Tania Arana, PhD
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Admissions
Associate Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Office: (916) 686-7300 ext. 9264
Fax: (916) 686-7310
Tania.Arana@cnsu.edu
Education
- Ph.D. Experimental Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience – University of Ottawa
About
Dr. Arana brings over 11 years of experience in medical education serving in various roles. She was founding faculty of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine where she developed the medical school curriculum in the areas of behavioral sciences, neuroscience of psychiatric disorders, and community health and social determinants of health. She also served on several committees including Chair of the Admissions Committee and Chair of the Committee on Diversity. Working with the Office of Diversity, she developed an unconscious bias training and a Safe Zone training for faculty, staff and students as well as implemented the first mentoring program for underrepresented minority in medicine.
Before joining CNU, Dr. Arana served as founding dean for admissions and student affairs at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine. In this role, she developed and implemented all policies and procedures for the Department of Admissions and for the Department of Student Affairs. Dr. Arana is passionate about working with students and continually strives to support students with empathy and authenticity.
Research
Her previous research experience includes looking at the effect of stress and its role in depression and anxiety-related behaviors using animal models of unpredictable stress.
