Sara Mendoza is a Fulbright Grantee from Los Angeles, California. She recently completed bachelor's degrees in neuroscience and art history, as well as a master's degree in global medicine at the University of Southern California. While at USC, she worked as a research coordinator in Dr. Assal Habibi's Brain and Music Lab and wrote an honors thesis, titled "Music Training and Lateralized Development Patterns of the Arcuate Fasciculus." 

Under the supervision of MIB Professor Elvira Brattico, she will spend one year at MIB undertaking a project titled "Time Out – Unravelling the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying cooperative rhythmic training in adolescence." The project builds upon her previous neuroimaging work, now with a focus on the impact of rhythmic training on prosocial behavior and executive function.