, and applications in finance, tech, and science.

Pa Kou Chang

Pa Kou Chang moved to Riverside from Fresno to study Psychology and Business Administration at UC Riverside, graduating in summer 2018. Her interests included psychology research on emotion and visual cognition, and she also contributed to youth tutoring, college preparation, and community volunteer work in Riverside.

Wesley Chang

Wesley Chang studied Economics and minored in Applied Statistics at UC Riverside. He was interested in data analytics and graduate study in statistics.

Next Steps: Masters of Information and Data Science at UC Berkeley

Bingru Chen

Bingru was a business major student at University of California, Riverside. I joined BEDLab to learn more about decision making and more. I also really interested in international business. Outside of school, I like to play tennis, travel, and enjoy some outdoor activities with my friends.

Transferred: Fordham to play tennis for their NCAA team.

Paulina Chiang

Paulina was a Business Administration major with a concentration in Management. In terms of research, she is interested in how a person's socioeconomics background can shape their decision making in terms of consumer behavior and in general. After graduating in December 2020, she is taking a gap year before going to graduate school!

Rachelle De Guzman

Rachelle De Guzman majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Business Analytics. Her research interests included consumer behavior and decision-making.

Lauren Foley

Lauren Foley pursued Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, she explored advertising, persuasion, consumer behavior, and decision-making.

Nidhi Girish

Nidhi Girish majored in Business Administration at UC Riverside. In BEDLab, she explored consumer behavior, socioeconomic and cultural factors, and the behavioral research side of business.

Gorang Gupta

Gorang Gupta studied Business Finance and Biology at UC Riverside. He became interested in behavioral decision-making and economics after helping with a negotiation study.

Handy Ho

Former Webmaster. Handy Ho majored in Biochemistry with an emphasis on Medical Field Studies. He is also a member of the Chinese Student Association. His research interests include Consumer Research, Human Neural System and Psychology of Human Behavior.

Prianka Iyer

Prianka Iyer majored in Business with a concentration in Information Systems. She is a member of Chinese Student Association, Women in Business, and Unmanned Arial Vehicles. Her research interests include consumer behavior and intends to utilize her findings to improve her marketing skills.

Ashika Jaiswal

Ashika Jaiswal joined BEDLab as a Pre-Business Administration student interested in business analytics, information systems, culture, and consumer choices.

Transferred: UC Santa Barbara

Anita Jamshidi

Anita Jamshidi majored in Marketing and minored in Media and Cultural studies. She was a member of both the American Marketing Association and Future Business Leaders of America on campus. Her research interests include consumer psychology and behavioral economics.