Ava Arvand graduated from the University of Virginia (UVA) with highest distinction in 2026, earning a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience. At UVA, she worked as a research assistant in the Program for Anxiety, Cognition, and Treatment (PACT) Lab under Dr. Bethany Teachman, where she completed a two-phase qualitative honors thesis exploring youth preferences for digital mental health interventions to support healthier social media use. She has also conducted independent research under Dr. Sarah Kucenas, investigating the role of glial cell function in neurodevelopmental pathways relevant to mental health disorders. Her broad research interests include personalizing and scaling digital mental health interventions and examining their acceptability across different populations. After her time at CORD, Ava intends to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
