People | Finn LAND Lab

Amy Finn
CV
[email protected]
4002 Sidney Smith Hall

Huiqin Chen
[email protected]
Lab Manager
Hello! I’m a recent graduate at UofT and double major in computer science and psychology. I have a broad interest in cognitive psychology and am excited about how computer science and psychology together can help us explore the beauty of the mind.

Samantha Gualtieri
[email protected]
Website
Post-Doctoral Fellow
I received my PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Waterloo, where I found that children and adults use information very differently, and made some interesting discoveries about the emergence of heuristics and biases in decision-making. During my post-doc, I’m examining how the unique ways in which children experience the world (via their limited knowledge, and developing perceptual and cognitive abilities) actually help them conquer many incredible learning feats.

Keela Thomson
[email protected]
Post-Doctoral Fellow
I received a joint PhD in Psychology and Social and Decision Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University. I study cognitive psychology with a focus on intelligence and decision-making. At the moment I am attempting to reconcile the notion of the positive manifold - that a single factor 'general g' underlies all individual differences in intelligence - with emerging evidence from dual systems approaches that Type 1 (procedural, implicit) cognition appears uncorrelated with g.

Johnny Dubois
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@Johnny_Dubois_
Graduate Student, Psychology
I graduated from Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba, with a BSc (hons) in Psychology, working with Dr. Nicholas Watier on mindfulness and cognition. Prior to grad school I worked as a research assistant at Pine River Institute, a residential treatment center for youth with addiction, near Shelburne, ON. My PhD work focuses on exploring developmental changes in implicit/non-declarative memory, and the neural correlates of these processes.

Tess Forest
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@tessforest
Graduate Student, Psychology
Hello! I'm Tess, a PhD student in the LAND lab. I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and completed my undergraduate degree in Cognitive Systems and Linguistics at the University of British Columbia. I also spent some time working at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at the Max Plank Institute for Psycholinguistics, in the Netherlands. I'm interested in how language learning mechanisms operate, their development over time, and how that contributes to differences in language learning abilities between adults and children. In my free time I like to cook, knit, and spend time outside... either running, backpacking, skiing, or canoeing!

Erika Wharton-Shukster
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@whartonshumthin
Graduate Student, Psychology
I recently completed my Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Toronto. Previously, I had the pleasure of working as study coordinator in a neuroimaging lab studying functional neurosurgery at the Toronto Western Hospital. As someone who finds children as fascinating as they are entertaining, I’m excited to study their learning! Specifically, I’m hoping to investigate the mechanisms behind how children process and remember information differently than adults and across development. Outside the lab, I play drums in two bands, write music, and compulsively add to my plant collection.

Justine Vorvis
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Graduate Student, Psychology
Hi! I just completed my undergraduate degree in the Psychology Research Specialist and Neuroscience Major programs at U of T, and am excited to begin PhD studies with Dr. Amy Finn and Dr. Donald Mabbott this fall. I am broadly interested in research with the potential to inform educational practice and policy. Recently, I’ve been especially curious as to how prior learning and performance shape subsequent learning, and how cognitive and neural development vary based on contextual factors like income. Outside of the lab, I love to sing, play piano, draw, bake, and spend time biking and running outdoors!

Bailey Agard
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Graduate Student, Psychology
Hi 🙂 My name is Bailey, and I am so excited to be starting my PHD in the LAND lab. I recently graduated from York University with a Specialized Honours BA in Cognitive Science. This past year, I worked as a Summer Research Opportunities Program student, then as a research assistant in the Child Language and Speech Studies lab at the University of Toronto Mississauga. There, I developed a project to look at how a speaker's accent may affect children's memory for what was said. I am eager to explore questions in cognitive development and psycholinguistics. Outside the lab, I can be found reading, making puzzles, playing piano, and laughing at dog videos.

Daniela Schönberger
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Visiting Graduate Student, Psychology
Hello! My name is Daniela and I'm a visiting Ph.D. candidate from Brigitte Roeder's Babylab in Hamburg, Germany. I'm broadly interested in learning and memory from a developmental cognitive neuroscience perspective. For my visit in the fall, I am looking forward to finding out more about the development of statistical learning/memory and the development of neural event segmentation. I am very excited to meet all members of the FinnLAND lab! I will be in the lab from September to November 2022.

Akshita Srivastava
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Work Study Student, Psychology and Neuroscience
Hi! I’m a second-year undergraduate student, double majoring in psychology and neuroscience. Previously, I’ve worked in a variety of roles with children who have learning disabilities, and am therefore very interested in studying the development of memory, language acquisition, and other cognitive skills. In my spare time, I love baking, reading, and painting!

Wujiamei (Grace) Sun
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UTEA Program Student, Psychology and Cognitive Science
Hello, I am currently a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto specializing in psychology and major in cognitive science. I have volunteered with children for many years. I am interested in cognitive development and memory development. In my spare time, I love to travel, watch movies, and drink bubble tea with my friends.

Valerie Nguyen
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Work Study Student, Neuroscience and Psychology
Hi everyone! My name's Val and I'm a third-year undergraduate at UofT majoring in neuroscience and psychology. I'm broadly interested in studying the development of memory throughout childhood and am super excited to be working with the LAND lab. Outside of the lab, I enjoy baking, reading, and hanging out with my friends!

Zahra Abolghasem
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Volunteer Research Assistant, Psychology
I am a fourth year undergraduate student who is in the Psychology Research Specialist Program at the University of Toronto. I am broadly interested in investigating how learning and memory change from childhood to adulthood. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking/baking, hiking, and doing yoga!

Denise Arefhaghi
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Volunteer Research Assistant, Psychology and Sociology
Howdy! My name is Denise and I'm a recent graduate from the University of Toronto. I am broadly interested in the developmental trajectory of morality in children. In my spare time I enjoy reading, poetry, hiking, and creating playlists for specific feelings and moments in my life.

Yi Lin (Elaine) Wang
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USRA Program Student, Psychology and Neurology
Hello everyone! I am a third-year student at UofT studying psychology and neuroscience! I am generally interested in how neurological development gives rise to changes in cognition and behavior. Specifically, I love learning about how children learn and how educational policies can better motivate children in their academic careers! In my free time, I enjoy walking my dog, painting, cooking and watching movies!

Rowan Danton
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Work Study Student, Psychology and Human Biology
Hi! I am a second-year student at UofT studying Physiology with a double minor in Psychology and Human Biology. I have a background in youth development and in the future I would love to research learning with a focus on neurodivergence. Outside the lab, I love cycling around Toronto, thrifting and trying out new recipes.

Insiya Samji
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Summer Research Opportunities Program Student, Mental Health Studies and Neuroscience
Hey! My name is Insiya, and I am a third-year undergraduate student doing a double major in Mental health studies and Neuroscience at UofT. Overall, my research interests lie in neuropsychology. Specifically in learning processes, memory, perception, personality, and behaviour across development. Aside from my academic life, I binge read fiction novels, play soccer, and hang out with my family (including my cat Leo) and friends!

Isaac Wetmore
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Lab Programmer, Cognitive Science & Statistics
I am a third year undergrad student studying Cognitive Science and Statistics. In the past, I have worked with developing programs for labs related to social prejudice. In general, I love to combine my technical skills with my love for demystifying different aspects of the mind, such as memory, learning, and perception. In my spare time, I run track, play games, and love exploring new places and meeting new people!

Grace Zheng
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ROP student, Specialist in Neuroscience & Double Minors in Psychology and Physiology
Hi everyone! My name is Grace, and I am a fourth-year undergraduate student doing a specialist in neuroscience with double minors in psychology and physiology. I am passionate about working with children and understanding the mechanisms of how different memories form. Further, I am interested in applying this knowledge within educational settings in relation to cognitive plasticity and development. In my free time, I love to swim, read rom com novels, and play with my dog!

Vivian Shu
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ROP student, Psychology Specialist, Education & Society Minor
Hi everyone! My name is Vivian. I am a third-year student specializing in psychology specialist and education minor. I have a keen interest in topics related to children's selective attention, memory, and learning capacity. I am also passionate about children's education. Aside from my academic life, I love taking photographs, skateboarding, and reading!

Alumni - Post-docs and Students

Alexandra Decker
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Posdoct fellow at MIT.
Website

Yaelan Jung
CV
Website
[email protected]
Postdoctoral Researcher, Princeton University
Yaelan is a postdoc working with Dr. Lauren Emberson at Princeton University. Before coming to Princeton, she completed her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, working with Dr. Dirk Bernhardt-Walther and Dr. Amy Finn. Her research is focused on high-level vision and how top-down factors (e.g., tasks, attention, and learning) interact with visual perception. She also asks how this interaction occurs in the developing brain. She uses fMRI and other behavioral measures to investigate these questions.