People

Ashley E. Mason, PhD | Laboratory Director

Ashley E. Mason is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Core Faculty at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health, Co-Director of the Center for Obesity Assessment, Study, and Treatment (COAST), and Director of the UCSF Osher Center Sleep Group. She joined UCSF's Osher Center for Integrative Health in the Fall of 2013 as a postdoctoral fellow. She completed her Clinical Internship in Behavioral Medicine at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, her PhD in and MA in Clinical Psychology at the University of Arizona, and her undergraduate degrees at Northwestern University.

She is the principal investigator on federally funded projects from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Department of Defense (DOD), and several philanthropic organizations. The overarching theme of her work is developing non-pharmacologic interventions to improve psychological and physical health outcomes. To this end, her work has focused on (1) developing thermal therapy protocols including hyperthermia and contrast therapy for the treatment of clinical depression and insomnia, (2) combining thermal therapies with behavioral treatments to improve outcomes in clinical depression and insomnia, (3) unpacking the biology and experience of eating, in particular, of craving and craving-related eating, in the service of improving glycemic control in diabetes, increasing weight loss and reducing binge eating in obesity, and reducing sugar consumption overall, and (4) using wearable devices to assess changes in physiological metrics, in particular body temperature, as either predictors of illness or as correlates of changes in depression symptoms.

Sarah Fisher, MS | Program Policy Analyst, Laboratory Manager

Sarah first joined the SEA Lab in 2018, when she worked on the Biology and Experiences of Eating (BEE) study, the HEATBED pilot study, and the TemPredict study before leaving for graduate school in 2020. She has since returned to the SEA Lab after earning her M.S. in Psychology, and she is excited to be back with the SLEEPS study and assisting the team in launching exciting new studies!

Anoushka Chowdhary, BA

Leena Pandya, ND | TRIM Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Leena Pandya joined the lab in October 2020. She earned her undergraduate degree in Neurobiology & Behavior from Cornell University, after which she pursued her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University and completed her residency at an outpatient integrative neurology clinic. Dr. Pandya has contributed to various research projects in the past at the NIH's National Cancer Institute, UW-Harborview, and both her alma maters. She is a practicing Naturopathic Doctor specializing in lifestyle medicine, herbal remedies for primary care concerns, and regenerative joint therapies. Her most recent research interests include the use of sauna to promote excretion of environmental toxicants, non-pharmacological options for metabolic syndrome, and non-opiate solutions for pain. At the SEA Lab, she assisted with the TemPredict study and the HEATBED study.

Erika Jung, PhD | Study Interviewer

Erika Jung is a licensed psychologist (PSY30770) who has worked with adolescents and adults in a variety of settings across the continuum of care. She joined the SEA lab in 2023 as a therapist providing CBT for depression as part of the HEATBED study. She now works on the SLEEPS study. In her private practice, she treats depression, anxiety, trauma, and eating disorders utilizing a weight-inclusive approach. She received her BA from Brown University and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She completed her predoctoral internship at Stanford University Counseling and Psychological Services and her postdoctoral residency at Kaiser Permanente Redwood City, where she worked from 2017 to 2022.