Justin Moran

Justin Moran

Research Scientist
jmoran@ucsd.edu GitHub LinkedIn

About

Researcher passionate about building computational models in cognitive, educational, and social psychology to understand and improve learning experiences and technologies. Currently a Research Scientist in Dr. Eshin Jolly's SciMinds Research Studio at UCSD, exploring ways to blend user experience, web design, video games, and AI with experimental methods, learning technology, and computational modeling, and an occasional Research Assistant in Dr. Emma Geller’s LIME Lab, investigating cognition and learning across different mediums.

Research Interests

  • Computational Modeling
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Education Technology
  • Social Cognition
  • User Experience
  • Web Development for Research Applications
  • Video Games and Simulations as Research Platforms

Current Positions

Research Scientist
Sciminds Research Studio @ UCSD (2025-Present)
Lead projects to build computational models to understand and predict learning mechanisms, and to develop online platforms for better and more robust research. Create and utilize game platforms as simulated environments for large multiplayer-scale studies on cognition, behavior, learning tools, social dynamics, and collaborative learning. Develop general tools, frameworks, and templates to make the research process technically easier and more accessible.
PI: Eshin Jolly, PhD.
Research Assistant
LIME Lab @ UCSD (2024-Present)
Working with graduate students and honors students on multiple research projects investigating preconceptions and learning, judgements of learning during restudy vs. retrieval practice, dual theory of processing in simulated environments, and subsumptive learning within STEM contexts.
PI: Dr. Emma Geller, PhD.
Project Leads: Inez Zung, Alejandro Carranza, Hana Nguyen

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
University of California San Diego (2020-2024)
GPA: 3.77, Provost Honors

Creative Work

Beyond research, I create and play music of many different sorts, most recently and prominently for my jazz project Reflections, a reflection of my relationship with music and the people who I do and experience music with.

Recent News

  • 2025 November: Traveled to Denver, Colorado for the Psychonomic Society Annual Meeting
  • 2025 June: Started official Research Scientist position at Sciminds Research Studio
  • 2025 April: Began working with Eshin
  • 2024 June: Joined LIME Lab as Research Assistant
  • 2024 June: Graduated from UCSD with B.A. in Psychology
  • 2024 March: Joined PSI Lab as Research Assistant
  • 2023 January: Moved back to San Diego and joined Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition as Content and Web Developer
  • 2022 May: Started studying with Dr. Oscar Baldelomar in the Cultural and Social Development Lab in LA