CV

Curriculum vitae. Use the button above to download the full PDF.

Contact Information

Name Clara E. Haeffner
Professional Title PhD Student, Cognitive Psychology · NSF GRFP Fellow
Email clara.haeffner@yale.edu

Professional Summary

PhD student in Cognitive Psychology at Yale University studying how affect shapes the ways we perceive and respond to uncertainty, with a focus on mental health and stress. I use computational modeling of decision-making, reinforcement learning, smartphone/EMA data, and longitudinal approaches.

Education

  • 2025 - present

    New Haven, CT

    PhD Student
    Yale University
    Cognitive Psychology
    • Brains, Minds, & Machines Certificate
    • Advisor: Robb B. Rutledge, PhD
  • 2023 - 2025

    Bethesda, MD

    Postbaccalaureate IRTA Fellow
    National Institute of Mental Health
    Computational Psychiatry
    • Advisor: Silvia Lopez-Guzman, PhD, MD
  • 2019 - 2023

    Madison, WI

    BS
    University of Wisconsin–Madison
    Neurobiology (with Comprehensive Honors)
    • Honors Thesis: Associations between lifetime stressor severity, amygdala and hippocampal volumes, and the acute stress response
    • Advisor: Stacey M. Schaefer, PhD

Grants

  • Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation (2023). $159,000 — The Impact of Uncontrollable Stress and Reappraisal on Decision-Making: A Naturalistic Investigation Using Artificial Intelligence and Ecological Momentary Assessment.
  • Activity Grant, Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University (2026). $2,000 — Yale Computational Psychiatry Graduate Consortium.

Honors and Awards

  • 2025
    Sterling Prize
    Yale University

    $7,000

  • 2025
    Chancellor's Fellowship
    University of California, Berkeley

    $37,000; declined. Awarded to selected prospective graduate students.

  • 2024
    Postbaccalaureate Poster Day Outstanding Poster Award
    National Institutes of Health
  • 2024
    Award to Mentor a Summer Intern
    National Institutes of Health
  • 2023
    Dean's List
    University of Wisconsin–Madison

    2019–2023

  • 2021
    Rothschild Study Abroad Scholarship
    University of Wisconsin–Madison

    $1,250

  • 2021
    Scandinavian Scholars Award
    University of Wisconsin–Madison

    $100

  • 2019
    Bucky's Non-Resident Tuition Scholarship
    University of Wisconsin–Madison

    $136,000

Publications

Invited Talks

  • Depression symptoms are associated with increased loss aversion. First Year Symposium, Yale University. New Haven, CT · September 2026.
  • Risky decision-making across symptom severity in depression. Computational Clinical Science Lab, Yale University. New Haven, CT · April 2026.
  • Emotional intelligence and decision-making under uncertainty following acute stress: A potentially moderating role. Translational Addiction Medicine Branch, NIDA. Baltimore, MD · April 2024.
  • Climate change, stress, and substance use: Will the emerging climate crisis increase use? Decision-making insights. Translational Addiction Medicine Branch, NIDA. Baltimore, MD · October 2023.
  • Associations between lifetime stressor exposure, brain stress circuitry, and cortisol responses to acute stress. Senior Honors Thesis Symposium, UW–Madison. Madison, WI · April 2023.

Poster Presentations

  • Distinct depression symptom dimensions predict risk and loss aversion. Society for Neuroeconomics. New Haven, CT · October 2026.
  • Distinct depression symptom dimensions predict risk and loss aversion. Computational Psychiatry Conference. New Haven, CT · July 2026.
  • Real-time, real challenges: A systematic review with meta-analysis of EMA adherence in youth with psychological disorders. Anxiety and Depression Association of America Conference. Chicago, IL · April 2026.
  • Relating emotional monitoring and control to metacognition and choice behavior in risky decision-making. Society for Neuroscience. San Diego, CA · November 2025.
  • Computational measures of metacognition for risk and their relation to emotional monitoring and control. Society for Neuroeconomics. Boston, MA · October 2025.
  • Emotional control predicts changes in decision-making under negative affect. Society for Neuroeconomics. Boston, MA · October 2025.
  • Computational measures of metacognition for risk and their relation to emotional monitoring and control. NIH Postbaccalaureate Poster Day. Bethesda, MD · May 2025.
  • Associations between lifetime stressor severity, amygdala and hippocampal volumes, and the acute stress response. Society for Affective Science. Portland, OR · accepted.
  • Trait- and state-dependent multidimensional computational phenotyping. American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Phoenix, AZ · December 2024.
  • Choice stochasticity and cognitive imprecision across value tasks. Society for Neuroeconomics. Cascais, Portugal · October 2024.
  • Emotional intelligence and the impact of acute stress on decision-making. Inaugural Hispanic Heritage Neuroscience Symposium. Washington, DC · September 2024.
  • Emotional intelligence and the impact of acute stress on decision-making. NIMH Fellows’ Scientific Training Day. Washington, DC · September 2024.
  • Choice stochasticity and cognitive imprecision across value tasks. Cognitive Computational Neuroscience Conference. Cambridge, MA · August 2024.
  • Towards a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between metacognition and emotional awareness. NIH Summer Poster Day. Bethesda, MD · August 2024.
  • Emotional intelligence may moderate the impact of stress on decision-making under uncertainty. Computational Psychiatry Conference. Minneapolis, MN · July 2024.
  • Emotional intelligence may moderate the impact of stress on decision-making. NIH Postbaccalaureate Poster Day. Washington, DC · May 2024 · Received Outstanding Poster Award.
  • The effect of urban life stress on economic decision-making. NIH Postbaccalaureate Poster Day. Washington, DC · May 2024.
  • Associations among lifetime stressor exposure, amygdala and hippocampal volume, and the acute stress response. Society for Neuroscience. Washington, DC · November 2023.
  • A systematic literature review on EMA adherence in youth with psychopathology. NIMH Fellows’ Scientific Training Day. Washington, DC · September 2023.
  • Within-participant impacts of acute stress on risky and ambiguous decision-making. NIMH Fellows’ Scientific Training Day. Washington, DC · September 2023.
  • Uncovering the mechanisms behind altered decision-making in mental health to inform intervention. NIMH 75th Anniversary Kick-Off. Bethesda, MD · September 2023.
  • Associations between lifetime stressor exposure, brain stress circuitry, and the acute stress response. Undergraduate Research Symposium. Madison, WI · April 2023.
  • Associations between lifetime stressor exposure, brain stress circuitry, and the acute stress response. Wisconsin Symposium on Emotion. Madison, WI · April 2023.

Teaching

  • Lecturer — Computational Psychiatry Consortium Interest Group, Yale University (2027).
  • Lecturer — YBDIC Computational Seminar Series, Yale University (2027).
  • Teaching Fellow — PSYC 2358: Computational Modeling in Decision-Making, Yale University (2026).
  • Peer Tutor — STAT 371: Statistics for Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison (2022).

Mentorship

  • Megan Zhang — Yale Sneak Peek Mentorship Program (2026–2027).
  • Marcel Liu — CalTech Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (2026).
  • Reena Wong — Yale Sneak Peek Mentorship Program (2025–2026). Now a PhD student in Psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
  • Faraz Hassan — NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program (2024). Now an MD student at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine.

Service

  • Lead Organizer — Computational Psychiatry Consortium Interest Group, Yale University (2026–present).
  • Member — Cognitive Current Works Student Organizing Committee, Yale University (2026–present).
  • Member — Psychology Department DEI Committee, Yale University (2025–present).
  • Local Organizer & Student Committee Lead, Computational Psychiatry Conference (2026).
  • Reviewer — Wu Tsai Undergraduate Summer Fellowship, Yale University (2026).
  • Co-Lead — Yale Cognitive Area Interview Day, Yale University (2026).
  • Reviewer — James S. Jackson Memorial Award, National Institute of Mental Health (2023–2025).
  • Member — Emotion and Development Branch Outreach Committee, National Institute of Mental Health (2023–2025).
  • Co-Founder — Brainy Book Club, University of Wisconsin–Madison (2021–2023).

Professional Memberships

  • Society for Computational Psychiatry (since 2026).
  • Society for Neuroeconomics (since 2026).
  • Society for Affective Science (since 2025).
  • Society for Neuroscience (since 2023).