Research Labs
Our psychology and neuroscience faculty members conduct research in laboratories, alongside doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows, and undergraduate research assistants.
From visual development to sexual health, lab-based research allows faculty to connect with Dalhousie students and outside community members to better their knowledge in their field.
Undergraduates looking to participate in research studies for class credit or other payment can access the list of available studies through SONA.
Below you will find contact information (including external websites) for faculty members who may be available to supervise students.
Addictions and Mental Health
Website: Addictions and Mental Health
Principal Investigator: Sherry Stewart, Joint Appointment, Psychiatry
Email: sherry.stewart@dal.ca
Research Interests: Addictions, Anxiety disorders, Comorbidity, Treatment matching, Problem gambling, Alcohol abuse, Personality, Substance use motives
Behavioural Genetics Lab
Website: Behavioural Genetics Lab
Principal Investigator: Richard Brown
Email: richard.brown@dal.ca
Research Interests: Behavioural endocrinology, Developmental psychobiology, Drugs and behaviour, Behaviour of transgenic and mutant mice, Development, Animal behaviour, Memory, Aging, Mouse models of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders
Janusz Borycz
Email: jborycz@dal.ca
Resarch Interests: Invertebrate neuronal signalling, Neurotransmitter release & recycling, Transmembrane Transporters, Search for neuronal biomarkers, Methods: HPLC, microdialysis, imaging, behavioural, Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation, Mechanisms of action of psychoactive drugs
Cognition & Language Learning Research
Website: Cognition & Language Learning Research
Principal Investigator: Drew Weatherhead
Email: drew.weatherhead@dal.ca
Research Interests: Language acquisition, Sociolinguistics, Social cognition, Cognitive development, Infancy, Word learning
Canine Behaviour Laboratory
Website: Canine Behaviour Laboratory
Principal Investigator: Simon Gadbois
Email: simon.gadbois@dal.ca
Research Interests: Olfactory processing in dogs: biomedical and conservation applications, Analysis of behaviour sequences (with sonification/musification), Waterfowl as teaching model for systematic and naturalistic observations, Current taxa of focus: anatids (ducks & geese), canids, wood turtles
Centre for Pediatric Pain Research
Website: Centre for Pediatric Pain Research
Prinicpal Investigator: Christine Chambers
Email: christine.chambers@dal.ca
Research Interests: Pediatric Psychology, Health Psychology, Children's Pain, Pain Assessment and Management, Knowledge Mobilization, Patient Partnership
John Christie
Email: john.christie@dal.ca
Research Interests: Spatial attention, especially voluntary, Data visualization, Applied cognitive psychology, Other interesting things, generally cognitive
Cognition & Language Learning Research
Website: Cognition & Language Learning Research
Principal Investigator: Drew Weatherhead
Email: drew.weatherhead@dal.ca
Rsearch Interests: Language acquisition, Sociolinguistics, Social cognition, Cognitive development, Infancy, Word learning
Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory
Website: Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory
Principal Investigator: Raymond Klein, Professor Emeritus
Email: ray.klein@dal.ca
Research Interests: Attention, Perception, Cognitive neuroscience, Applied cognitive psychology
Couples and Sexual Health Laboratory
Website: Couples and Sexual Health Laboratory
Principal Investigator: Natalie Rosen, Associate Director of Clinical Training
Email: Natalie.Rosen@dal.ca
Rsearch Interests: Sexual dysfunction, Sexual desire, Genito-pelvic pain, Intimate Relationships/couples, Infertility, Menopause, Sex therapy, Transition to parenthood
Nathan Crowder
Email: nathan.crowder@dal.ca
Research Interests: Vision, Electrophysiology, Optogenetics, Animal Behaviour, Development, Psychophysics
Kevin Duffy
Email: kevin.duffy@dal.ca
Research Interests: Development, Neuroscience, Vision impairment, Cellular mechanisms, Neuroplasticity
Gail Eskes
Joint Appointment, Psychiatry
Email: gail.eskes@dal.ca
Research Interests: Neuropsychology, Aging, Cognition, Attention, Memory and Executive Function, Stroke, Parkinson’s Disease
Forensic Psychology & Personality Lab
Website: Forensic Psychology & Personality Lab
Principal Investigator: Julie Blais
Email: FPPLab@dal.ca
Research Interest: Forensic risk assessment, Risk communication, Psychopathy, Technology-facilitated sexual violence, Personality, Political psychology
Franklin Lab
Website: Franklin Lab
Principal Investigator: Tamara Franklin
Email: tamara.franklin@dal.ca
Research Interests: Neuroscience, Epigenetics, In vivo electrophysiology, Animal behaviour, Neuroconnectivity, Sociability
Invertebrate Behavioural Physiology Lab
Website: Invertebrate Behavioural Physiology Lab
Principal Investigator: Shelley Adamo
Email: shelley.adamo@dal.ca
Research Interests: Parasitic manipulation of behaviour, Ecoimmunology, Climate change effects on insect physiology and behaviour
Not available to supervise students.
Sophie Jacques
Email: sophie.jacques@dal.ca
Research Interests: Developmental psychology, Dog cognition, Emotional regulation, Socio-cognitive development, Executive functions, Self-control, Cognitive psychology
Shannon Johnson, Director of Clinical Training
Email: shannon.johnson@dal.ca
Rsearch Interests: Environmental psychology, Nature connection/disconnection, Behaviour change, Resilience and well-being, e-mental health
Kevin LeBlanc
Email: Kevin.LeBlanc@dal.ca
Rsearch Interests: Motor control, Perception and action, Visuomotor decision making
Available to Co-supervise research.
Language and Literacy Lab
Website: Language and Literacy
Principal Investigator: Hélène Deacon
Email: helene.deacon@dal.ca
Research Interests: Language and Reading Development, Digital Literacy, COVID-19, Bilingualism, Education, Child Development
Learning, Attention, Behaviour and Sleep Lab
Website: Learning, Attention, Behaviour and Sleep Lab
Principal Investigator: Penny Corkum
Email: penny.corkum@dal.ca
Research Interests: Child Clinical and School Psychology, Pediatric Sleep, Neurodevelopmental disorders, Assessment, Treatment, Digital interventions
Neurocognitive Imaging Laboratory
Website: Neurocognitive Imaging Laboratory
Principal Investigator: Aaron Newman
Email: aaron.newman@dal.ca
Research Interests: Neuroimaging, Brain-computer interfaces, Language, Reading development, Second language acquisition, Cognitive neuroscience research, Creative and critical thinking, entrepreneurship, and real world problem-solving through the SURGE Innovation Sandbox
Donald Mitchell, Professor Emeritus
Email: d.e.mitchell@dal.ca
Research Interests: Visual system development, Neuroscience, Visual perception, Cellular mechanisms, Neuroplasticity
Alissa Pencer
Email: alissa.pencer@dal.ca
Occasionally available to supervise research.
Tara Perrot
Email: tara.perrot@dal.ca
Research Interests: Stress resilience, Early life programming of stress response, Role of gut-brain axis in the stress response, Developmental origins of health and disease, Influence of poverty and disadvantage on life-long stress and disease
Personality Research Team
Website: Personality Research Team
Principal Investigator: Simon Sherry
Email: simon.sherry@dal.ca
Research Interests: Clinical psychology, Depression, Anxiety, Personality, Perfectionism, Psychopathology, Suicide, Eating disorders, Alcohol problems
Transdiagnostic Addition Lab
Website: Transdiagnostic Addition Lab
Principal Investigator: Igor Yakovenko
Email: Igor.Yakovenko@dal.ca
Research Interests: Comorbidity of addiction and mental health, Cannabis and opioid use, Online substance use interventions, Behavioural addictions, Open science and statistical methods
Leslie Phillmore
Email: leslie.phillmore@dal.ca
Research Interests:Learning, Memory, Songbirds, Perception, Neurogenesis, Neuroplasticity, Seasonality
Savvy Statistics
Website: Savvy Statistics
Principal Investigator: Sean Mackinnon
Email: mackinnon.sean@dal.ca
Research Interests: Perfectionism, Statistics analysis, Alcohol use, Well-being, Personality
Meghan Rossi
Email: meghan.rossi@dal.ca
Research Interests: Clinical psychology (e.g., assessment, intervention), Health psychology (e.g., pain, medically assisted reproduction, cancer), Sexuality and close relationships
Occasionally available to co-supervise research
Tracy Taylor-Helmick
Email: tracy.taylor-helmick@dal.ca
Research Interests: Memory, Intentional forgetting, Directed forgetting, Mnemonics, Cognition
Ian Weaver
Principal Investigator: ian.weaver@dal.ca
Research Interests: Behavioural epigenetics, Molecular (epi)genetic mechanisms of gene regulation, Immuno-metabolism, DNA repair and cell growth signalling, Metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders, Biomarker discovery