Alumni

Machine Learning Engineer

Bill completed an MA in Developmental Psychology and Education, as well as his undergraduate thesis in Engineering Science (Machine Intelligence specialization) with this lab. He was a long-time machine learning team lead who has led the research in applying machine learning techniques in psychometrics and evaluating mental and physical health disorders. Bill has since moved on to industry working as a machine learning engineer, and is completing another Master’s degree in computer science with Georgia Tech.

Assistant Professor, McMaster University

I'm interested in understanding how real-world experiences shape our perceptual and social cognitive capabilities at early stages of life. My research uses behavioural, eye-tracking, computational modeling, and neuroimaging techniques. I'm originally from China. I came to Canada in 2010 as a Ph.D. student, supervised by Dr. Kang Lee at the University of Toronto. I then moved to Princeton University as a post-doc researcher working with Dr. Lauren Emberson. I enjoy street photography and video games, allowing myself to wander at will in real and virtual worlds.

Assistant Professor, University of Regina

Dr. Bruer obtained her Ph.D. in Experimental and Applied Psychology from the University of Regina and completed a SSHRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Toronto, Dr. Eric Jackman Institute for Child Studies. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Luther College at the University of Regina where she studies factors that facilitate the gathering of reliable evidence from child witnesses, with an emphasis on memory and truthfulness. In her research, she works with children between the ages of 4 through 12 to explore: (a) how police should gather memory evidence from child eyewitnesses; and, (b) the circumstances that impact whether a child will truthfully and completely report an experienced event.

Assistant Professor, University of Detroit Mercy

Miao Qian (pronounced Mee-Aw, Chi-en) earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and Education from the University of Toronto, Canada. Qian joined the University of Detroit Mercy in 2021 after completing two years of postdoctoral psychology training in the Inequality in American Initiative program at Harvard University. Qian teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in developmental psychology. Her research interest is in child social cognition; seeking answers about how children acquire knowledge of social categories such as race and gender, and how they use the knowledge to perceive, evaluate and judge others.

Behavioral Data Scientist, Compass Digital

Rebecca Judges completed her PhD in Developmental Psychology and Education at the University of Toronto. Currently, she is a Behavioral Data Scientist at Compass Digital, where she applies her expertise to the fields of hospitality and technology. As a researcher and behavioral scientist, Rebecca is driven by a deep curiosity about human behavior and motivation. Her work specializes in deriving actionable insights from user psychology, assessing the impact of initiatives, and supporting stakeholders in making evidence-based strategic decisions. At Compass Digital, she collaborates closely with the design team to bridge the gap between behavioral science and technology, helping shape user-centered innovations in the hospitality industry.

Assistant Professor, University of Regina

Dr. Sarah Zanette received her PhD in Developmental Psychology and Education from the University of Toronto and is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Regina, Luther College.

Dr. Zanette is a developmental psychologist with research interests that lie at the intersections of social, moral, and forensic psychology. Broadly speaking, her research focuses on improving our understanding of childhood deception (i.e., lying and cheating) and applying this knowledge to legal, forensic, clinical, and parenting contexts. Specifically, she investigates two core research questions: (1) how do children learn to deceive and develop patterns of typical and atypical lie-telling; and (2) how can children's lies be reliably detected?

Psychologist (Supervised Practice), Hamilton Health Sciences

Dr. Jackson completed her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. As part of her clinical training, Dr. Jackson completed practicums at the Kinark Child and Family Services, Surrey Place, and the Toronto Catholic District School Board, as well as 1-year clinical residency at Hamilton Health Sciences. In addition to working at MindFit, Dr. Jackson works as a clinical psychologist in the Pediatric Chronic Pain Program at McMaster Children’s Hospital where she provides services to youth living with chronic pain and their families; she also engages in teaching, supervision, and program development. Additionally, Dr. Jackson is a part-time Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University.