Exploring Team Dynamics and Leadership
Meet the Team
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Principal Investigator
Alexander Ochoa
Dr. Ochoa received his undergraduate degree from Occidental College and his PhD from Saint Louis University. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of San Francisco, teaching courses such as Clinical Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Advanced Research Methods: Values in Athletics, and Statistics.
He also is the faculty advisor for the Future Clinicians Association which was created to support students interested in pursuing careers in clinical work, as well as the Faculty Advisor for the Hawaiian Ensemble. When not teaching or working on lab research Dr. Ochoa can be found participating in sports such as rugby and judo, spending time with his family, or developing a green thumb in his garden.
Current RA's
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Lab Manager
Devika Kumar
Devika is a fourth-year psychology major with a minor in health studies. After undergrad she hopes to attend graduate school for clinical psychology and work with children. She is the current president of the Pre-Health Peer Mentor Program on campus guiding pre-health students on their journey for various careers. In her free time, she loves to explore the city and spend time with her friends and family.
Research Assistant
Hayden Goodman
Hayden is a senior psychology student from Park City, Utah. As an athlete on the volleyball team at USF she is incredibly interested in team dynamics and has found this lab to be a perfect fit for her research interests.
Research Assistant
Brenna Austgen
Brenna is from Boise, Idaho going to the University of San Francisco as a psychology major. She will be graduating this winter and looks forward to going to graduate school to become a clinical psychologist!
Research Assistant
Bella Leone
Bella is a third year psychology major. She is interested in learning more about health psychology and taking more neuroscience courses. She is a member of club hip hop at USF and enjoys cooking, fashion and working as a youth soccer coach
Research Assistant
Mot Dhanaprasidhikul
Mot is a fourth-year psych major at the University of San Francisco. After undergrad, he hopes to pursue a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. He is the current president for the USF Men's Club Water Polo team, and has a lot of interest in athletics psychology. He is currently doing his thesis on the effects of club sports participation on an undergraduate population.
Research Assistant
Alyssa Mendoza
​Alyssa Mendoza is currently a third-year Psychology major at the University of San Francisco with minors in Health Studies and Chicanx and Latinx studies. She is passionate about mental health and aims to become a licensed clinician, focusing on providing culturally competent care to diverse communities.
Research Assistant
Nakia Lemon
Nakia is a senior Psychology major with a Child & Youth Studies minor at the University of San Francisco. After undergrad, he hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology or Marriage and Family Therapy as he aspires to work with the youth, but knows the familial elements around youth play an impact -- the systems of it all. He grew up playing sports and even after halting joining teams he still surrounded himself with sports. This lab aligns with his interests in understanding the dynamics of teams and the variables underlying or otherwise that affect such a team.
Lab Alumni
See what some of our former lab members are currently up to.
Lab Manager
Bella Ruiz
Bella is a first year masters student in the Developmental Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of San Francisco. While at USF, she worked in the Athletic Systems Lab, where she was able to grow her interests in research under the supervision of Dr. Alexander Ochoa. In this lab, she learned the basics of data collection, IRB protocols, and social network analysis. This helped her greatly into getting into the lab she currently is in at Columbia, the Stroller Lab, where she assists in researching how adverse effects in children's early years affect their brain activity and behavior throughout the rest of their lives. She's grateful to have been a part of Dr. Ochoa's lab, as it was an invaluable experience that prepared her for the future.
Lab Manager
Max Katz
Max is currently in his 2nd year of a Master in Social Work degree at NYU. He is currently interning at Hudson Guild, which is an outpatient mental health clinic in Manhattan. He will be graduating in May 2025 and hope to obtain his LMSW shortly thereafter.
"Working with Professor Ochoa in the lab taught me important aspects of family systems theory which I continue to utilize in my therapeutic practice. Additionally, I learned how to engage stakeholders in various research projects to ensure accurate results."
Lab Manager
Jaclyn Krewinkel
Jaclyn graduated from USF with a Bachelor's degree in psychology in spring 2024 and is now pursuing a Master in Social Welfare (MSW) degree at UCLA on a clinical path! Her time in the Athletic Systems Lab helped her learn more about different research methods and how to navigate research and analysis on both individual and group levels.
"Working in a research lab, despite being on a clinical pathway, was beneficial to me because research is part of the curriculum, and the work in this lab shows how research connects to daily interactions and relationships among athletes and coaches"
Research Assistant
Ryan Tam
Ryan is currently interning with the Teng Lab at the Smith Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, where he studies how individuals perceive and interact with the world in cases of vision loss, with particular interests in human echolocation and braille reading. He is currently learning skills in and related to EEG data collection and coding. His interests are in cognitive neuroscience, more specifically in therapeutics/rehabilitation.
"Being in the Athletics systems lab has made me appreciate other areas of psychology and reinforced my interest and knowledge in conducting research."