Mentorship
Mentorship Philosophy
Dr. Patel believes in providing students with hands-on research experience, professional development opportunities, and the skills necessary to become independent researchers and critical thinkers. Her mentorship approach emphasizes:
- Collaborative learning through team-based research projects
- Professional development through conference presentations and networking
- Technical skill building in cutting-edge research methodologies
- Community engagement to understand real-world applications of research
- Career preparation for graduate school, industry, or clinical practice
Current Students
Graduate Students
- Justin Castillo — Kinesiology, CSUF (Fall 2024 – Present)
Undergraduate Students
- Faith Santonil — Public Health, CSUF (Summer 2024 – Present)
- Jocelyn Ramos — Communicative Sciences and Disorder, CSUF (Summer 2024 – Present)
- Brittany Merino Galdamez — Communicative Sciences and Disorder, CSUF (Summer 2024 – Present)
- Garrett Deiro — Kinesiology, CSUF (Fall 2023 – Present)
Past Students
- Vincent Cortez - Kinesiology, CSUF (Summer 2025)
- Jo-Chen Shih — Kinesiology, CSUF (Spring 2024 – Fall 2024)
- Alan Leon — Kinesiology, CSUF (Spring 2024 – Fall 2024)
- Krista Querubin — Kinesiology, CSUF (Spring 2024)
- Anelisa Razo-Castaneda — Psychology, CSUF (Summer 2023 – Summer 2024)
- Brittany Rodriguez — Psychology, CSUF (Summer 2023 – Summer 2024)
Student Presentations
Castillo, J., Cortez, V., & Patel, P. (August 2025). Motor-Learning Effects of Head-Mounted Virtual-Reality Reaching Practice in Adults. 2025 CSUF Summer Symposium, Fullerton, USA.
Galdamez, B., Santonil, F., Ramos, Jocelyn., & Patel, P. (April 2025). Socioeconomic Status and Its Effect on Language Development: A Systematic Review. National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR-2025), Pittsburgh, USA.
Galdamez, B., Santonil, F., Ramos, Jocelyn., & Patel, P. (November 2024). Socioeconomic Status and Its Effect on Language Development: A Systematic Review. Southern California Conferences for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR-2024), San Bernandino, USA.
Razo-Castaneda, A., Rodriguez, B., Deiro, G., & Patel, P. (April 2024). GROWTH: Global Review of Factors in Whole-child Motor Development. National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR-2024), Long Beach, USA.
Razo-Castaneda, A., Rodriguez, B., Deiro, G., & Patel, P. (November 2023). GROWTH: Global Review of Factors in Whole-child Motor Development. Southern California Conferences for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR-2023), Fullerton, USA.
Research Opportunities
For Prospective Students
Dr. Patel’s lab welcomes motivated undergraduate and graduate students interested in:
- Infant and early childhood motor development
- Wearable sensor technology and data analysis
- Machine learning applications in movement science
- Community-based intervention research
- Cross-cultural developmental assessment
Skills Development
Students in Dr. Patel’s lab gain experience in:
- Research design and methodology
- Data collection using advanced sensor systems
- Statistical analysis and machine learning
- Scientific writing and presentation
- Conference presentation skills
- Community engagement and outreach