Research Team
The researchers and students behind the MIX Institute
Collaborative research in quantitative methodology and statistical modeling
INstitute Leadership
Founder & Director
Delwin Carter directs the MIX Institute and oversees its research programs, student mentorship, and collaborative research initiatives. His work focuses on mixture modeling, longitudinal analysis, and methodological research examining how statistical models are implemented across applied research.
Institute Operations
Operations Team
Bill Nguyen
Lab Manager
Education: B.S. Psychological & Brain Sciences & Philosophy (UCSB)
Focus Area: Oversees how work is carried out across the MIX Institute
and implements improvements
Current: In a Master’s program in Bioethics at Harvard University
Interests: Methods—computational and introspective—used to investigate the brain and mind
Victoria Alvarado
Lab Coordinator — Operations
Education: B.S. Biopsychology (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Focus Area: Leads lab operations at the MIX Institute, coordinating workflow and organization across the lab
Interests: Clinical psychology and women’s health, particularly the role of research in patient care and treatment
Personal: Enjoys painting and reading in her free time
Research Team
Research Team
Casey Lopez
Research Associate
Education: B.S. Psychological & Brain Sciences (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Pursuits: Social psychology, with a focus on childhood adversity and family relationships
Personal: Enjoys reading, cooking, dancing, and language learning
Lillia Krawiec
Research Associate
Education: B.S. Psychological & Brain Sciences (University of California, Santa Barbara, 2024)
Pursuits: Human factors and clinical applications, including pathways into radiology
Personal: Enjoys tabletop games, fencing, and reading
Drake Zimmerman
Research Associate
Education: Psychological & Brain Sciences & Philosophy (Ethics & Public Policy), 4th Year (UCSB)
Pursuits: Developing data analysis skills and preparing for a post-baccalaureate research position before pursuing a PhD in Social Psychology
Personal: In their free time, you can find them exploring the streets of the “Cursed Apple” as The Doorman
Leena Jazrawi
Research Associate
Education: Psychological & Brain Sciences & Biochemistry–Molecular Biology, 4th Year (UCSB)
Pursuits: Gaining clinical experience before applying to medical school
Personal: Enjoys swimming, the gym, and trying new foods
Kayla Gates
Research Associate
Education: Psychological & Brain Sciences (Major), Spanish & Applied Psychology (Minors), 4th Year (UCSB)
Pursuits: Clinical psychology, with interests in mental health, psychopathology, and how environmental and cultural factors influence psychological well-being; planning to pursue a doctoral program in clinical psychology
Personal: An avid yogi practitioner who enjoys learning guitar and spending time with friends at the beach
Rowen Devoe
Research Associate
Education: Psychological & Brain Sciences, 4th Year (UCSB)
Pursuits: Clinical psychology, with a focus on development and cognition; planning to pursue a career in private practice specializing in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
Personal: Loves to read, surf (still learning), thrift, and collect records; a big fan of romcoms and watches one weekly
Evelyn Goulart
Research Associate
Education: Psychological & Brain Sciences, 2nd Year (UCSB); Minor in Poverty, Inequality, and Social Justice
Pursuits: Developmental and clinical psychology; planning to pursue a Master’s degree or Psy.D. in clinical psychology
Personal: Serves as Chapter President of The Thriving Initiative at UCSB, interns with National Alzheimer’s Buddies, and works as a youth advocate with Freedom 4 Youth
Ella Sweeney
Research Associate
Education: Psychological & Brain Sciences (Major), Applied Psychology (Minor), 3rd Year (UCSB)
Pursuits: Research design and project development, with a focus on training and mentoring researchers; planning to pursue licensure in Marriage and Family Therapy and practice couples counseling
Personal: Develops training materials and mentors new researchers in conducting research within the lab
Research Alumni
Research Alumni
Students who have participated in the MIX Institute have contributed to collaborative research projects while developing quantitative research skills. Alumni of the institute have gone on to pursue graduate training and professional careers in psychology and related fields.
Jason Henderson
Research Associate 2022–2023
Education: B.S. Psychological & Brain Sciences (UCSB); M.A. Counseling Psychology (The Wright Institute)
Now: Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) & Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC), working at a private practice in the South Bay
Work: Provides therapy for children, adolescents, adults, and families, with a focus on anxiety, depression, and neurodivergence
Approach: Integrates Narrative Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Family Systems perspectives
Lauren Bennets
Research Associate 2022–2023
Education: M.S. Microbiology & Immunology (Georgetown University, 2026)
Now: Working at the NIH in Dr. Jason Brenchley’s lab and applying to PhD programs in Immunology
Work: Studies immunology and infectious disease, with a focus on HIV pathogenesis and immunopathogenesis
Rhett Woodward
Research Associate 2022 – 2023
Hannah Beck
Research Associate 2023
Education: B.S. Psychological & Brain Sciences (UCSB)
Now: Clinical Research Assistant at DOCS Dermatology (Cincinnati, Ohio), supporting clinical research and contributing to literature review and presentations in longitudinal mixture modeling research
Jessica Trujillo
Kayla Degracia
Education: B.S. Psychological & Brain Sciences (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Now: Behavioral Health Technician at FirstSteps for Kids (Los Angeles), supporting behavioral and mental health services
Megan Butler
Marshie Ly
Research Associate 2024
Education: B.A. (or B.S.) Psychological & Brain Sciences (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Now: Graduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder and Research Affiliate in the Brain Music Laboratory at the ATLAS Institute
Yunfei Bi
Makena Inghram
Alexis Peters
How students contribute to the MIX institute
Literature & Meta-Analysis Research
Students contribute to collaborative literature synthesis projects examining how mixture and longitudinal models are implemented across applied research.
Activities include reviewing research articles, extracting methodological information, maintaining structured research datasets, and participating in reliability checks.
Students develop skills in critical reading of scientific literature, research coding, and systematic analysis of methodological practices.
Quantitative Data Projects
Students conduct research using curated datasets from education, psychology, and related fields.
Projects involve developing research questions, conducting statistical analyses, interpreting results, and preparing conference presentations.
Students gain experience in research design, statistical modeling, and reproducible analytic workflows.
Research Infrastructure & Lab Systems
The institute maintains research infrastructure that supports collaborative projects, including article databases, coding protocols, dataset repositories, and documentation systems.
Students contribute to maintaining these systems while developing experience in research workflow management, documentation practices, and research coordination.
Methods Programming & Scholarly Events
Students participate in the organization of the institute’s quantitative methods workshop series.
Activities include programming workshop topics, coordinating guest speakers, promoting events, and maintaining workshop materials and recordings.
Through this work, students gain experience in academic event organization, professional communication, and research community building.
Research Development
Research Training Pathway
Students in the MIX Institute participate in a structured research training process that progresses from collaborative lab work to independent quantitative research and scholarly dissemination.
STEP 01
Training & Onboarding
Students begin with structured onboarding in research workflows, coding procedures, and shared lab systems.
STEP 02
Literature Coding
Research assistants review articles, extract methodological information, and contribute to structured literature synthesis projects.
STEP 03
Data Projects
Students develop research questions using curated datasets and conduct statistical analyses within supervised project workflows.
STEP 04
Conference Presentations
Students may prepare posters or presentations that communicate research findings in academic conference settings.
STEP 05
Collaborative Publications
Advanced projects may contribute to collaborative research papers and broader methodological scholarship.
Research Opportunities
Join the Mix Institute
The MIX Institute provides structured research opportunities for students interested in quantitative methods and statistical modeling. Students participate in collaborative research projects while developing experience in literature synthesis, statistical analysis, and academic communication.
Research assistants may contribute to projects involving:
- literature synthesis and meta-analysis
- secondary data analysis using large research datasets
- quantitative methods training and statistical programming
- collaborative research presentations and publication
Through these experiences, students develop practical research skills while participating in an active methodological research community.