I received my AB in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis in 1988, my MA in Psychology from the University of Toronto in 1993, and my PhD in Psychology from the University of Toronto in 1997. I also became registered as a clinical psychologist specializing in neuropsychology in 2000. I joined the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest as a Scientist in 2001 and was promoted to Senior Scientist in 2010. In addition, I was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Toronto in 1999 and 2001, respectively, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2008, and to Professor in 2019. I am currently also Director of the Ben & Hilda Katz Interprofessional Research Centre in Geriatric and Dementia Care and Associate Scientific Director of the Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness at Baycrest. I am a Fellow of Division 20 (Aging) of the American Psychological Association, of the Psychonomic Society, and of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Section of the Gerontological Society of America. My research program focuses on improving our understanding of how memory and other cognitive functions are affected in healthy and pathological aging and on developing interventions to maintain brain health.

I completed my PhD in Psychological Science at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2023 where I examined the biopsychosocial predictors of cognitive health with aging. Specifically, my research aimed to understand how indices of stress across the lifespan impact cognitive function among older adults, and if and how engaging in a healthy lifestyle may offset the potentially harmful effects of stress on cognitive function. I also studied the biological mechanisms through which stress and lifestyle behaviours impact cognitive health, with a specific focus on neuroendocrine function, cardiometabolic biomarkers, and inflammation. My postdoc work, funded by the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada, will focus on evaluating the feasibility and efficacy of a personalized dementia risk reduction program delivered at the new Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness. In addition to research, I am also engaged in knowledge translation and community outreach that brings the science of healthy aging into the community. Outside of the lab, I enjoy exploring the city with my rescue dog Maya, doing hot yoga, and cooking (mostly as a means to an end for eating good food!).

I completed my PhD at the University of Toronto in 2021 where I studied intergroup dynamics between both people with different ideologies and between men and women in male-dominated STEM (i.e., science, technology, engineering and math) fields. In this research, I integrated the study of psychophysiology by collecting and analyzing heart rate variability data to study stress experiences during intergroup contact. I also tested and validated different devices for achieving a gold standard of measurement in field settings. My post-doctoral fellowship is funded by the University of Toronto’s Data Science Institute. It is a position geared towards fostering interdisciplinary research in data science. I will be working with Dr. Nicole Anderson as well as Dr. Elizabeth Page-Gould to integrate their expertise and knowledge in memory and aging, and psychophysiology, respectively, with novel approaches in machine learning. Specifically, as part of the Anderson lab, I will extend my work in psychophysiological theory and analysis by developing machine learning models capable of identifying specific psychophysiological experiences using interbeat interval data. Working with Dr. Anderson I hope to identify experiences of, or lapses in, familiarity-based memory as a means to identifying early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease.

I completed my PhD at the University of Toronto in 2024, where I worked with Dr. Gillian Einstein to investigate the effects of midlife ovarian removal on cognition, sleep, and brain health. I leveraged my expertise in Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis Plus (SGBA+), along with structural and functional MRI and EEG, to explore these effects. Given that women are underrepresented in neuroscience research and ovarian removal is associated with an increased risk of late-life dementia, this research provided valuable insights into women’s neurodegenerative disease risk. For my Postdoctoral Fellowship, funded by the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, I will work with Dr. Nicole Anderson and Dr. Malcolm Binns to expand my expertise in neurodegenerative disease risk and statistics. We will focus on identifying factors—such as sex, depression, cognition, activities of daily living, sleep, lifestyle behaviors, and blood biomarkers—that may differentiate subjective cognitive decline from healthy aging and predict progression to mild cognitive impairment. Outside of the lab, I enjoy cooking and eating spicy food, watching movies, camping, and hanging out with my pug, Pepperoni.

I am a PhD student at the University of Toronto, with my focus in cognitive neuroscience. I also have a Specialized Honours BA in Psychology from York University. My current project involves measuring the feeling of familiarity in adults with aMCI. My goals are to become a professor of psychology, as well as continue researching topics in cognition.

I am a direct-entry PhD student at the University of Toronto and in the Anderson Lab. I received my Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Biology-Psychology at Queen’s University. Within my graduate career, I am interested in researching the “gut sense” of familiarity and interoception in healthy adults as well as individuals with aMCI (amnestic mild cognitive impairment). When I’m not in the lab I enjoy being by the water, seeing live music, and watching ‘80’s/’90’s movies.

I completed my bachelors of science degree with a double major in Anthropology and Health Sciences. After a one year internship at Baycrest I joined the Anderson lab as a staff member in 2013. I assist with most studies and am responsible for supervising volunteers and training new lab members on neuropsych evaluations. When I am not in the lab I enjoy traveling and am an avid reader.