
Research Team
Our research group, led by Robert Levenson, Ph.D, seeks to understand the nature of human emotion in terms of its physiological manifestations, variations associated with age, gender, culture and clinical pathology, and the role emotion plays in interpersonal interactions.

ROBERT W. LEVENSON
DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORRobert W. Levenson works in the areas of human psychophysiology and affective neuroscience, both of which involve studying the interplay between psychological and physiological processes. Much of his work focuses on the nature of human emotion, in terms of its physiological manifestations, variations in emotion associated with age, gender, culture, and pathology, and the role emotion plays in interpersonal interactions. Dr. Levenson's research group is currently focusing primarily on two major projects: a study of emotion and normal aging and a study of the impact of neurodegenerative diseases on emotional functioning, both supported by grants from the National Institute of Aging.

Kuan-Hua Chen
POST DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWKuan-Hua Chen’s research aims to understand how emotional functioning changes in healthy aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases including dementia and Parkinson’s disease, the neurobiological underpinnings of these changes, and the pathway via which emotional impairments in one person undermine the health and well-being of their loved ones such as spousal caregivers. He received a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Iowa in 2015. He is a recipient of an NIA Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00). He is originally from Taipei, Taiwan. When not doing research, he enjoys cooking, listening to Classical and Jazz music, and playing with his two daughters.

CLAIRE YEE
POST DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWClaire Yee is interested in studying the biological underpinnings of, and emotional mechanisms that support different kinds of close relationships. She received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Arizona State University while studying friendships as attachment relationships and the emotions supporting relationship bonds. Before joining our team, she was a post-doctoral research fellow at Northwestern University examining emotions and parent-youth relationships in youth at risk for developing psychosis.

CASEY BROWN
POST DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWCasey Brown received her PhD in clinical science from UC Berkeley, and completed her clinical internship at UCSF. She studies interpersonal emotional processes in connection with mental and physical health across the lifespan, with a particular focus on aging dyads. She is currently funded through a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute on Aging. Her research in the Berkeley Psychophysiology Lab aims to understand how empathic processes go awry in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders in ways that negatively influence close relational partners.