Alisha is a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at Florida International University (FIU), specializing in Cognitive Neuroscience under the mentorship of Dr. Matthew Sutherland and Dr. Angela Laird. She graduated with her B.A. in Psychology, summa cum laude, from Florida International University (Miami, FL) in 2024, after earning her A.A. in Psychology, with high honors, from Broward College (Pembroke Pines, FL) in 2022. Alisha’s research specializes in substance use. Specifically, her thesis-in-progress examines the synergistic effects of HIV infection and cannabis use on striatal resting-state functional connectivity.