Lillian Meighen Wright Foundation Scholars

 

Dr. Joyce Kamanzi is the current Lillian Meighen Wright Postdoctoral Fellow in Maternal-Child Health (Supervisor: Professor Nazilla Khanlou). Dr. Kamanzi completed her doctoral studies at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Canada. She is a nurse and previously worked as Quality Manager in Rwanda. Her doctoral research focused on exploring the experiences of mothers using the PMTCT Program to prevent HIV transmission.

 

Negar Alamdar was a Lillian Meighen Wright Postdoctoral Fellow in Maternal-Child Health (Supervisor: Professor Nazilla Khanlou). Dr. Alamdar is currently engaged in some projects as a research associate at the Office and also teaching some courses as a sessional faculty member at the Department of Equity Studies at York University. Furthermore, Negar has been teaching in social service work program and working as a placement coordinator for Office Administration and Health Program in ACE Acumen college in partnership with St. Clair college. Negar Formerly worked as a front line developmental service worker supporting and counselling individuals with developmental disabilities at Community Living Dufferin. Her academic, research and experiential background working with vulnerable individuals who have experienced trauma as clients of CCVT (Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture supporting mainly refugees), CLD (Community Living Dufferin) and North York Women Shelter has prepared and encouraged her to spend considerable amount of time looking in to individual, systemic and institutional challenges that need to be addressed and critically analysed.

Chang Su, MA, PhD was the inaugural Lillian Wright Post Doctoral Fellow of the Office of Women's Health Research Chair in Mental Health in the Faculty of Health at York University. Dr. Su received her PhD in Social and Personality Psychology at York University in 2010 and has over ten years of teaching experience in psychology. Dr. Su is presently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Faculty of Science in Brandon University. Dr. Su has taught psychological courses in both China and Canada including at Ryerson University, York University and University of Northern British Columbia. She has been working with Dr. Gordon Flett on cross cultural comparisons of the relationship between perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation and mental health on undergraduate students. They co-authored a series of studies on perfectionism and mental health on Chinese primary school students, high school students and junior high school students in mainland China.

Year of Study: MA 2
Program: Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Scott Adler

Michelle completed her HBSc in Neuroscience and Mental Health Studies, with a minor in Biology at University of Toronto. She is currently completing my master’s degree in Developmental Psychology under the “Visual and Cognitive Developmental Project” lab at York University, as well as completing the Neuroscience Diploma Program. Michelle is broadly interested in cognitive development and my current research focus is the impacts of early birth experience (vaginal versus caesarean section births) on attention and memory.

Year of Study: MA 2
Program: Clinical Developmental Psychology (Neuropsychology stream)
Supervisor: Dr. Christine Till

Meaghan is currently completing her MA degree in Clinical Developmental Neuropsychology at York University, where she will be starting her PhD degree in the fall. She previously completed her HBSc in Behaviour, Genetics, and Neurobiology at the University of Toronto. Her current research interests lie in the area of women and children’s environmental health. In particular, she is interested in exploring the effects of neurotoxicant exposures in pregnancy on women’s health and children’s cognitive outcomes. She is currently focused on understanding the mechanisms that may explain the developmental neurotoxicity of environmental chemicals.

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Year of Study: MA 1
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Adrienne Perry

Tian is an incoming MA student in the Clinical-Developmental psychology program at York University. She is currently interested in researching positive parenting experiences of families with autistic children and how cultural influences and coping styles impact parenting stress. Through greater understanding of parents' stress and coping, her research will help identify areas of resilience and improve outcomes for families with autistic children.

Year of Study: 4th year
Program: Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Michaela Hynie

Katherine is a 4th year undergraduate psychology student in the specialized honours program. She is hoping to pursue graduate studies in Clinical Psychology with the intention of conducting community-based research and working towards increasing access to mental health care for vulnerable populations. More broadly, she is interested in women's health and well-being, family relationships and child development. Her undergraduate thesis focused on the provision of virtual social support for refugee mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Year of Study: 4th year
Program: Psychology
Supervisors: Dr. Lipscombe (Womens College Hospital); Dr. Kawakami (York University's Social Psychology Lab)

Afnan is a 3rd year student majoring in psychology and biomedicine at York University. She is interested in contributing towards and supporting women's health. As a summer research student at Women's College Hospital, Afnan is currently a part of Dr. Lipscombe's ADAPT-M project. This research project's objective is to improve the health of pregnant women with gestational diabetes. As a current research assistant at York University's Kawakami Lab, she is also interested in how social injustices and prejudices impact an individual's access to equal opportunity in health, education, employment, and many other basic needs. As an individual from a visible minority group, she takes great responsibility in contributing to both underrepresented and disadvantaged communities. Afnan had decided that the best way to contribute towards this initiative is by providing mentorship and educational opportunities to the youth within my community and other underrepresented communities. She is currently a part of the Say Somali Leaders Program, which provides third, fourth, and fifth year students the opportunity to be mentored by a Somali professional. They are also tasked with the responsibility to mentor and guide Somali high school students, and also with the opportunity to plan, establish, and execute an educational community project for Somali youth. She is currently tutoring bright minded individuals at BridgeTO, in which she is able to provide her educational experience, knowledge, and expertise to students coming from similar backgrounds as herself and who share similar lived experiences. She also see this opportunity as a way of being able to provide a safe and supportive environment in which students are comfortable enough in asking for help and assistance.

Year of Study: MA 2
Program: Clinical Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Heather Prime

Gillian is completing her Master’s degree in Clinical Developmental Psychology at York University. Her research explores maternal-child relational and mental well-being through a family-systems lens with the goal of promoting resilience and positive functioning in youth and families. Gillian’s current projects involve evaluating a model of COVID-19 family disruption, validating a measure of pandemic-related family positive adaptation, and initiating a community-based intervention with families struggling during the pandemic.

Year of Study: PhD 4
Program: Clinical Developmental Psychology (Neuropsychology stream)
Supervisor: Dr. Maggie Toplak

Elizabeth is currently completing her PhD in Clinical Developmental Psychology at York University, where she also completed her MA. She previously completed her Spec. Hons. B.A. in Psychology and her B.Ed. at York University, Glendon College. Currently, Elizabeth's research focuses on parental mediation of problematic screen media use in children and youth at-risk for attention difficulties (e.g., ADHD, early neurological risk). Broadly, Elizabeth is interested in understanding key factors, such as parental responsiveness, that affect the psychological profiles of children and youth with neurodevelopmental and/or medical conditions.

Year of Study: 5 undergraduate
Program: Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell

Ameer is a fifth-year undergraduate psychology student. During his undergraduate studies, he was a Research Assistant in Dr. Pillai Riddell’s Opportunities to Understand Childhood Hurt (O.U.C.H) Laboratory. In this lab, he was involved in data collection and processing of toddler patients during routine vaccination appointments as well as co-authoring a paper on toddler self-regulation in the pain context. As an aspiring physician, Ameer wants to find healthy methods/interventions that patients or their loved ones can implement to manage pain, and an important step in achieving that goal is to understand the underlying behaviors that impact a patient's pain response.

Year of Study: PhD 1
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Yvonne Bohr
Marette is currently completing her PhD in Clinical-Developmental Psychology. Her research focuses on maternal sensitivity and understanding how the quality of maternal-infant interactions is related to various developmental outcomes in children. Her masters thesis examined the predictive validity of a novel measure of disrupted maternal behaviour (the AMBIANCE-Brief) in comparison to other measures of maternal-infant interaction quality. For her doctoral research, Marette hopes to investigate the underpinnings of maternal sensitivity by examining how experiences of trauma may impact a mother's ability to attend and respond to her child's needs.

Email: bsahab@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 4
Year of receipt: 2008
Supervisor: Dr. Hala Tamim

Ban is a 5th year PhD student at the School of Kinesiology and Health Science under the supervision of Dr. Hala Tamim. She received her Master's degree in Epidemiology from the American University of Beirut in 2004. Throughout her graduate studies, Ban's research has mainly focused on maternal and child health. She has several publications on areas relating to breastfeeding, smoking during pregnancy, intimate partner violence and postpartum depression.

Year of Study: 1
Program: Health Policy & Equity
Supervisor: Dr. Dennis Raphael
Sarah completed a B.Sc. in Psychology from McGill University, and a B.H.Sc. in Midwifery from Laurentian University. She began practicing as a Registered Midwife in Ontario in 2015. With a strong interest in women's health and social justice, Sarah began the Master's program in Health Policy & Equity at York University in the fall of 2019. The title of her research project is 'Social Determinants of Perinatal Health and Birth Outcomes: Perspectives on the Role of Midwifery'. It is a qualitative study, and through interviews with Ontario midwives, she will be exploring their knowledge and perceptions of social and structural determinants of health, as well as examining how midwives provide care for marginalized clients.

Year of Study: PhD 3
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Yvonne Bohr
Mariami is a third-year PhD student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program. Her dissertation research focuses on infant stress and behavioural synchrony between parents and infants, specifically in the context of caregivers’ absorption with a mobile device while caring for their infants. Mariami is also interested in the role of caregivers' sensitivity and attachment style in such contexts. Her research aims to contribute to existing knowledge about the effects of ubiquitous technology in the lives of young children, specifically its effects on parent-child relationships.

Year of Study: PhD 3
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology (Clinical Neuropsychology Stream)
Supervisor: Dr. Debra Pepler
Bianca is a PhD candidate at York University specializing in Clinical Neuropsychology in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program, where she also completed her MA. She previously completed her HBSc in Psychology and Human Biology at The University of Toronto. Bianca’s graduate research has been clinically embedded at Breaking the Cycle and The Hospital for Sick Children for numerous years. She is committed to catalyzing the field of infant and early childhood development by examining early neurodevelopmental profiles and trajectories in neurologically vulnerable children. This work encompasses children exposed prenatally to substances, children having experienced perinatal strokes, children with intestinal failure, and children having undergone solid-organ transplantation. Broadly, Bianca is interested in how early experiences of risk and protection impact neuropsychological functioning across development, with a focus on the protective role of early intervention in maximizing lifelong neurodevelopmental trajectories development.

Year of Study: MA2
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell
Oana completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Western Ontario, where she graduated with a B.Sc. degree (Honours Specialization in Psychology). Oana is currently pursuing her MA in Clinical-Developmental Psychology at York University, within the Clinical Neuropsychology Stream. Under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell, her Master’s thesis seeks to inform the use of reliable pain assessment tools for hospitalized infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). This program of research has the potential to reduce the risk of inadequate pain management in hospitalized infants due to limitations stemming from current pain assessment tools, thus moderating the serious health consequences of unmanaged pain in infancy.

Email: lc15@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD
Year of receipt: 2011
Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell
Lauren Campbell is currently completing her doctoral degree in Clinical Developmental Psychology in the Opportunities to Understand Childhood Hurt (O.U.C.H.) laboratory. Her master's research examined the roles of caregiver emotional availability and caregiver proximity on infant pain responding over the infant's first year of life. Building on this research, her doctoral research is examining the developmental predictors and socio-emotional correlates of children's coping with pain at 4 and 5 years of age. Lauren is also interested in the contributing role of caregiver sensitivity.

Email: juliech@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 1
Year of receipt: 2011
Supervisor: Dr. Debra Pepler
Julie is a doctoral student in Clinical Developmental Psychology. She conducts her research on the mother-child relationship at Mothercraft's Breaking the Cycle program for substance-abusing mothers and their young children. Her primary area of research is the mother-child relationship as a mediator of familial risk on child outcomes, with particular focus on maternal relationship risks, such as domestic violence.

Email: jlynn@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 2
Year of receipt: 2009
Supervisor: Dr. Yvonne Bohr
Jessica is a second year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Developmental Psychology program at York University. She earned her M. A. Degree, and Honours B.A. Degree at York University. Her main research interests lie in the study of maternal-child relationships and parenting from a cross-cultural perspective, and in the identification of best practices of child-rearing in different cultures. Her Master's thesis compared the parenting practices of Chinese-Canadian and European-Canadian mothers, and explored the influence of acculturation and immigrant status on parent and child variables such as caregiver stress, confidence, sensitivity, attributions, and child behaviour problems.

Email: cmc3@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD
Year of receipt: 2013
Supervisor: Dr. Nazilla Khanlou
Candice Christmas has a dual major DEC in psychology and philosophy from John Abbott College, a Minor in Political Science from McGill, a BA Honours in History and a Master of Arts in Health Geography from Queen’s University. Her Master’s research involved the impacts of material and social determinants of health on early childhood development. As a doctoral candidate in Health Policy and Equity at York University, she will use mixed methods to explore the links between depression and anxiety disorders in youth and eating disorders by “deconstructing the social act of eating”.

Email: juliecinamon@gmail.com
Year of Study: PhD
Dr. Cinamon received her PhD from the Clinical-Developmental Program in the Department of Psychology at York University. She received her Master's in Clinical Psychology from Concordia University. She is currently working as a Clinical Psychologist under Supervised Practice in two private practices in York Region and Vaughan. She also works part-time as a Psychoeducational Consultant with a school board within the Greater Toronto Area. She was a recipient of the Lillian Wright Maternal Child Health Award in 2011. Dr. Cinamon sees children, adolescents, adults, and families for a variety of common life struggles such as anxiety, mood, emotion regulation, trauma, challenging behavior, and family conflict. She is skilled in providing therapy from a psychodynamic and attachment lense, as well as from a cognitive behavioral therapy lense. She also administers assessments for children and adolescents with cognitive, academic, social, emotional, and behavioural challenges.

Email: bramilee@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 5
Year of receipt: 2013
Supervisor: Dr. Yvonne Bohr
Bramilee is a doctoral student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. Her research is embedded in an ecological-transactional framework, and focuses on predictors of resilience among parent-child dyads vulnerable to psychopathology. Her Master's thesis examined factors that mitigate the risk of infant and child maltreatment among adolescent mothers exposed to cumulative adversity. She is passionate about community-based research, and works towards fostering resilience and promoting healthy relationships among high-risk mother-child dyads.

Email: hgennis@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 5
Year of receipt: 2015 and 2018
Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell
Hannah is a PhD student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program. Hannah completed her undergraduate degree at Dalhousie University, studying pediatric pain. She continued to pursue this research interest during her Master's and PhD in the OUCH lab at York University. Her research primarily focuses on infant and toddler pain-related distress reactivity and regulation during routine vaccinations, and the role of child emotion regulation strategies and parent soothing behaviours on these outcomes. Hannah is currently completing her psychology residency at Alberta Children's Hospital..

Year of Study: PhD 2
Program: Graduate Program in Health
Supervisor: Dr. Claudia Chaufan

Piara is a second-year doctoral student in the Graduate Program in Health specializing in Health Policy and Equity. She is interested in contributing to advancements in women’s health, gender equity, and family health policy. Piara’s dissertation is focused on understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the gendered division of labour and the work-life balance of caregivers in academia. Her research aims to inform the creation and promotion of equitable policies that support the health and well-being of women and families.

Year of Study: 4th-year undergraduate
Program: Health Studies

Email: geshem@yorku.ca
Naomi is a fourth year B.Sc. student majoring in psychology at York University. She is also a part time Elementary School teacher and is interested in intervetions to improve the mental health of young children with emotional and developmental challenges. Naomi is currently completing an independent study with Dr. Christine Jonas-Simpson investigating how children cope with the death of an infant sibling, as well as the role of teachers in this grieving process.

Year of Study: 4th-year undergraduate
Program: Global Health (Global Health Policy, Management and Systems)

Email: brookeh@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 4
Year of receipt: 2010-2011
Supervisor: Dr. Yvonne Bohr
Brooke is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology Program at York University. Her primary research interest lies in early mother-child interactions. Brooke's dissertation focuses on atypical maternal behaviours and their association with various maternal psychosocial stressors. Her second area of research interest is in the provision of evidence-based programs within community mental health settings.

Email: marina13@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 3
Year of receipt: 2010-2011
Supervisor: Jennifer Connolly
Marina completed her PhD at York University's Clinical-Developmental Psychology program. She is excited to continue her passion for research on child-maternal health. Her current research focus is to investigate mothers with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the challenges and resilience factors these mothers experience. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Dual Diagnosis Clinic at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Year of Study: PhD 4
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Adrienne Perry
Hilda is a doctoral student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program. Her research is within the field of Developmental Disabilities and specifically, in the diagnosis and assessment process of Autism Spectrum Disorders and in creating a supportive network for families.

Email: rhorton@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 5
Year of receipt: 2009-2012
Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell
Rachel is a doctoral student in the Clinical Developmental program in the Opportunity to Understand Childhood Hurt (O.U.C.H.) laboratory at York University under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell. Through her Master's thesis, Rachel investigated whether mothers' facial expressions of fear and pain had an impact on infants' facial expressions of pain when undergoing a routine immunization. The focus of Rachel's doctoral dissertation is on infant-parent attachment within the context of paediatric pain. Rachel is completing her pre-doctoral clinical internship at Surrey Place Centre in Toronto.

Year of Study: PhD 2
Program: Social-Personality Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Raymond Mar

Chantelle completed her H.B.A. at Western University, and her M.A. at York University. Currently, she is working on her Ph.D. in social-personality psychology. Broadly, her research interests are in women’s experiences and her dissertation focuses on parents who experience regret about having children. Through her dissertation work, she hopes to identify the prevalence, characteristics, and outcomes of parental regret, and develop an intervention to mitigate the associated psychological distress in order to help such parents.

Year of Study: 4th-year undergraduate
Program: Kinesiology & Health Science
Iliana is a fourth year BSc student majoring in Kinesiology. Ever since she started to volunteer in Labour and Delivery at North York General Hospital, she knew that maternal health was her passion. Iliana is interested in the role that artificially-made female sex hormones have on the body, as it is not a widely-studied topic. She will be starting an independent study next year that will be focusing on the interplay between birth control and the cardiovascular system. In the future, Iliana hopes to be working in the field of women’s health.

Email: greeshma@yorku.ca
Year of Study: MScN, 3rd year (last semester)
Year of receipt: 2008
Supervisor: N/A (course based program)
Greeshma is currently completing the last semester of her online course-based MScN program. She has done both her undergraduate and graduate education at York University. She is currently working as a part time Labour and Delivery RN in a hospital setting. After completion of the MScN program, Greeshma wishes to get into the teaching-learning stream of nursing and eventually complete her PhD.

Email: jacobsen@yorku.ca
Year of Study: BScN 4
Year of receipt: 2011
Lisa is currently completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Lisa received an Honours B.Sc. at the University of Toronto in 2002. Lisa completed her community placement in a Maternal-Infant Health program and is currently completing her Integrated Practicum at a birthing centre in Toronto.

Year of Study: 4th-year undergraduate
Program: Psychology
Supervisor: Yvonne Bohr
Henry Jang is a 4th-year undergraduate Psychology student. His Honours Thesis examined how unchecked smartphone notification sounds negatively affect the attention required from caregivers to sensitively respond to infants (using a robot infant). This effect was analyzed in relation to attachment-related anxiety. Henry's primary research interests are dyadic relationships (infant-caregiver & romantic partners), attachment styles, effects of technology, using/developing technology for research, and technological interventions.

Email: Sheila.k.jennings@gmail.com
Year of Study: Post-doctoral
Year of receipt: 2010
Sheila's research interests concern the rights of severely disabled children. While Sheila was at law school, family law and constitutional law were her primary interests and for which she was awarded the Joseph Micaleff prize in family law and the Wilson Memorial scholarship in constitutional law. Prior to commencing her M.A. in Critical Disability Studies at York, Sheila practiced in the family and child welfare courts in Toronto, and has published in peer reviewed journals in the overlapping area of disability and family law. Sheila is an affiliate of the Office of Women's Health Research Chair in Mental Health Research. As a doctoral student at Osgoode Hall Law School she has been researching the legal right to support of mothers and their disabled children in Canada. In 2016 she received a two-year SSHRC post-doctoral award to conduct research at the University of Toronto to examine aspects of legal consciousness with support-seeking mothers with disabled children.

Year of Study: 4th year undergraduate
Program: Nursing - BScN
Fatoumat Jikineh is a fourth year student studying in the Collaborative BScN Nursing Program at York University. 2020 City of Toronto Pam McConnell Award for Young Women in Leadership recipient - she is known in her community to be a very community oriented compassionate leader and a strong advocate for women’s rights. Her passion for women’s rights and female empowerment coupled with her passion for community development is why she wants to work towards a medical specialization in obstetrics and gynecology, providing culturally competent medical care to women in Canada and in developing countries around the world.  Over the years, through her encounters with women from diverse backgrounds and her clinical experiences, Fatoumat quickly realised that serious issues in maternal care did not only exist in third world countries across the world but right here at home as well. She witnessed first hand how the social determinants of health played out for clients of specific demographic backgrounds, adding to her insight on this issue.

Among many community development initiatives, Fatoumat is the creator of Toronto Maanyonu, a community support group for young mothers and “newly-wed” Gambian women where they provide advice and support to each other as they venture to be successful in all aspects of their lives. There is a strong maternal mental health component to this group as many members are young mothers with children. She is also  the co-creator of Because I’m Honoured, a group for young women and girls with the goal of building a strong and healthy identity. Fatoumat has a keen understanding of the factors that affect childhood mental health and has worked to create programming to address these issues. Fatoumat comprehends that medical interventions alone are not sufficient to address maternal and childhood health issues - rather a social lens on health is needed in order to address these issues effectively.

Email: dkanter@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 2
Year of receipt: 2012
Supervisor: Dr. Yvonne Bohr
Deborah Kanter is a second year doctoral student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. Her research focuses on the prevention of aggression in children who are at-risk of developing behaviour problems. Her master's thesis examined the relationship between maternal depression and child behaviour problems, and the different parenting behaviours that play a role in this association. In the future, Deborah plans to use her research to critically inform prevention programs and policy.

Year of Study: Finishing MA2 and starting PhD1 September 2021
Program: Psychology (Developmental Science)
Supervisor: Dr. Scott A. Adler

Year of Study: PhD
Year of Reciept: 2016
Program: School of Health Policy and Management
Supervisor: Dr. Nazilla Khanlou
Dr. Attia Khan was a recipient of the Meighen Wright Foundation Maternal-Child Health Graduate Scholarship in 2016. She received her PhD from the School of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Health, York University. Dr. Khan is an internationally educated and trained physician and surgeon and also has a Master of Science degree in Public Health. Her doctoral dissertation was a mixed methods study that examined Pakistani immigrant youths’ mental health, resilience, self-esteem and ethnic identity. Her study was informed by a Social Determinants of Health framework and a Systems Perspective. She is an affiliate of the Office of Women's Health Research Chair in Mental Health Research.

Year of Study: PhD 1
Program: Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Supervisor: Dr. Hala Tamim
Durdana Khan is a doctoral student with a medical background at School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, York University. She was awarded with Fulbright Scholarship during her masters in Public Health (with special focus on reproductive health behaviors) from The Ohio State University, USA. Her research interests are focused on parity related health issues. She is planning to investigate the ‘Impact of parity on neonatal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by socio-economic and demographic factors’. She is interested in investigating long-term effect of parity on women’s health particularly related to cardiovascular diseases among premenopausal age women. Moreover, she is planning to explore an important phenomenon linked to parity that is Inter-pregnancy Intervals. Eventually, her goal is to serve globally and improve Maternal and Child Health with special focus on resource constrained populations, enable underserved communities to overcome cultural barriers that undermine access to health care for women and young children.

Year of Study: PhD1
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Yvonne Bohr

Year of Study: MA3
Program: Nursing - MScN
Supervisor: Dr. Christine Kurtz Landy

Jessica is a student in the Master of Science in Nursing Program. Her research focuses on the negative psychological and emotional outcomes that some patients experience following emergency caesarean section births. She is exploring how expert labour and delivery registered nurses anticipate and support patients at high risk of emergency caesarean sections. Jessica’s research aims to understand how expert labour and delivery nurses determine what care patients require during this very sensitive time, with a long-term goal of developing new interventions to improve health outcomes for patients who experience emergency caesarean births.

Email: tkim85@yorku.ca
Year of Study: MSc, Year 1
Year of receipt: 2011
Supervisor: Dr. Hala Tamim
Theresa is a 4th year PhD candidate at the School of Kinesiology and Health Science, specializing in Epidemiology. She earned her Honours BSc at the University of Toronto, and has worked across Canada as a research assistant/project coordinator for the PRIMA (Pregnancy-Related Issues in the Management of Addictions) project at the Department of Family and Community Medicine, U of T. Her Master's work focused on the effect of social support around pregnancy on postpartum depression in Canadian teen mothers and adult mothers. As a PhD student, Theresa is continuing her research in maternal and child health.

Email: leahlitwin@gmail.com
Year of Study: PhD 1
Year of receipt: 2015
Supervisor: Dr. Yvonne Bohr
Leah Litwin is a PhD student studying Clinical-Developmental Psychology at York University. Leah’s research focuses on maternal sensitivity and mother-child dyadic resilience in urban Aboriginal women and their children. This research relies on community-based participation, and research is conducted with Aboriginal communities across the Greater Toronto Area.

Year of Study: PhD4
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Pillai-Riddell
Miranda is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program. Her dissertation research is focused on understanding how the substrates of emotion regulation – a process essential for maintaining psychology well-being – develop early in life through interactions with one’s caregiver. Miranda’s research work aims to provide a better understanding of the development of caregiver-infant co-regulation and to determine the relationships between co-regulation and child developmental outcomes.

Year of Study: PhD3
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Jonathan Weiss
 Andrea Maughan is currently completing her PhD in Clinical-Developmental Psychology. Her research is focused on the coping and wellbeing of parents of children with autism. Her masters thesis examined how parenting, parent mental health, and the parent-child relationship are impacted with parents of children with autism are involved in therapy with their children. Her dissertation will focus on using the framework of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to understand and support the development of psychological strengths in parents of children with autism.

Email: yu254969@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 3
Year of receipt: 2008
Supervisor: Dr. Geoffrey Reaume
Michael graduated summa cum laude with his B.A., Honours degree in Psychology and a Certificate in Practical Ethics from the Department of Philosophy in 2005 and completed his M.A. degree in Critical Disability Studies in 2007, both from York University. His research interests focus on the ethical and social implications of new reproductive technologies such as prenatal genetic screening for persons with disabilities and women of child-bearing age and the underlying philosophical, political, economic and socio-cultural beliefs that undergird the widespread use of such technology.

Year of Study: MA 2
Program: Clinical Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Jonathan Weiss
Annie Mills is currently completing her Master’s degree in Clinical Developmental Psychology. Annie’s research is focused on the role of emotion regulation processes in the mental health of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Her master’s thesis will investigate how child and parent level factors predict emotion dysregulation in the context of frustration for children with autism.

Email: jennosew@yorku.ca
Year of Study: MScN, 2nd Year
Year of receipt: 2011
Supervisor: Dr. Christine Jonas-Simpson
Jennifer is in her second year in the MScN program. A resident of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, she has studied at York via the online MScN program. Her master's thesis is titled, Women's Experiences of Perinatal Loss in Labrador. She is about to begin data gathering, pending ethics approval.

Year of Study: 4th year undergraduate
Program: Specialized Honours Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Yvonne Bohr
Irina is a graduate of York University, holding a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Her Honours thesis investigated the relationship between adult attachment style, technology usage, and caregiver sensitivity. She has developed a keen interest in understanding how children's early experiences can shift the trajectory of their development. Specifically, she is interested in the effects of child-mother interactions on children's attachment, development, and mental health. A common thread in Irina's research is a focus on social determinants of health while employing a community-led approach to help offset inequalities through early intervention during this critical period. Irina is an incoming Clinical Psychology MA student at Ryerson University, where she will continue her academic journey.

Email: ldin@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 4
Year of receipt: 2009-2010
Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell
Laila is a doctoral student in the Clinical Developmental program at York University. Her research interests include how caregiver emotional availability and infant factors influence infant emotion regulation during distressing and painful events. To date, her clinical experience has involved conducting assessments and psychotherapy with children and families presenting with complex learning, behavioural, social and emotional difficulties.

Email: gpage@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 2
Year of receipt: 2009-2010
Supervisor: Dr. Joel Katz
Gabrielle's research focuses on paediatric pain. More specifically, she is interested in understanding how acute pain develops into chronic or recurrent pain. Her current research project investigates biological, psychological, and social factors that influence the transition from acute to chronic in children after major surgery.

Email: racinen@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 3
Year of receipt: 2008 (undergraduate), 2010 (graduate)
Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell
Nicole is currently completing her PhD in Clinical Developmental Psychology. Her broader research interest includes mother-child dyads in contexts of risk. For her PhD she is exploring interactions between caregivers and their young children during painful medical procedures and the development of anticipatory distress. Nicole is also the co-chair of the Lillian Wright Academy of Scholars.

Year of Study: PhD1
Program: Clinical Developmental Psychology, Neuropsychology Stream
Supervisor: Dr. Magdalena Wojtowicz
Samantha completed her honours undergraduate degree in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University and her master’s degree in Clinical Developmental Psychology at York University. She is currently in her PhD at York University in Clinical Developmental Psychology (Neuropsychology stream). Samantha’s research focus is on static and long-term neuropsychological outcomes of infants with congenital heart disease and infants born preterm, as well as associations with brain volume and structure, medical characteristics, maternal biopsychosocial factors, and child neuropsychological outcomes. Further, she examines cognition and psychosocial outcomes in paediatric neurodevelopmental conditions, and mild and traumatic brain injury. The goal of her research is to better understand how maternal factors impact child resilience, as well as to inform clinical practice and directions of intervention initiatives for these families.

Year of Study: PhD3
Program: Psychology
Supervisor: Joel Katz

Year of Study: MA2
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell
Ilana completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology at New York University, followed by a master’s degree in Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has conducted research with parents and young children in a number of settings, including with high-risk mother-infant dyads. Ilana is currently pursuing her MA in Clinical-Developmental Psychology at York University. Ilana’s master’s thesis will examine the role of parent cognitions and behaviours in shaping distinct patterns of early childhood regulation in the acute pain context. This work will inform interventions aimed at providing developmentally appropriate guidance for families struggling with needle fear and distress.

Year of Study: 4th year undergraduate
Program: Specialized Honours Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Yvonne Bohr
Cassandra is a recent graduate of York University, holding a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Under the supervision of Dr. Yvonne Bohr, her Honours thesis investigated the relationship between observed quality of maternal care in infancy and those infants’ mental health and perceptions of their mother’s parenting at age 10. A common thread in Cassandra's research is the perspective of the population of interest; capturing children’s own subjective experience, especially as it pertains to mental health, was an important factor in her thesis, and one she seeks to continue in future research. Cassandra hopes to pursue graduate studies in Clinical-Developmental Psychology, with a primary interest in violence prevention starting in childhood, as well as caretaking mechanisms that can intercept child maltreatment and encourage prosocial behaviour throughout the course of the child's life.

Email: changsu66@hotmail.com
Year of receipt: 2013 (postdoctoral)
Supervisor: Dr. Nazilla Khanlou
Chang Su was the inaugural Lillian Wright Post Doctoral Fellow of the Office of Women's Health Research Chair in Mental Health in the Faculty of Health at York University. Dr. Su received her PhD in Social and Personality Psychology at York University in 2010 and has over ten years of teaching experience in psychology. Dr. Su has taught psychological courses in both China and Canada including at Ryerson University, York University and University of Northern British Columbia. She has been working with Dr. Gordon Flett on cross cultural comparisons of the relationship between perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation and mental health on undergraduate students. They co-authored a series of studies on perfectionism and mental health on Chinese primary school students, high school students and junior high school students in mainland China.

Email: ctassopoulos@hotmail.com
Year of Study: MSc
Year of receipt: 2009
Supervisor: Dr. Hala Tamim
Christine recently received a Master's degree in Epidemiology under the supervision of Dr. Hala Tamim in the Kinesiology and Health Science program. Her thesis project was entitled 'Characteristics of weight gain in pregnancy among Canadian women'. She is fascinated with maternal-child health, and has previously worked as a clinical research coordinator for six years within the perinatal field.

Email: victing@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 4
Year of receipt: 2014 and 2015
Supervisor: Dr. Jonathan Weiss
Victoria Ting is currently completing her PhD in Clinical Developmental Psychology . Victoria’s research is focused on emotion regulation in children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder, and investigating parental co-regulation as a potential mechanism of treatment efficacy following cognitive behavioral therapy. Specifically, she will be looking at the changes in children’s emotion regulation skills and internalizing/externalizing problems (e.g. anxiety, hyperactivity) in relation to the quality of parent scaffolding and frequency of co-regulation.

Email: amitint@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 1
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Jonathan Weiss
Ami is a PhD1 student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program. Her MA thesis aimed to identify variables impacting mothers' ability to effectively access health services for their children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Ami is interested in applying her future research to critically inform community practice and policy for children with developmental disabilities and their families.

Year of Study: MA 2
Program: Adult Clinical Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Karen Fergus
Ruth completed her undergraduate Honours Psychology degree at the University of Winnipeg after which she began working as a research assistant at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre and St. Boniface Hospital. She volunteered in the Health Information Exchange Laboratory at the University of Manitoba, where she focused on helping develop a targeted perinatal trauma intervention. Her research interests are primarily focused on women’s mental and physical health, and medical experiences unique to women that may result in trauma. Ruth is entering the second year of her Master’s degree, working with Dr. Karen Fergus in the Psychosocial Oncology Lab and is interested in understanding women’s experience of pregnancy after cancer.

Year of Study: MA2
Program: Clinical-Developmental Psychology
Supervisor: Dr. Jonathan Weiss
Nisha is currently completing her master’s degree in Clinical-Developmental Psychology at York University. Her research is focused on parent-child relationship quality in families of children with autism. Her master’s thesis will explore how participation in cognitive behavioural therapy influences parents’ perceptions of their children, and whether these perceptions are associated with child treatment outcomes. The findings of her research will aid in understanding how improved parent-child relationship quality through participation in therapy can promote positive parent and child outcomes in families of children with autism..

Email: juliech@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 2
Year of receipt: 2011
Supervisor: Dr. Debra Pepler
Julie is a doctoral student in Clinical Developmental Psychology. She conducts her research on the mother-child relationship at Mothercraft's Breaking the Cycle program for substance-abusing mothers and their young children. Her primary area of research is the mother-child relationship as a mediator of familial risk on child outcomes, with particular focus on maternal relationship risks, such as domestic violence.

Year of Study: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) degree.
Program: Fourth Year
Muhuba have recently graduated from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) degree at York University. She is ready to start a fulfilling career in nursing and have a keen interest in pursuing pediatrics. She applied to the Lillian Meighen Wright Maternal-Child Health Undergraduate Scholarship as she believed it would help me obtain the necessary courses and certifications required to work in pediatrics. Furthermore, Muhuba thoroughly enjoy learning about childhood development and see myself pursuing research in this field sometime in the future.

Email: waxmanja@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 1
Year of receipt: 2013
Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell
Jordana A. Waxman is currently in the first year of her PhD at York University in the Clinical Developmental Psychology program. Jordana’s Master’s thesis project was a systematic review that examined the development of the autonomic response to acutely painful medical procedures in the first three years of life. Findings from this systematic review indicate that more attention to covariates and agreement on methodological factors related to cardiac measurement is needed to better understand this physiological response to pain over the first years of life. For her dissertation she hopes to address the above mentioned limitations in the literature by investigating the development of physiological distress regulation and its correlates with infant mental health over the second year of life.

Email: nwhit@yorku.ca
Year of Study: PhD 4
Year of receipt: 2009-2010
Supervisor: Dr. Yvonne Bohr
Natasha Whitfield is a fourth year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Developmental Psychology Program at York University. She earned her Honours B. A. at the University of Windsor, and her M.A. Degree at York University. Her main research interests lie in the study of parent-child relationships and social functioning, particularly in immigrant families. Her M.A. thesis explored the consequences of prolonged parent-child separation practices in Chinese Canadian immigrant families. Her doctoral dissertation is exploring the needs of Chinese Canadian, African/Caribbean Canadian, and South Asian Canadian families who are separated and reunited with their children as a result of immigration, and evaluating a community-based parent-child brief assessment/intervention for families in these immigrant communities who are experiencing parenting and child behaviour challenges post-reunification.