CV

Education

University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology, May 2018

Research experience

University of California San Diego School of Medicine (September 2020 to July 2022)
Department of Anesthesiology
Brain Mechanisms of Pain and Health Laboratory
Role: Senior Research Technician
Mentor: Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D.

Projects

Brain mechanisms supporting mindfulness-based chronic pain relief: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health-funded (5 R01 AT009693-05) randomized clinical trial investigating the brain mechanisms supporting the direct attenuation of chronic low back pain by mindfulness meditation as compared to placebo-mindfulness meditation. Activities on this project include but are not limited to:

  • Designing the experiment
  • Data collection via quantitative sensory testing
  • Psychophysical procedure of the radiculopathy inducing straight leg raise test
  • Certified MRI scanner technician
  • Supervise therapeutic interventions
  • Mentored and trained lab personnel to perform data collection
  • General linear modeling of behavioral data
  • Functional brain imaging analyses
  • Patient recruitment and screening

The role of endogenous opioids in mindfulness-based chronic pain relief: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health-funded (5 R21 AT010352-02) randomized clinical trial determining if mindfulness-based chronic pain relief is mediated by endogenous opioids as compared to placebo-mindfulness. Work on this project include:

  • Data collection via quantitative sensory testing
  • Psychophysical procedure of the radiculopathy inducing straight leg raise test
  • Monitoring patient’s vital signs during intravenous injection of naloxone and saline
  • Mentored and trained lab personnel to perform data collection
  • Leading a team of ten volunteers on patient recruitment and screening
  • Analyzing behavioral data
  • Co-first author of manuscript (in preparation)

The effect of mindfulness training for awake craniotomy patients: Pilot study testing the efficacy of mindfulness meditation on pain, anxiety, and stress outcomes during awake craniotomy in glioblastoma patients. Responsibilities entail:

  • Patient recruitment and screening
  • Coordinate and supervise therapeutic interventions
  • Administration of a brief mental state exam before and during awake craniotomy
  • Observe the administration of a series of neuropsychological assessments during the awake portion of the procedure
  • Collect psychological data before, during, and after awake craniotomy
  • Analyzing data and presenting results to a multidisciplinary team of neuroscientists, clinical psychologists, anesthesiologists, and neurosurgeons

Brain mechanisms supporting cannabis-induced analgesia: Randomized-controlled clinical trial investigating the neural mechanisms underlying vaporized cannabis-induced acute and chronic pain relief. Current work includes:

  • Helped design the experimental protocol
  • Develop recruitment material, screening scripts, and RedCAP assessments
  • Collect data via psychophysical measures and MRI acquisition
  • Acquiring regulatory approvals

University of California San Diego (September 2020 to July 2022)
Psychedelic and Health Research Initiative
Role: Senior Research Technician
Mentor: Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D.; Cassandra Vieten, Ph.D.

Projects

Psilocybin-assisted therapy for phantom limb pain: Pilot study exploring the effects of psilocybin on patients with amputated limbs. Responsibilities on this project include:

  • Helped design the experimental protocol
  • Developed recruitment material, screening scripts, and RedCAP assessments
  • Manage recruitment and screening
  • Administration of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview
  • Monitor sessions with psilocybin administration
  • Collect data via psychological assessments, quantitative sensory testing, and MRI acquisition
  • Analyze psychological and neuroimaging data

University of California San Diego (September 2020 to July 2022)
Sanford Institute of Empathy and Compassion
Role: Senior Research Technician
Mentor: Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D.; William Mobley, MD, Ph.D.

Projects

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for victims of gun violence: Pilot study that tested the effects of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program for victims of gun violence. Work on this project included:

  • Helped design the experiment
  • Assisted in Institutional Review Board approvals in a timely fashion
  • Designed pre- and post-intervention assessments
  • Managed participant contact
  • Collected psychological and biological data
  • Analyzed psychological data
  • First-authored manuscript (under review)

Brain mechanisms supporting empathy cultivation, compassion development, and pain-relief by compassion-based mental training: Randomized trial researching the neural and behavioral effects of mindfulness-based programs on empathy and compassion cultivation. Current responsibilities:

  • Helped design the experiment
  • Assisted in Institutional Review Board approvals in a timely fashion
  • Certified MRI technician
  • Data collection via quantitative sensory testing
  • Administration of psychological assessments
  • Analyzing psychological and neuroimaging data

Brain mechanisms supporting empathy cultivation, compassion development, and pain-relief by compassion-based mental training: Randomized trial researching the neural and behavioral effects of mindfulness-based programs on empathy and compassion cultivation. Current responsibilities:

  • Helped design the experiment
  • Assisted in Institutional Review Board approvals in a timely fashion
  • Certified MRI technician
  • Data collection via quantitative sensory testing
  • Administration of psychological assessments
  • Analyzing psychological and neuroimaging data

The effects of mental training on physical and psychological well-being: Ongoing online study monitoring the effects of mindfulness-based trainings on cohorts of law enforcement officers, border patrol agents, geriatric patients, athletes, and the general population. Activities include:

  • Conducted literature reviews to select psychometric assessments
  • Automated screening and longitudinal data collection via ResearchMatch and RedCAP
  • Automated data cleaning, data analyzation, and figure creation via Python
  • Assisted in Institutional Review Board approvals in a timely fashion

University of San Diego (November 2019 to September 2020)
The Jacobs Institute of Innovation in Education
VisMO Laboratory
Role: Research Assistant
Mentor: Yaoran Li, Ph.D.

Projects

Investigating the causal link between visuospatial skills and mathematics: National Science Foundation-funded (#192082) project investigating the cognitive factors behind visuospatial skills and mathematics. Work in the lab included:

  • Designed and conducted experiments with adult and children subjects
  • Administered visuospatial and visuomotor assessments
  • Ran interventions designed to foster visuospatial skills in children
  • Developed and validated a spatial vocabulary assessment
  • Analyzed study results and prepared manuscripts
  • First authored a meta-analysis investigating the link between visuomotor integration and academic achievement (under review)

University of California, San Diego (August 2019 to September 2020)
Department of Psychology
Language and Development Laboratory
Role: Research Assistant
Mentor: David Barner, Ph.D.

Projects

Cognitive development of number acquisition: Project investigating children’s use of one-to-one correspondence in learning how to count. Work in the lab included:

  • Recruited and scheduled study appointments
  • Ran experimental protocols on children subjects
  • Collected, coded, and entered data
  • Created infographics and newsletters to communicate research projects to parents

University of Sydney (June 2017 to August 2017)
Brain and Mind Centre
Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic
Role: Research Assistant
Mentor: Alex Blaszczynski, Ph.D.

Projects

Relations between gambling disorder and crime: Project exploring the association between gambling addictions and crime. Work in the lab included:

  • Researched the nature of gambling disorder and its relation to income-producing crimes
  • Contributed to a published systematic review on gambling disorder and crime
  • Shadowed various laboratories across the clinic


Clinical Experience

Clinical Coordination (September 2020 to July 2022)
University of California San Diego School of Medicine

Therapist Assistant (January 2018 to May 2018)
Kidspace Therapy Clinic


Publications

Khatib, L., Riegner G., Dean J., Oliva V., Cruanes G., Zeidan F., (2022) The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on trauma in victims of gun violence: A pilot study. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01858-y

Khatib, L., Li, Y., Geary, D., Popov, V., (2021) Meta-analysis on the relations between visuomotor integration and academic achievement: Effects of educational stage and disability. Educational Research Review, 100412.

Adolphe, A., Khatib, L., van Golde, C., Gainsbury, S. M., & Blaszczynski, A. (2019). Crime and gambling disorders: A systematic review. Journal of gambling studies, 35(2), 395-414.


Manuscripts under review

Oliva V., Baumgartner J., Farris S.R., Riegner G., Khatib, L., Jung Y., Coghill R.C., Zeidan F., (2022) Neural and psychological mechanisms supporting the relationship between resting breathing rate and pain sensitivity in healthy volunteers. Under review.

Khatib L., Mosbey D., Dean J., Riegner G., Oliva V., Zeidan F., (2022) Mindfulness training reduces aggression and improves well-being in highly stressed law enforcement officers. Under review.


Manuscripts in preparation

Khatib L., Dean J., Riegner G., Oliva V., Gonzalez N., Birenbaum J., Zeidan F., (2022) The role of endogenous opioids in mindfulness meditation-induced chronic low back pain relief as compared to sham-mindfulness meditation. In preparation.

Khatib L., Riegner G., Oliva V., Dean J., Baumgartner J., Kraft R., Jung Y., Zeidan F., (2022) Resting-state connectivity associated with meditation-induced depressive mood reductions. In preparation.

Vieten C., Sprengel M., Khatib L., Rubanovich C., Vahidi P., Polizzi C., Malaktaris A., Chu G., Lang A., Tai-Seale M., Eyler L., Bloss B., (2022) Measures of empathy and compassion: A scoping review. In preparation.

Ridgley L., Khatib L., Li Y., (2022) Development and Validation of a Spatial Vocabulary Assessment. In preparation.


Conference poster presentations

Khatib, L., Dean J., Gonzalez N., Oliva V., Riegner G., Birenbaum J., Ross J., Cruanes G., Reyes M., Hollenbeck N., Nazir Z., Lopez C., Allen A., Jampana N., Fuentes R., Dang T., Kim H., Patterson M., Miller J., Wallace M., Chakravarthy K., Zeidan F., Mindfulness meditation directly reduces acutely exacerbated chronic back pain through non-opioidergic mechanisms, (November, 2022). Poster presentation accepted for the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting.

Oliva V., Riegner G., Khatib, L., Dean J., Ross J., Lopez C., Allen A., Barrows D., Uvarova A., Reyes M., Fuentes R., Mosbey D., Linares L., Mobley W., Zeidan F., I fear your pain: the role of the amygdala in human empathy, (November, 2022). Poster presentation accepted for the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting.

Oliva V., Baumgartner J., Farris S. R., Riegner G., Khatib, L., Jung Y., Coghill R. C., Zeidan F., Slower respiration rate predicts lower pain sensitivity and greater supramarginal gyrus activation, (May, 2022). United States Association for the Study of Pain annual meeting.

Dean J., Riegner G., Posey G., Oliva V., Khatib, L., Jung Y., Wager T., Zeidan F., Mindfulness meditation modulates nociceptive-specific but not placebo-related pain-predictive patterns, (May, 2022). United States Association for the Study of Pain annual meeting.

Khatib, L., Oliva V., Riegner G., Posey G., Dean J., Baumgartner J., Jung Y., Kraft R., Birenbaum J., Zeidan F., Weaker resting-state ventromedial prefrontal cortex-amygdala connectivity is associated with mindfulness meditation-induced depressive mood reductions, (November, 2021). Society for Neuroscience annual meeting

Riegner G., Posey G., Oliva V., Khatib, L., Baumgartner J., Kraft R., Jung Y., Zeidan F., Neurofunctional connections supporting mindfulness-based pain relief, (November, 2021). Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.

Dean J., Posey G., Riegner G., Khatib, L., Oliva V., Baumgartner J., Jung Y., Kraft R., Zeidan F., Mindfulness meditation-induced stress reductions predict pain relief, (November, 2021). Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.


Scholarships

US Association for the Study of Pain Diversity Equity and Inclusion Scholarship (2022)
Awarded free full registration and housing for the 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship (2017)
Awarded $3,000 to participate in research and study abroad at the University of Sydney

Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship (2014 to 2018)
Scholarship granted to UC Berkeley students based on academic merit and financial need


Activities

Polygence Mentor (June 2022 to present)
One-on-one mentor for high school students interested in neuroscience research

Disaster Accountability Project (March 2021 to July 2022)
Volunteer for a project aiming to expand and improve access to the Coronavirus vaccine for low-income, minority communities

Autism Spectrum at Cal (August 2016 to May 2018)
Coordinated annual fundraisers to raise funds for research on Autism Spectrum Disorder

Berkeley Student Cooperative Womxn’s Circle Leader (August 2016 to May 2018)
Led weekly womxn’s circles where women-identifying individuals could share a safe space for cathartic relief in cooperative housing for low-income, minority students

Arab Student Union (August 2017 to May 2018)
Member of the Arab Student Union at Cal, an organization aimed to create a safe environment for Arab students and promote a better understanding of Arab history, culture, and language

Getting into Graduate School (August 2015 to May 2016)
Member of the Getting into Graduate School program, an organization aimed to encourage and prepare students to apply to graduate programs

Educational Opportunity Program (August 2014 to May 2018)
Member of the Educational Opportunity Program, a program providing guidance and support for first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students


Skills

Neuroimaging: scanner operation (GE and Siemens), FSL (preprocessing, linear modeling, task-based, resting-state, ICA), NiLearn (connectivity matrices, linear modeling), ANTs (brain extraction, segmentation), fMRIprep

Clinical: diagnostic interview (MINI), software (Clinical Conductor, Velos, EPIC)

Programming: Python (NumPy, Pandas, Seaborn), Shell (unix, scripting)

Data Collection: psychological (REDCap, Qualtrics, Survey Monkey), physiological (Biopac), biological data (urine, saliva, stool), psychophysical (quantitative sensory testing, straight leg raise procedure), neuropsychological (modified version of the Mini-Mental State Examination, Make a Dice, Paper Folding Test)

Statistical Analysis: SPSS, R, Python