Sara Leslie

Sara Leslie is a Researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), affiliated with the College of Letters & Science. She holds a B.A. (Honors) in Psychology with a Neuroscience Specialization from Stanford University. Her research focuses on confidence, metacognition, and their interactions with memory and decision-making processes, aiming to uncover the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying these phenomena.

In her education, Leslie graduated from Stanford University with an interdisciplinary focus on Psychology and Neuroscience. Post-graduation, she contributed to research at Stanford's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, examining mood disorders and cognitive impairment through neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessments.

Her current work at UCSB, under Dr. Michael Miller's lab, addresses questions such as how confidence judgments influence decision-making and belief formation. Key areas include metacognition in memory contexts and adaptive decision-making strategies. Recent studies explore neural correlates of depression, insulin resistance, and self-harm behaviors in youth.

Leslie has collaborated on projects analyzing neurofunctional predictors of therapy outcomes and the impact of early life experiences on mental health. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges neuroscience, psychology, and public health, with a focus on translational research.