Lab Members

Principal Investigator

Dr. Dana A. Hayward (she/her)

Dana is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta. She completed her PhD at McGill University (Montréal, QC), investigating the purported uniqueness of social attention, and her postdoctoral fellowship at Concordia University (Montréal, QC), researching the link between brain morphometry, neural activity, and behaviour.

Graduate Students

Aurora (Yujie) Zhao (she/her)

Hi! My name is Aurora. I'm a first-year PhD student specializing in cognitive psychology at UAlberta. I received a B.S. in Psychology and Molecular Biology from UC San Diego and an M.A. in Human Development Psychology from Cornell. My research interests lie in cognitive processes in human-environment interaction, with a particular focus on eye-tracking methodologies. I am excited to begin this work under the supervision of Dr. Dana Hayward.

Nadia Skofenko (she/her)

Hi! My name is Nadia, and I’ve been part of the lab for about three years. I received my Psychology Honours undergraduate degree here at the University of Alberta, and I’m currently in the first year of my MSc. My research focuses on how emerging technologies and specific design features shape the way we interact with apps and pay attention to the content we encounter. Outside of research, I enjoy travelling, cooking, and circus arts!

Undergraduate Students

Honours Students

Asees Kaur (she/her)

Hi! My name is Asees. I am in my fourth year of BA(Hons) Psychology. This is my second year in honors and my third year in the lab. I am currently working on the Value Driven Attentional Capture Project and the Politics of Attention study. Outside of research, I enjoy exploring new places, taking pictures with my digicam, and spending time watching the sunrise, sunset, and stars.

Mya Gaudet (she/her)

Hello! My name is Mya and I am a third-year Psychology student, in my first year of the Honors Program. I am collaborating on an autism-stigma project with a team of very successful and inspiring psychology researchers. Aside from research, I love spending time in nature, listening to music and picking up a new hobby basically every other day

Brooke-Lyn Van Teeling (she/her)

Hi! My name is Brooke-Lyn, and I’m a third-year psychology student in my first year of the Honors Program. I’m working on the autism stigma project and am especially interested in challenging stereotypes that surround autistic individuals. I’m excited to be part of this team, strengthen my research abilities, and build on my knowledge. Outside of research, I enjoy crocheting, spending time with friends and traveling.


Richa (she/her)

Hi! My name is Richa (she/her) and I am a fourth-year psychology student in my first year of the honors program. This is my first year in the lab and I am working on a project studying social anxiety and visual attention. I am really excited to gain research experience, learn more about social attention and be a part of this team. Outside of research, I love to read and spend time with family and friends!

Independent Research Students

Breagh Cotton (she/her)

Hello, my name is Breagh. I am a psychology specialization student, and this is my second year with the lab. I am interested in cognition and am investigating its relationship with visual attention and social factors through independent study. In my free time, I enjoy reading, video games, and board games.

Kristen Guppy (She/They)

Hey I'm Kristen, a 4th year BA Psychology + English student! After volunteering with VASP last year, I am very excited to be starting my first year of Independent Studies. I split my time between data processing and the creation/refinement for an upcoming study on 'influencers'. My main interests are regarding how similar situations can offer drastically different experiences for each person involved!

Maheen Shariff (she/her)

Hi! I’m Maheen, a fourth-year Psychology BSc student. This is my second year with the lab and my first as an independent study student. I’m interested in attention, memory, and how individual differences shape the way we process and interact with the world around us. Outside of the lab, I enjoy taekwondo, experimenting with makeup, and spending time with friends and family!

Rida Aqeel (She/her)

Hi guys! My name is Rida and I am currently in my last year of a BSc in Psychology. I have been a Research Assistant at the lab since April 2026 working on the Architecture Study, and I am also going to be starting an Independent Research Project under Dr. Dana which I am very excited for! Outside of my academics, I love discovering new music and painting :)

Volunteer Research Assistants

Abreeza Batool (she/her)

I am a 2nd year BA Psychology student, one of my interests in psychology is how we choose to allocate attention to different stimuli around us and how it changes in different contexts. Outside of academics, I enjoy traveling, strength training, and painting.


Gimran Kaur (she/her)

Hi! I'm Gimran, a fourth-year psychology student interested in all aspects of psychological research. I'm eager to learn more about experimental processes including data collection, testing, and working with attention tracking technology. I look forward to deepening my understanding in attentional processes!



Mahip Kaur Dhunna (she/her)

Hi! My name is Mahip Kaur, and I am currently in the fourth year of my undergraduate degree in Psychology. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the VASP lab and am excited to contribute, learn and gain hands-on research experience!

ZhiRui Gao (she/her)

I graduated in 2024 with a BA in Psychology and Sociology. I am passionate about research on children’s social and emotional development, particularly topics related to attention, classroom interactions, and mental health. In the future, I hope to pursue a graduate degree in counselling or a related field of psychology, building on the research experiences I have gained in the lab. Outside of academics, I enjoy travelling, making crafts, listening to music, and watching movies. I also love collecting unique cups and tumblers, as well as adorable plush toys—especially Jellycats!

Kinsley Hsie (she/her)

Hi, I’m Kinsley Hsie. I am a Biological Sciences major with a Chemistry minor and a strong interest in psychology. I am currently coding for the SAVA project, which focuses on social anxiety and visual attention, and am glad to be working with the VASP Lab. Outside of research, I enjoy spending time with friends, family and exploring nature trails with my dogs.

Sharen Anna Manuel (she/her)

Hi, I’m Sharen, a recent Bsc Psych graduate! In the VASP Lab, I’m researching the relationship between social anxiety and visual attention. This is my first year in the lab and I’m so excited to see what it brings! 

David Okoroafor (he/him)

Hi! My name is David and I am in my fourth year of a BSc in Psychology with Specialization. This is my first year in the VASP lab, where I'll assist in investigating the effect of gambling advertisements on sports betting behaviour. I'm looking forward to developing my research skills and enhancing my overall knowledge this year. Beyond the lab, I'm an avid consumer of films and sports.

Ghazal Pakseresht (she/her)

Hello! My name is Ghazal Pakseresht. I am in my third year of BSc in Psychology with a minor in Biological Science. This is my first year volunteering in the VASP lab and I am very excited! Currently, I am working on the SAVA project which focuses on social anxiety and visual attention.


Kanzah Rabbani (she/her)

Hello! I'm in my final year of my BSc (Hons) in psychology. Within the VASP Lab, I am working on the Looking & Attention project. I'm especially interested in the implications this work has for social vs. non-social visual awareness. In my free time, you can find me reading a good book next to my cats.

Megan Loepelmann

Mason Sarrasin (he/him)

Hey, I’m Mason, I’m a third year BA psychology student.
It’s my first year working in the lab, working as a volunteer on the relationship between social anxiety and visual attention.

Isabelle Suen (she/her)

Hi! My name is Isabelle, and I am a second-year psychology student. This is my second year in the VASP lab, and I am excited to continue learning about how gaze can be used to communicate with others. 


Charmaine Tong (she/her)

Hi! I’m Charmaine, a first-year Honours Biochemistry student who’s endlessly curious about attention—what catches it, why, and how! This is my first year volunteering with the VASP Lab, and I’m thrilled to dive in, learn, and contribute. When I’m not thinking about brains and social attention, you can find me hiking, jogging, or experimenting in the kitchen (sometimes successfully!).

Lab Alumni - Graduate students

Rafael Almeida, MSc

Helen Ma, MSc

Ruby Prinsen

YanFei Song, MSc (Medical School, McGill U)

Lab Alumni - Undergraduate students

Danielle Adedun (graduate student, Clinical Psychology, U Regina)

Huda Al-Shamali (graduate student, Psychiatry program, U Alberta)

Daria Antoszko

Kezziah (KC) Ayuno

Sam Bardestani

Yasmine Bendahmane

Kaitlynn Braulio

Mackenzie Caddy

Megan Campbell (graduate student, Clinical, Lethbridge U)

Arianna Cook (graduate student, Psychology, U Alberta)

Bren Cordova

Grace Christiansen

Andy Croome

Jamie Cundal (Medical school, U Saskatchewan)

Mariam Dar

Gurvinder Dhaliwal

Raman Dhaliwal (graduate student, Psychiatry program, U Alberta)

Olivia Dul (CityU’s Master of Counselling Psychology)

Maesha Elahi

Zeinab Elhassan

Zhirui Gao

Hope Giardina

Evlin Glyson

Sana Gulab

Jingru (Helen) Ha (MPH, now Medical school, U Calgary)

Patrick Harvey (programmer)

Maryam Hasan (Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Midwestern University Chicago)

Mackenzie Heal (graduate student, NMHI, U Alberta)

Devon Heath (graduate student, School & Clinical Child Psychology program, U Alberta)

Emma Heidebrecht

Pui Yan Emily Ho

Amara Hussain (graduate student, Counselling Psychology, Yorkville U)

Sarah Janssens

Nimrit Jhinjar

Phebe Joshua

Harjas Jouhal

Saumya Kapoor

Hannah Kraus

Livleen Kaur (summer student)

Sukhmani Kaur Saggu

Jenna Lafond (Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Behaviour Analysis at MacEwan)

Maddie Lesage

Cassie Li

Zoe Liston

Cyndy Liu (medical student, U Alberta)

Ricky Liu (medical student, U Alberta)

Aiden Lorincz-Bowman

Victoria Mackie (graduate student, Counselling Psychology, Yorkville U)

Matt Mah (graduate student, Clinical, Lethbridge U)

Priyal Mahajan

Chanelle Martens

James McKinnon

Habeebah Mohammad

Liam Nolet-Mulholland

Julia Muir

Ava Nakonechny

Ally Nelson

Mel Ouelette

Don Oulette

Mae Pacificar

Akhilesh Parmar

Jasman Parmar (graduate student, Clinical, Lethbridge U)

Shikang Peng (member of Dr. St Jacques ME lab)

Jane Pham

Ashwath Puchakatla (medical school, Australia)

Zhichun Qi

Yueyi Qiu (graduate student, the University of Hong Kong)

Anjelo Quito (MSc Psychology - Social, U Victoria)

Omnia Rajab

Tiana Ranta

Suha Rehman (dentistry school, U Alberta)

Tiffany Reidel

Saeeda Saeed (Medical School, U Toronto)

Ana Simonette Salaveria

Mikkeli Sinongco

Milan Shah

Sara Sylvestre

Daniela Teodorescu (graduate student in computing science, U Alberta)

Lavi Thachuk

Reese Thurmeier

Khrystyna Topolnytska (Mitacs summer student)

Davin Valera

Erika Vanden Berg

Shuier Wei

Justine Wiebe

Andrea Ybanez

Claire Yiptong

Collaborators

Dr. Craig Chapman (U Alberta; kinesiology) Dr. Kyle Nash (U Alberta; psychology)

Dr. Anthony Singhal (U Alberta; psychology) Dr. Peggy St. Jacques (U Alberta; psychology)

Dr. Alona Fyshe (U Alberta; psych/comp sci) Dr. Heather Brown (U Alberta; education)