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.

Undergraduate Students

Honours Students

Hannah Kraus (she/her)

Hi there! My name is Hannah and I'm in the final year of my psychology honors degree. I’m writing my thesis on a project I’m working on with Nadia, which focuses on short-form media and attention. This is my third year in the lab, and I’m excited to continue expanding my knowledge and skills!

Megan Loepelmann

Mikkeli Sinongco (he/him)

Hello! My name is Mikkeli. I am a fourth-year Honours Psychology student. This is my second year in the VASP lab. I am currently working on a gambling study that is looking into the effects of gambling ads and sports betting streaming content on attention and decision-making. I am really looking forward to gaining more research experience and getting to meet all the new people coming into the lab. Outside of the university, my hobbies include singing, dancing, and playing sports such as basketball and volleyball. 

Nadia Skofenko (she/her)

Hi! My name is Nadia. I am in my last year of a BSc in Honours Psychology. This is my third year with the VASP Lab, and I am working on the short-form media project with Hannah. Outside of research, I love travelling, dancing and rock music.


Richa Acharya (she/her)

Hi! My name is Richa 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!


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.

Asees Kaur (she/her)

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

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.

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.

Ava Nakonechny (she/her)

Hello! My name is Ava, and I am a fourth-year psychology student. This is my third year in the lab and my second year as an independent study student. I am pursuing a two-year research certificate focusing on gaze behaviour in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism. I am working on two projects within the VASP lab: campus belonging and ADHD event segmentation. I am very excited to be a part of this team, to learn more about research, and expand my knowledge about attention. Outside the lab, I enjoy spending time with family and friends and reading a good mystery novel!

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 VDAC project. I'm especially interested in the implications this work has for neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., FASD, ASD, ADHD). In my free time, you can find me reading a good book next to my cats.

Erika Vanden Berg (she/her)

Hey! My name is Erika and I am currently a 4th year BSc Psychology student, starting my 2nd year as an independent studies student in the VASP Lab. My focus is the Campus Belonging project which works to develop inclusive spaces on campus for neurodivergent individuals. I am passionate about advancing supports for neurodivergent adults and those experiencing houselessness. My goal is to continue working with these communities by attending graduate school for Occupational Therapy. Outside of school I enjoy spending time hiking, reading, and teaching my cat tricks!

Volunteer Research Assistants

Olivia Dul (she/her)

Hi there! My name is Olivia, and I am a recent BA Psychology graduate. This is my second year in the lab! Currently, I’m working on a study examining how various ADHD traits (High vs. Low) affect attention allocation and long-term memory. Outside of research, I’m an enthusiast of classic literature, love creating multimedia art, travelling, dressing up, and trying new restaurants!


ZhiRui Gao (she/her)

I graduated in 2024 with a BA in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Alberta. 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!

Aiden Lorincz-Bowman (he/him)

Hey, I’m Aiden! I’m in my final year of a BA in Psychology and plan to finish with an additional research certificate. I’m excited to start volunteering and later complete an independent study course in the VASP lab! Through a touch table game context, I'll have the opportunity to learn more about social attentional processes and eye tracking techniques.

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.


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. 

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

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

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)

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

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

Ana Simonette Salaveria

Saeeda Saeed (Medical School, U Toronto)

Milan Shah

Sara Sylvestre

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

Lavi Thachuk

Khrystyna Topolnytska (Mitacs summer student)

Davin Valera

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)