Mood, Anxiety, and Substance Use Computational Lab

Welcome to the Mood, Anxiety, and Substance Use Computational and Neuroimaging Lab at the University of California, San Diego!

We are a regulatory systems lab focused on identifying instability signatures of disease vulnerability using population-scale longitudinal datasets. Our work is grounded in the idea that disruptions in biological timing and behavioral regulatory systems—such as sleep, activity, and impulse control—represent a core, transdiagnostic pathway to both psychiatric and metabolic disease.

As a physician-scientist–led group, we integrate multimodal data—including neuroimaging, digital phenotyping, and behavioral measures—to quantify regulatory instability over time. By moving beyond static, cross-sectional markers, we aim to develop prospective, mechanistic predictors of disease risk that can inform early identification and targeted intervention.

Our goal is to advance a systems-level understanding of how instability in human regulation shapes health trajectories across development, with the ultimate aim of improving prevention and treatment of mood, anxiety, substance use, and metabolic disorders.