BRAIN Lab

Dr. Theone Paterson

Lab Director,  Assistant Professor

I am interested in improving our understanding of the interplay between neurocognition and psychosocial functioning, and predicting real-world health outcomes in aging and chronic illness groups. My research examines important outcomes such as medication adherence in individuals with chronic illnesses, and explores the utility of emerging cognitive measures, such as those evaluating everyday cognitive abilities in the prediction of real-world outcomes. Aims of this work are to translate basic research to clinical settings through design and implementation of screening measures with utility in diverse groups, as well as to develop psychological and cognitive programs aimed at improving real-world outcomes.

Clinically, I am trained as a lifespan neuropsychologist, and my practice has focused on neuropsychological assessment and differential diagnosis in children, adolescents, adults and older adults in the context of traumatic brain injury and experienced trauma, and in adults and older adults in the context of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. You can view Dr. Paterson’s Neurotree here.

Maddie Gregory, MA

Maddie is a first year PhD student in the Clinical Neuropsychology program. She is currently working on a patient-oriented research project as part of a Graduate Fellowship in conjunction with the BC SUPPORT unit and Island Health. Broadly, the project involves investigating the genetic, psychological and social determinants of risk for cognitive decline. She is also involved as a Research Assistant in a large-scale survey study (on which Dr. Paterson is a PI) aiming to study the impacts of COVID-19 on mental health, and is working on several publications. You can find her recent publications on Google Scholar.

Morgan Schaeffer, MSc

Morgan is a first year PhD student in the Clinical Neuropsychology program. Broadly, he is interested in the interplay between neurocognition, psychosocial functioning, and chronic illness. For his MSc thesis project, Morgan used secondary data to investigate the influence of BIG-5 personality traits on the development of specific dementia syndromes in older adults. He is currently a Research Assistant on the Impacts of COVID-19 on Cognitive Functioning Study. You can find his recent publications on Research Gate.

Cian Dabrowski, MS

Cian is a first year PhD student in the Clinical Neuropsychology program. She holds a B.A. in psychology from The Ohio State University and an M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University Maryland. Her past research involved improving outcomes for TBI patients admitted to the ICU. She is currently working on multiple projects, including assessing individuals for cognitive impairment after COVID-19. Cian is broadly interested in exploring physiological and neuropsychological factors of trauma exposure, as well as ways in which people can be resilient in the face of stress and chronic illness.

Alison Chung, BA

Alison is a first year Clinical Neuropsychology master’s student. She is broadly interested in neurocognitive and psychosocial predictors of health in older adults living with dementia, chronic conditions, and neurodegeneration. For her master’s thesis, she intends to use secondary data to investigate neuropsychological health in older adults living with dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and Lewy body dementia. Outside of research, she is an avid video game player and a tutor with UVic’s Learning Assistance Program.

Zoë Gilson

Zoë is a first-year master’s student in the Clinical Neuropsychology program. She is broadly interested in cognitive aging, dementia, and related disorders over time; more specifically, her research focuses on the implementation and clinical validity of interventions for cognitive decline in older adulthood, particularly involving modifiable lifestyle factors and health behaviours. For her master’s thesis, she will be piloting and exploring an mHealth psychoeducation intervention for older adults with subjective cognitive concerns that aims to prevent cognitive decline in later life.

Christina Beck

Christina is a 4th year undergraduate student and aspiring clinical psychologist. She is currently completing her honours thesis with Dr. Theone Paterson which is focused on vaccine hesitancy in adolescent populations. She is also a research assistant on the impact of COVID-19 and cognitive functioning study. Christina’s research interests include chronic illness, grief, substance use disorder, and resiliency. Her goal is to apply clinical research to community care in order to support vulnerable populations.  

Emma Kiedyk, BA

Emma is the Laboratory Manager at the BRAIN Lab. She completed her undergraduate degree at McGill University with an honors in psychology and a second major in world religions (specializing in Buddhist studies). After graduation, Emma worked as the lab coordinator at the Cognitive Science Lab at McGill before moving to South Korea for a year to teach English. Now, back on the West Coast, Emma is beyond thrilled to be coordinating the BRAIN lab. Her future career goals include delivering psychotherapy to underrepresented and struggling youth in the community. When she is not working, Emma enjoys painting, cooking, listening to audio books, and being out in nature with her dog, Chloe. 

Kyla Basbaum

Kyla is a research assistant in the BRAIN lab investigating the Neuropsychological Consequences of COVID-19. She is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in Neurobiology and Psychology with the University of Victoria, and her main interests relate to neurocognitive disorders, and mental health. She hopes to enter the field of medicine, focusing on the interplay between biotechnology and cognition. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys hiking, cooking and music.

Caleb Gardner

Caleb is a fourth-year psychology undergraduate at the University of Victoria. He is currently a research assistant for the Cognitive Impacts of COVID-19 study, and contributes through participant screening and data entry. Following his graduation from UVic, he plans to pursue a masters degree and career in clinical psychology. His primary interests include the ongoing treatment of mental health disorders, the accessibility of therapeutic services, and patient outcomes in a clinical setting.

Taleesha Hall

Taleesha is an undergraduate student in the mind and brain stream of the psychology program. She is hoping to pursue clinical neuropsychology in the near future. Taleesha is currently a research assistant on the Investigating Neuropsychological Consequences of COVID-19 on adults, and Examination of Associated Risk and Resilience Factors Study. She enjoys baking, baseball, animals and the outdoors.

Micah McGhee

Micah is completing her final year as an undergraduate student, focusing on the mental health and wellbeing stream in psychology.  She is currently a research assistant on the Investigating Neuropsychological Consequences of Covid-19 study. Her long-term goal is to become a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma and addictions or forensic psychology. Her research interests include the protective role of connectedness and community on addiction and the social determinants associated with substance use disorder.

Anguli Bharmota, BSc

Anguli completed her B.Sc. in Biology and Psychology at the University of Victoria. She is currently a research assistant for the Youth Vaccine Confidence Project Study. With a variety of interests in neurocognitive disorders, immunotherapy cancer treatments, and mental health, Anguli has aspirations to go into the medical field. In her free time, Anguli enjoys spending time with her family and dogs at the lake and playing sports such as hockey.

Emily McCulloch

Emily is a 4th year undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor of Science in psychology at Uvic. She is a research assistant involved in various projects at the brain lab. She has previously assisted with the Impacts of mHealth App Use study. She is currently pursuing an honours thesis focused on social media use and misinformation and is interested in connections between technology use and wellbeing. In her free time, she enjoys decorating, singing, and yoga.

Jori Bishop

Jori is a student in the BSc combined biology and psychology program with a concentration in neurobiology. She is interested in the applications of clinical psychology to real-world issues and will be supporting the mHealth survey project. Her future research interests include mental health accessibility and patient outcomes.

Leah Derry

Leah is a third year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in psychology at the University of Victoria. She is currently a research assistant helping with a scoping review project on biological aging. She is hoping to pursue graduate studies in psychology and is interested in the area of cognition and brain sciences. 

Kaitlyn Cumberland

Kaitlyn is currently a research assistant in the BRAIN lab investigating the Neuropsychological Consequences of COVID-19. She is a fourth-year undergraduate student taking a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in music at the University of Victoria. She plans to pursue a master’s in applied child and school psychology. Her primary interests concern neurodevelopmental disorders in populations of underrepresented youth and the implementation of appropriate mental health and academic support in school systems. In her spare time, she enjoys weight training and textile arts.

Sumire Suzuki

Sumire is working towards completing her BSc in psychology at UVic. She is hoping to pursue her studies in experimental/clinical neuropsychology in graduate school. Her areas of research interest include TBI and their potential treatments, and relationships between brain damage and abnormal behaviour. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys reading, playing the piano, and tennis.

Adeeb Akhavan

Kudrat Bhinder

Emma Knock

Hannah Kroeplin

Ian Petula

Yaël Stevens

Shweta Waddan