About Us
Katharine Simon, PhD
Katharine Simon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, at UC Irvine and the Assistant Director of Research in Pediatric Sleep at the Children's Hospital of Orange County. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with specialties in pediatric health and behavioral sleep medicine. She obtained her B.A. at UC Berkeley and her doctorate in both Clinical Psychology and Cognition & Neural Systems at the University of Arizona under the guidance of Drs. Lynn Nadel, Rebecca Gomez, and Richard Bootzin. Her graduate work focused on sleep and memory in early development, memory reconsolidation, and targeted memory reactivation for forgetting. She completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC).
Dr. Simon's current primary research interests are the mechanisms underlying sleep, memory, and mental health across development in healthy and patient populations, memory modification, and developing new sleep-based interventions. Her work is currently funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the Children's Hospital of Orange County.
Lia GAlut, Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator, CHOC
I graduated from UCI in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychological Science. I have had so much fun supporting the SLEEP lab as a research assistant for the past 2 years! My research interests lie in using technology to investigate and track how pediatric sleep patterns could predict future mental health disorders. In my free time, I love to spend time with my friends and family and express my creativity through art and crocheting!
Andrés PEÑa, Associate Clinical Research Coordinator, CHOC
Andrés Peña is currently a clinical research coordinator with dual affiliation, both with CHOC(Children's hospital Orange county) and UCI. He graduated from UCI with a BA in Psychology back in 2020. And has been working as a clinical research coordinator for the past 3 years. Over those 3 years he has developed skills that help deal with both project management and regulatory activities like the IRB. His interests in sleep research include exploring the cognitive aspects of memory and dreaming, sleep and memory, and the possible interactions between depression, cognitive functioning, and sleep. In his free time he likes to draw, play video games, cook, and watch TV.
Kavya PAbbaraju, Junior Specialist
Kavya Pabbaraju is a recent Software Engineering graduate from UC Irvine. She joined the SLEEP lab after working with Dr. Simon on a AI-based senior capstone project, and she is excited to continue developing the AI patients and contributing to research. She is currently pursue a career in software engineering that combines her interests in technology, health data, and patient care. Outside of academics, she enjoys reading, photography, going to concerts, and traveling.
Chris Sun, RESEARCH ASSISTANT
I'm a Computer Science major here at UCI, and I am very excited to use Minecraft in research since it has been my favorite game for years. I hope that I can learn more about different technologies and use them to improve users' experiences. I love listening to music, my favorite artists being Umbrabyte and CHALKEY
Stephanie wong, RESEARCH ASSISTANT
I'm currently a third year Biological Sciences major at UC Irvine! I’m excited to work as a Research Assistant in the SLEEP Lab, integrating my interests in psychology and neurobiology while investigating how sleep shapes memory retention and emotional functioning in pediatric populations - work that aligns with my future aspiration of becoming a pediatrician. In my free time, I enjoy dancing, spending time with friends and family, and going on long walks!
Collaborators & PArtners
SLEEP CENTER CHOC Hospital
SLEEP CENTER CHOC Hospital
SLEEP CENTER CHOC Hospital
Our lab is integrated into the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). We collaboratively work with physicians and are integrated into the CHOC Sleep Center to investigate how sleep impacts the cognition and mental health of pediatric patients.
Paola Malerba, PhD Nationwide Children's Hospital
SLEEP CENTER CHOC Hospital
SLEEP CENTER CHOC Hospital
Our research focuses on understanding how neural networks produce brain rhythms and what role they play in brain function. We are currently studying sleep rhythms in the human brain, how they relate to cognition and neurodevelopment – both translationally and in terms of fundamental mechanisms.
Sara Mednick, PhD University of California, Irvine
SLEEP CENTER CHOC Hospital
Neal Nakra, MD Children's Hospital of Orange County
Our research is interested in understanding who we are as humans by investigating how we form memories. We also investigate how interactions between the central nervous system and autonomic nervous system support sleep-dependent memory.
Neal Nakra, MD Children's Hospital of Orange County
Neal Nakra, MD Children's Hospital of Orange County
Neal Nakra, MD Children's Hospital of Orange County
Dr. Nakra is the Chief of Pediatric Pulmonology at Children's Hospital of Orange County and an Associate Professor at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Nakra is board certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Pulmonary, and Sleep Medicine. Under his leadership, the CHOC Sleep Center has increased in volume and has become one of the lar
Dr. Nakra is the Chief of Pediatric Pulmonology at Children's Hospital of Orange County and an Associate Professor at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Nakra is board certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Pulmonary, and Sleep Medicine. Under his leadership, the CHOC Sleep Center has increased in volume and has become one of the largest pediatric programs in the state. In conjunction with Dr. Simon and her team, we have a goal at the CHOC Sleep Center of making every clinical encounter into a research encounter, with multiple on-going clinical research studies.
Kinnari Atit , PhD UC Riverside
Neal Nakra, MD Children's Hospital of Orange County
Kinnari Atit , PhD UC Riverside
Kinnari Atit is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Riverside. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Temple University. After receiving her doctorate, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University and also at Northwestern University. Her areas of research include the inter
Kinnari Atit is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Riverside. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Temple University. After receiving her doctorate, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University and also at Northwestern University. Her areas of research include the intersection of spatial thinking and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. More specifically, her work comprises three lines of inquiry: 1) leveraging students’ spatial skills to improve their mathematics achievement, 2) supporting students’ understanding for spatial STEM concepts, and 3) examining K-12 teachers’ use of pedagogical practices that support spatial learning in the classroom. Our research together explores spatial cognition using Minecraft.