Research

Laboratory for Attention and Social Cognition

I'm currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory for Attention and Social Cognition run by Dr. Jelena Ristic at McGill University.

One line of my research examines how perceiving another person's facial features (e.g. eyes, nose, mouth) can impact socioemotional processes that facilitate social interactions. In particular we are looking at how these processes may be impacted by face feature occlusion, like in the case of face masks, which occlude the mouth and nose.

Another line of my research examines the contribution of visual perspective taking and directional cues to social orienting, the orienting of attention towards locations cued by another's eye-gaze, head direction, and body.

Check out more research going on in the lab here!

Face Processing and Social Cognition Lab

I completed my Masters and Doctoral research in the Face Processing and Social Cognition Lab, run by Dr. Roxane Itier at the University of Waterloo. My research used eye-tracking and electroencephalography (EEG) to answer questions about how gaze direction influences that way we perceive and respond to faces.

My Masters research investigated how the situational context in which we view faces interacts with their eye-gaze to modulate face processing.

My Ph.D. research characterized the link between eye-gaze, theory of mind and empathy. I also developed a separate line of research examining how gaze and emotional expressions interact to orient an observer’s attention to a gazed-at location.

Check out current research from this lab here!

Research Funding

09/2017 – 08/2020 President's Graduate Scholarship (Institutional)

University of Waterloo,

  • $15,000.00 over 3 years

09/2015 – 08/2020 Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship for Science and Technology (Provincial)

Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities,

  • $60,000.00 over 4 years

Academic Awards and Distinctions

09/2015 -08/2016 Graduate Scholarship (Institutional)

University of Waterloo

  • $17,072.00 over 2 years

04/2016 Best Poster Award (Institutional)

Graduate Discovery Conference

09/2014 Arts Graduate Experience Award (Institutional)

University of Waterloo,

  • $4,222.00

09/2013 Senate Scholarship (Institutional)

McMaster University,

  • $800.00

09/2010 Honors Award, Level 2 (Institutional)

McMaster University,

  • $1000.00

09/2010 Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top Scholarship (Provincial)

Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities,

  • $1000.00


Event Related Potential (ERP) Data Processing

Fitting a Participant with an EEG Cap

Presenting Research