Team

Lab Director

Jessie Chin
Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences (iSchool)

I am a translational cognitive scientist with multidisciplinary research training in cognitive science, human factors, human-computer interaction and health informatics. These experiences enrich my research spectrum to approach research questions systematically by conducting (a) applied research: to understand the human behavior in the context (e.g., user study, cohort study); (b) use-inspired basic research: to model the fundamental mechanism of interactive human behavior in the complex environments (e.g., experimentation, predictive modeling); and (c) translational and intervention research: to develop both theory-grounded and pragmatic intervention and to validate its feasibility, acceptability, efficacy and effectiveness on human behavior and health (e.g., randomized controlled trial study).

The overarching goals of our research programs are (a) to advance our understandings about how human minds across the lifespan adapt to the complex information environments through information search and uptake; (b) to translate the findings in (a) to design information technologies that support complex cognitive activities (such as learning and decision-making); and (c) to apply the findings in (b) to develop sociotechnical solutions for health promotion and addressing health disparities.

Email: chin5@illinois.edu
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DvYvHnUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Current Students

Doctoral Students

Tre Tomaszewski
PhD Student in Information Science
Research Interests:
Cognitive generative agents, cognitive informatics, multi-agent behavior, search as learning, information foraging, misinformation

Michelle (Chaewon) Bak
PhD Student in Information Sciences
Research interests:
Digital health, infoveillance, public health informatics, human-centered social computing, health promotion, behavior change

Morgan Lundy
PhD Candidate in Information Sciences
Research interests:
Health informatics, social informatics, micro-video social media, online health communities, and disability, women’s and LGBTQIA+ health advocacy

Kexin Quan
PhD Student in Information Sciences
Research interests:
Human-AI interaction, decision-making AI aids, information sampling and search, behavioral modeling

Philo (Jiaqi) Wang
PhD student in Information Sciences
Research interests:
Educational games, cognitive generative agents, human-agent interaction

Precious Olalere
PhD student in Information Sciences
Research interests:
Health literacy, health information seeking, health equity, social health informatics

Alumni

Advisees

  • Smit Desai, PhD in Information Sciences (2024). First position after graduation: Postdoctoral Research Associate and Incoming Assistant Professor (2025) in the College of Arts, Medica and Design at Northeastern University.
  • Lixcy Vega, MS in Library and Information Sciences (2023). Joseph Rediger Librarian as Humanist Award.

Other lab student members

  • Caywin Zhuang, MD in Carle Illinois College of Medicine. Current: University of Iowa, Anesthesiology Residency.
  • Yimei Jiang, BS in Psychology (2023). Undergraduate Research Support Grant. First position after graduation: Project Coordinator, University of California Berkeley.
  • Sheny Lin, MS in Information Management (2023). First position after graduation: UX Research Intern at Michigan Medicine
  • Abhisha Tarimane, MS in Information Management (2023). First position after graduation: Deloitte.
  • Mia X. Smith, BS in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences and Informatics. First position after graduation: Graduate program in Biomedical and health Informatics at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
  • Yuwei Lai, MS in Information Management (2022). Faculty Special Award of Merit. First position after graduation: Delta Electronics.
  • Abhinav Reddy Thimma, Master in Computer Sciences. First position after graduation: Bloomberg.
  • Eileen Lopez, MS in Library and Information Sciences (2020). Information Systems & Technologies Award.
  • Vaishnavi Myadam, BS in Statistics and Computer Sciences (2020).
  • Anoosheh Ghazanfari, BS in Applied Psychology (University of Illinois at Chicago) (2019). First position after graduation: Master in Information at University of Toronto.
  • Ana S. Ongtengco, BS in Mathematics (University of Illinois at Chicago). First position after graduation: MD program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (2020).