Meet our team
Learn more about the staff of the INSPIRE Laboratory.
Meet our Manager
Justin Duncan, PhD, Manager of Research Infrastructure
A native from the Ottawa-Gatineau region, Justin obtained his PhD in experimental psychology from UQÀM. Specializing in visual psychophysics, face perception and signal processing, his main research focus lies in examining how low-level vision supports higher level cognition involved in processing face identity and expressions of emotions using behavioral, electrophysiological and eye-tracking measurements. His research interests also extend to attention (e.g., effects of multitasking on face perception) and social psychology (e.g., understanding why individuals find it harder to recognize faces that belong to another ethnic group than their own, i.e., the other-race effect). In his spare time, he loves cycling in the Gatineau Park, playing drums, and reading.
Meet our research assistants
At the INSPIRE Laboratory, our research assistants are readily available to assist our researchers, students, and community members using INSPIRE. Our research assistants can help you with training you to use our technology and services, assist in many steps of the research process (e.g., ethics applications, designing and setting up your study, programming, and analyzing your data, etc.). We encourage you to book a virtual coffee chat at any time with our research assistants so that they can get to know you and support you in all capacities!
Stefanie Gard
Stefanie is a third year MA-PhD student in Experimental Psychology, supervised by Dr. Vanessa Taler’. Her research explores the neural markers of working memory and selective attention in older adults experiencing cognitive decline and dementia. Outside of the lab, she loves spending time with her pets Hunter and Mango!
Noura Elmawazini
I’m a clinical psychology student working with Dr. Melanie Sekeres. My research currently focuses on investigating how chemotherapy contributes to brain fog and memory impairment in breast cancer survivors. We are also interested in examining the associated structural and functional changes in the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fun fact: I love to bake in my free time!
Vivian Liu
Hi. I am a PhD student in Experimental Psychology working in Dr. Erin Maloney's lab. While my research mainly focus on mathematics and education, I am also interested in a multidiscplinary approach, especially with the use of technology and its impact. Fun fact: I am aversive of social media, so for the profile picture I put my bunny Olly, Olly the Overlord.
Sevda Hasanli
I'm a PhD student in Experimental Psychology working in the Neuropsychology Lab with Dr. Patrick Davidson. My research focuses on applying computational methods to neuropsychological assessments. Fun Fact: I enjoy spending time with family, camping in nature, and hiking.
Kaitline Fournier
Kaitline is a fourth-year student in the M.A.-Ph.D. program in Experimental Psychology. Her research examines how children understand and selectively learn foreign languages, and how these are influenced by parent attitudes towards multilingualism. A fun fact about Kaitline is that she has a 2-year-old yellow Labrador named Mollie.
Charles Veilleux
Charles Veilleux is a doctoral student in experimental psychology at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses primarily on the long-term effects of acute stress on the immune system, the dopaminergic system, and energy metabolism. He also studies sex bias and the potential protective role of probiotics in the development of neurodegenerative disorders. In his free time, he enjoys cycling and skiing. He is also a huge fan of the Ottawa Senators and Atlético Ottawa!