Monica Thieu, PhD
Postdoctoral scholar
Dept of Psychology, Emory University
In my research, I use behavioral, modeling, and fMRI research methods to characterize how perceptual input contributes to affective experience.
In my teaching, I design and practice reflective, evidence-based, and student-centered training for psychological scientists, with a focus on technical training in statistics and scientific computing.
- Method competencies:
- Functional neuroimaging: Intermediate in nipype, SPM, FSL; proficient in fmriprep
- Behavioral tasks: Advanced in Gorilla, Qualtrics; intermediate in PsychoPy
- Data management tools: Intermediate in REDCap
- Coding: Advanced in R, Python; intermediate in Matlab, shell; proficient in JavaScript, Stan
Education
2022
PhD in Psychology Columbia
University (New York, NY, USA)
2015
BA with honors in Psychology
Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA, USA)
Research experience
Aug 2022 - present
Postdoctoral
fellow Emory University (Atlanta, GA, USA)
- Project: Subcortical pathways of looming and threat
- Supervisor: Dr. Philip Kragel
- Funding: FIRST NIH IRACDA postdoctoral fellowship (100% salary support for 3 years)
Sept 2017 - May 2022
Graduate research
assistant Columbia University (New York, NY, USA)
- Dissertation: ‘Exploring perception and categorization of social and affective stimuli’
- Advisor: Dr. Kevin Ochsner
June 2015 - July 2017
Lab manager &
research coordinator Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA,
USA)
- Project: Healthy aging and memory
- Supervisor: Dr. Anthony Wagner
Jan 2013 - June 2015
Undergraduate research
assistant Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA, USA)
- Honors thesis: ‘Chronic media multitasking and distraction: Neural substrates and mnemonic consequences’
- Advisors: Dr. Melina Uncapher, Dr. Anthony Wagner
Publications
Teaching experience
Course instructor
Sp2024
Instructor of record PSY 417:
Statistics II in Psychology (Spelman College Dept of Psychology)
Su2023, Su2024
Instructor Data
Science Lab Module (Spelman
College WiSTEM)
Su2022
Instructor of record PSYC
1021: Science of Psychology: Explorations & Applications
(Columbia Dept of Psychology)
Workshop instructor
Fa2019 - Sp2022
Carpentries-certified
instructor Introductory coding bootcamps (Columbia
Foundations for Research Computing)
Sp2018 - Fa2021
Curriculum developer &
instructor Intro
to Programming for Social Scientists (Columbia Dept of
Psychology)
Guest lecturer, section leader, & teaching assistant
Sp2025
Guest lecturer Research
Skills Seminar (Spelman RISE Biomedical Training Program)
Sp2022
Assistant curriculum developer &
TA PSYC 2821: Cognition in Context: Mental Health &
Well-being (Columbia Dept of Psychology)
Sp2021
Assistant curriculum developer, TA,
& guest lecturer PSYC 1021: Science of Psychology:
Explorations & Applications (Columbia Dept of Psychology)
Fa2019
Guest lecturer Intro
to Psychology (Outlier.org)
Sp2019 - Fa2021
TA & guest
lecturer B8144: Intro to Programming in R (Columbia
Business School)
Fa2018, Fa2019
TA & section
leader PSYC 1490: Research Methods (Columbia Dept of
Psychology)
Fa2017
TA & guest lecturer PSYC
1001: Science of Psychology (Columbia Dept of Psychology)
Fa2014 - Sp2015
Teaching fellow
Psych One (Stanford Dept of Psychology)
Awards and honors
Research
2023
Diversity
travel award ($500) (Social and Affective Neuroscience
Society)
2022-26
FIRST
NIH IRACDA postdoctoral fellowship (Emory School of Medicine)
2019
Honorable mention (NSF GRFP)
June 2015
Firestone Medal for Excellence in
Undergraduate Research (Stanford Vice Provost for Undergraduate
Education)
Summer 2014
Undergraduate Summer Research Award grant
($6,000) (Stanford Bio-X)
Summer 2013
Best Presentation (Stanford Psych-Summer)
Summer 2013
Undergraduate research grant ($6,000)
(Stanford Psych-Summer)
Teaching
Spring 2022
Teaching
Development Program Advanced Track certificate (Columbia
Center for Teaching and Learning)
Spring 2022
Presidential Graduate Teaching Award
finalist (Columbia Office of the Provost)
Spring 2021
Grant
to Enhance Remote Learning and Teaching ($1,500) (Columbia
Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health)
Spring 2020
Curricular
Innovation Fellow (Columbia Libraries)
June 2015
Zimbardo Teaching Prize (Stanford Psych
One)
Other
Mar 2024
Quarterfinalist (Jeopardy! Invitational
Tournament)
Aug 2023 - present
Trivia expert (Master Minds (Game
Show Network))
Mar 2019
Second place runner-up (team) (Jeopardy!
All-Star Games)
May 2016
Contestant (500 Questions (ABC))
Feb 2013
Quarterfinalist (Jeopardy! Tournament of
Champions)
Feb 2012
First place winner (Jeopardy! College
Championship)
Winter 2013
Excellence Award (Stanford Introductory
Seminars)
Presentations
Talks and workshops
March 2024
Advanced Data Visualization with ggplot2
(Emory Graduate Students in Psychology and Neuroscience workshop)
April 2023
Shallow neural networks for collision
detection predict arousal-related differences in subjective
experience (Social and Affective Neuroscience Society Annual
Meeting)
Jan 2023
Remote brain bingo: Running group games on
Zoom (TIP Coast-To-Coast Conference)
June 2022
Remote brain bingo: Running group games on
Zoom (Psych One Conference)
July 2020
How to Prepare and Teach an R Lesson (NYC R Conference)
Nov 2020
Exploring the NYPD Civilian Complaint
Database (Columbia Foundations for Research Computing workshop)
Apr 2020
Wrangling Multilevel Data in the Tidyverse
(Columbia Foundations for Research Computing workshop)
Conference posters
Popular media
May 2024
Radio/podcast
guest (trivia, science) (Life Kit by NPR)
2021 - 2022
Host of The Psychology PhD
podcast (Columbia Dept of Psychology)
Nov 2021
Video
guest (science) (Wired 5 Levels: Memory)
Sept 2021
Interview
subject (teaching) (Explain Everything)
July 2020
Podcast
guest (science) (This is Uncomfortable by Marketplace)
July 2019
Podcast guest
(trivia, statistics) (Planet Money by NPR)
Mentoring
2024 - 2025
Meera Sethi
Undergraduate research assistant (Emory University)
2020 - 2022
Lauren Wilkins
Undergraduate research assistant & honors thesis student
(Columbia University)
- Class of 1939 Summer Research Fellowship, summer 2020
Service
2024 - present
Senator & executive
committee member University Senate (Emory University)
2024 - present
Chair Emory
Postdoctoral Association (Emory University)
2024 - present
Executive Committee
member FIRST IRACDA program (Emory University)
2023 - 2024
Treasurer Emory
Postdoctoral Association (Emory University)
2023, 2024
Moderator & judge
Research Day (Spelman College)
Peer reviewer (ad hoc)
- Cerebral Cortex; Neuropsychologia; Social, Cognitive, & Affective Neuroscience; Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Workshops & summer schools attended
2022
Neurohackademy (University
of Washington)
2019
Kavli
Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience (University of
California, Santa Barbara)
2018
São Paulo School of Advanced Sciences on Social
& Affective Neuroscience (Mackenzie Presbyterian University)
In my research, I use behavioral, modeling, and fMRI research methods to characterize how perceptual input contributes to affective experience.
In my teaching, I design and practice reflective, evidence-based, and student-centered training for psychological scientists, with a focus on technical training in statistics and scientific computing.
- Method competencies:
- Functional neuroimaging: Intermediate in nipype, SPM, FSL; proficient in fmriprep
- Behavioral tasks: Advanced in Gorilla, Qualtrics; intermediate in PsychoPy
- Data management tools: Intermediate in REDCap
- Coding: Advanced in R, Python; intermediate in Matlab, shell; proficient in JavaScript, Stan
Education
2022
PhD in Psychology Columbia
University (New York, NY, USA)
2015
BA with honors in Psychology
Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA, USA)
Research experience
Aug 2022 - present
Postdoctoral
fellow Emory University (Atlanta, GA, USA)
- Project: Subcortical pathways of looming and threat
- Supervisor: Dr. Philip Kragel
- Funding: FIRST NIH IRACDA postdoctoral fellowship (100% salary support for 3 years)
Sept 2017 - May 2022
Graduate research
assistant Columbia University (New York, NY, USA)
- Dissertation: ‘Exploring perception and categorization of social and affective stimuli’
- Advisor: Dr. Kevin Ochsner
June 2015 - July 2017
Lab manager &
research coordinator Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA,
USA)
- Project: Healthy aging and memory
- Supervisor: Dr. Anthony Wagner
Jan 2013 - June 2015
Undergraduate research
assistant Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA, USA)
- Honors thesis: ‘Chronic media multitasking and distraction: Neural substrates and mnemonic consequences’
- Advisors: Dr. Melina Uncapher, Dr. Anthony Wagner
Publications
Teaching experience
Course instructor
Sp2024
Instructor of record PSY 417:
Statistics II in Psychology (Spelman College Dept of Psychology)
Su2023, Su2024
Instructor Data
Science Lab Module (Spelman
College WiSTEM)
Su2022
Instructor of record PSYC
1021: Science of Psychology: Explorations & Applications
(Columbia Dept of Psychology)
Workshop instructor
Fa2019 - Sp2022
Carpentries-certified
instructor Introductory coding bootcamps (Columbia
Foundations for Research Computing)
Sp2018 - Fa2021
Curriculum developer &
instructor Intro
to Programming for Social Scientists (Columbia Dept of
Psychology)
Guest lecturer, section leader, & teaching assistant
Sp2025
Guest lecturer Research
Skills Seminar (Spelman RISE Biomedical Training Program)
Sp2022
Assistant curriculum developer &
TA PSYC 2821: Cognition in Context: Mental Health &
Well-being (Columbia Dept of Psychology)
Sp2021
Assistant curriculum developer, TA,
& guest lecturer PSYC 1021: Science of Psychology:
Explorations & Applications (Columbia Dept of Psychology)
Fa2019
Guest lecturer Intro
to Psychology (Outlier.org)
Sp2019 - Fa2021
TA & guest
lecturer B8144: Intro to Programming in R (Columbia
Business School)
Fa2018, Fa2019
TA & section
leader PSYC 1490: Research Methods (Columbia Dept of
Psychology)
Fa2017
TA & guest lecturer PSYC
1001: Science of Psychology (Columbia Dept of Psychology)
Fa2014 - Sp2015
Teaching fellow
Psych One (Stanford Dept of Psychology)
Awards and honors
Research
2023
Diversity
travel award ($500) (Social and Affective Neuroscience
Society)
2022-26
FIRST
NIH IRACDA postdoctoral fellowship (Emory School of Medicine)
2019
Honorable mention (NSF GRFP)
June 2015
Firestone Medal for Excellence in
Undergraduate Research (Stanford Vice Provost for Undergraduate
Education)
Summer 2014
Undergraduate Summer Research Award grant
($6,000) (Stanford Bio-X)
Summer 2013
Best Presentation (Stanford Psych-Summer)
Summer 2013
Undergraduate research grant ($6,000)
(Stanford Psych-Summer)
Teaching
Spring 2022
Teaching
Development Program Advanced Track certificate (Columbia
Center for Teaching and Learning)
Spring 2022
Presidential Graduate Teaching Award
finalist (Columbia Office of the Provost)
Spring 2021
Grant
to Enhance Remote Learning and Teaching ($1,500) (Columbia
Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health)
Spring 2020
Curricular
Innovation Fellow (Columbia Libraries)
June 2015
Zimbardo Teaching Prize (Stanford Psych
One)
Other
Mar 2024
Quarterfinalist (Jeopardy! Invitational
Tournament)
Aug 2023 - present
Trivia expert (Master Minds (Game
Show Network))
Mar 2019
Second place runner-up (team) (Jeopardy!
All-Star Games)
May 2016
Contestant (500 Questions (ABC))
Feb 2013
Quarterfinalist (Jeopardy! Tournament of
Champions)
Feb 2012
First place winner (Jeopardy! College
Championship)
Winter 2013
Excellence Award (Stanford Introductory
Seminars)
Presentations
Talks and workshops
March 2024
Advanced Data Visualization with ggplot2
(Emory Graduate Students in Psychology and Neuroscience workshop)
April 2023
Shallow neural networks for collision
detection predict arousal-related differences in subjective
experience (Social and Affective Neuroscience Society Annual
Meeting)
Jan 2023
Remote brain bingo: Running group games on
Zoom (TIP Coast-To-Coast Conference)
June 2022
Remote brain bingo: Running group games on
Zoom (Psych One Conference)
July 2020
How to Prepare and Teach an R Lesson (NYC R Conference)
Nov 2020
Exploring the NYPD Civilian Complaint
Database (Columbia Foundations for Research Computing workshop)
Apr 2020
Wrangling Multilevel Data in the Tidyverse
(Columbia Foundations for Research Computing workshop)
Conference posters
Popular media
May 2024
Radio/podcast
guest (trivia, science) (Life Kit by NPR)
2021 - 2022
Host of The Psychology PhD
podcast (Columbia Dept of Psychology)
Nov 2021
Video
guest (science) (Wired 5 Levels: Memory)
Sept 2021
Interview
subject (teaching) (Explain Everything)
July 2020
Podcast
guest (science) (This is Uncomfortable by Marketplace)
July 2019
Podcast guest
(trivia, statistics) (Planet Money by NPR)
Mentoring
2024 - 2025
Meera Sethi
Undergraduate research assistant (Emory University)
2020 - 2022
Lauren Wilkins
Undergraduate research assistant & honors thesis student
(Columbia University)
- Class of 1939 Summer Research Fellowship, summer 2020
Service
2024 - present
Senator & executive
committee member University Senate (Emory University)
2024 - present
Chair Emory
Postdoctoral Association (Emory University)
2024 - present
Executive Committee
member FIRST IRACDA program (Emory University)
2023 - 2024
Treasurer Emory
Postdoctoral Association (Emory University)
2023, 2024
Moderator & judge
Research Day (Spelman College)
Peer reviewer (ad hoc)
- Cerebral Cortex; Neuropsychologia; Social, Cognitive, & Affective Neuroscience; Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Workshops & summer schools attended
2022
Neurohackademy (University
of Washington)
2019
Kavli
Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience (University of
California, Santa Barbara)
2018
São Paulo School of Advanced Sciences on Social
& Affective Neuroscience (Mackenzie Presbyterian University)