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Doctoral Students
Tania Palma Fernandes, Hons. B.A. (9I制作厂免费), M.Ed. (9I制作厂免费)
Tania is a doctoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at 9I制作厂免费. She completed a Bachelor of Arts specializing in psychology at 9I制作厂免费. Soon after graduating, she began working with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and volunteered as a research assistant at the 9I制作厂免费 Youth Study Team, a research lab headed by Dr. Jacob Burack. As a result of her passion for learning about and working with children with ASD, she decided to pursue a master鈥檚 in Educational Psychology at 9I制作厂免费. Her master鈥檚 research project, which was supervised by Dr. Jacob Burack, examined gestalt processing in high functioning children and adolescents with ASD. Under the supervison of Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin (Behaviour, Autism, and NeuroDevelopment Research Group) and Dr. Jacob Burack (9I制作厂免费 Youth Study Team), her research aims to clarify emotion processing from speech and song in children and adolescents with autism. Ultimately, her goal is to better understand the unique communication style of emotion associated with autism and provide further theoretical support for music-based interventions. Her research is supported by doctoral fellowships from the Fonds de Recherche Qu茅bec Soci茅t茅 et Culture (FRQSC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Transforming Care Consortium FQRS fellowship. Tania recently completed her psychology internship at the Center of Excellence for Autism at the Lester B. Pearson School Board. She is currently working as a psychological consultant at Summit School and acting as Interim Clinical Director for the Summit Center for Education, Research, and Training (SCERT).
Tania鈥檚 doctoral research is supervised by Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin (Behaviour, Autism, and NeuroDevelopment Research Group) and Dr. Jacob Burack (9I制作厂免费 Youth Study Team) and is supported听by Fonds de Recherche Qu茅bec Soci茅t茅 et Culture (FRQSC). Her research interests lie in clarifying emotion recognition abilities in children and adolescents with autism via music and speech prosody. Ultimately, her goal is to better understand the unique communication style of emotion associated with autism. Moreover, she hopes to provide further theoretical support for music based interventions aimed at improving the communication of emotions in speech within this population.听
Gwena毛lle Philibert-Ligni猫res, Hons. B.A. (York University), M.A. (9I制作厂免费)
Gwena毛lle Philibert-Ligni猫res is a Ph.D. Candidate in the School/Applied Child Psychology at 9I制作厂免费. She is also a member of the Transforming Autism Care Consortium (TACC) since 2017 and was a Autism Research Training (ART) Program Trainee in 2016. She completed a Bachelor of Honours in Psychology at York University and her Masters in the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at 9I制作厂免费.听 During her undergraduate, Gwena毛lle was a research assistant at the Hospital for SickKids in Toronto where she contributed to the Canadian Pediatric Demyelinating Disease study. She also worked as a language skills tutor, teaching assistant, and instructor at the Learning Disability Services at York University.
She is currently supervised by Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin (Behaviour, Autism, and NeuroDevelopment Research Group). Her research interests lies in the cognitive mechanisms and benefits of music for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Her Ph.D. thesis investigates the use of music as a method to evaluate working memory abilities in children and adolescents with ASD. Using a strength-based framework, the overarching objective is to support the use of alternative assessment methodology to capture the true cognitive potential abilities of people with ASD. She was the recipient of the 2016 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Master's bursary, the Fonds de recherche sant茅-Qu茅bec (FRSQ) Doctoral Award and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Award. She is currently completing her doctoral internship at the Centre de r茅adaptation Marie-Enfant (CHU Sainte-Justine).
Samantha Wong, B.Sc.听(University of British Columbia), M.A. (9I制作厂免费)
Samantha is a doctoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at 9I制作厂免费. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Behavioural Neuroscience at University of British Columbia and her Master鈥檚 in the School/Applied Child psychology program under the supervision of Dr. Quintin. Her doctoral research, supervised by Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin, aims to evaluate the potential transfer effect of rhythm-based music program on the language and motor skills of neurodivergent children, given known musical strengths associated with autism and benefits of music education. Samantha completed her field placements at Summit School (supervised by Dr. Louise Deault) and the Early Intervention Clinic at the Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre (LLMRC) (supervised by Dr. Catherine Barbe). She currently holds a doctoral training fellowship from the Fonds de recherche du Qu茅bec 鈥� Sant茅 (FRQS). She has also received the CGS-D Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship from CIHR, CGS Master鈥檚 Fellowship from CIHR, and the Transforming Autism Care Consortium - Fonds de Recherche Quebec Sant茅 Master鈥檚 Fellowship.
Mira Kaedbey, B.Sc. & M.A. (9I制作厂免费)
Mira is a doctoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at 9I制作厂免费. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at 9I制作厂免费 and her Master鈥檚 in the School and Applied Child psychology program under the supervision of Dr. Quintin. Her doctoral research, supervised by Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin, aims to evaluate the effect of an inclusive school-based music program of the self-esteem and social inclusion of autistic adolescents, given known musical strengths associated with autism and benefits of music education. Mira completed her field placement in the Early Intervention Clinic at the Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre (LLMRC) where she was supervised by Dr. Catherine Barbe. She currently holds the CGS-D Joseph Armand Bombardier Doctoral Fellowship from SSHRC. She has also received the CGS Master鈥檚 Fellowship from SSHRC and the Transforming Autism Care Consortium - Fonds de Recherche Quebec Sant茅 Master鈥檚 Fellowship.听
Cassiea Sim, B.A. & M.A. (9I制作厂免费)
Cassiea is a docotoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at 9I制作厂免费. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a specialization in Behavioural Science and a minor in Linguistics, and she completed her Master鈥檚 in the School and Applied Child psychology program under the supervision of Dr. Quintin. Cassiea also conducted her undergraduate research with Dr. Richard Koestner on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement on the lives of Black young adults from Montreal. Her research, focuses on music cognition and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Cassiea鈥檚 hope is to participate in the ever-growing field of autism research and to be able to help neurodivergent individuals reach their full potential by assisting them in acquiring the tools they need to navigate a world not designed for them whilst prioritizing their strengths.听
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Masters Students
Alexa Servant, Hons. B.Sc. (9I制作厂免费)
Alexa is in her second year as a master鈥檚 student in the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at 9I制作厂免费. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Honors Psychology at 9I制作厂免费. Alexa is currently supervised by Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin (BAND group). Her research interests focus on how strength-based programs, using music, aid the development of task and social engagement, self-esteem and inclusion within the neurodevelopmental community. She also focuses on knowledge translations and partakes in many related activities (i.e., conferences, community articles, development of resources for parents, etc.), and teaching activities (i.e., teaching assistantships and tutoring). Alexa worked as a camp counsellor and a nanny for people in the neurodiverse community which prompted her interest of working with that community and led her to join the Behaviour, Autism and Neurodevelopment (BAND) Research Group as a research assistant for her honors theses, and she decided to pursue her research with the research group for her graduate studies. During her undergraduate studies, she also completed a thesis on multisensory integration of people on the spectrum, using dynamic faces, under the supervision of Dr. Armando Bertone (9I制作厂免费) and Dr Kirsty Ainsworth (University of Glasgow) where she developed perceptual neuroscience skills and applied knowledge. Alexa鈥檚 master鈥檚 is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Master's bursary and 9I制作厂免费 graduate studies Excellence Scholarship. Alexa hopes to pursue and expand knowledge translation activities for people on the spectrum and their families in Montreal and wishes to highlight the importance of implementing strength-based and inclusive programs for the community.听
Nathalie Jack, Hons. B.A. (9I制作厂免费)
Nathalie is a master鈥檚 student in the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at 9I制作厂免费. She completed her Bachelor of Arts at 9I制作厂免费 in the Honours Psychology Program with a minor in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies. Nathalie completed her first undergraduate research project under the supervision of Dr. Melanie Dirks (Department of Psychology), where she examined the mechanisms of perceived social support in dyadic friendship interactions between young adults. Her second undergraduate thesis, under the supervision of Dr. Armando Bertone (Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology), investigated the link between cognitive functioning and non-social audiovisual multisensory integration in autistic and non-autistic youth. She also completed a year-long internship with Giant Steps Montreal, a specialized school for autistic students, where she completed a project aiming to develop an adapted sexual health education program tailored to the needs of neurodiverse learners. Nathalie鈥檚 master鈥檚 research, under the supervision of Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin and Dr. Armando Bertone, will focus on cognition and sensory processing in an autistic population. Nathalie鈥檚 first year as a master鈥檚 student is currently supported by the 2024 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Master's bursary (CGS-M).听
Alumni
Shalini Sivathasan, Hons.听B.Sc. (University of Toronto), M.A.听(New York University)
Shalini was a doctoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at 9I制作厂免费, and a 2016-2018 Autism Research Training (ART) Program Trainee. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Toronto, and her Master鈥檚 degree at New York University, both in psychology. Her MA thesis, supervised by Dr. Anthony Puliafico (Columbia University), examined the psychometric properties and clinical utility of a new psychiatric screening instrument for use in pediatric primary care settings. Shalini has also worked in clinical research positions at the Hospital for Sick Children and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
Shalini was co-supervised by Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin and Dr. Jacob Burack. Her research interests was in elucidating processes of emotion recognition across multiple learning modalities听in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Additionally, she aims to study the effect of providing multiple response options in emotion recognition tasks, for the purposes of providing insight into the use of effective teaching modalities for children with ASD in mainstream education. Ultimately, she hopes to develop and utilize unique and innovative strategies to improve our understanding of cognition and emotion as implicated in ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Shalini was awarded the Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship and a Graduate Research Grant from the Organization for Autism Research. She completed her internship in Clinical Assessment and Diagnostics at the Marcus Autism Center/Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.
Hadas Dahary, Hons. B.A. (York University), M.A. (9I制作厂免费)
Hadas graduated from the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at 9I制作厂免费 and has developed a profound interest in facilitating the social inclusion of neurodiverse children, adolescents, and young adults in her capacity as a researcher- and clinician. While completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in the Specialized Honours program for Psychology at York University, Hadas was involved in various research projects that evaluated interventions for supporting memory strategy use and social emotional learning for children on the autism spectrum. Her undergraduate thesis, supervised by Dr. James Bebko, explored visual search strategies when processing audio-visual information among school-aged children on the autism spectrum using eye-tracking technology.
Upon entrance into the School/Applied Child Psychology program, Hadas completed her master鈥檚 project under the supervision of Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin, where she compared the perception of basic emotions in faces and music of adolescents on the autism spectrum, which provided support for the potential use of music as a novel strength-based modality for optimizing social and emotional functioning. Hadas is currently motivated to extend this work by pursuing her doctoral research on assessing the musical strengths of neurodiverse children and examining how these strengths can be leveraged into school interventions for facilitating their social development. Her work in the BAND research group has been supported by the 2017 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Master's bursary and held the Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship. Hadas was also a former trainee of the national Autism Research Training (ART) program and is a current trainee of the Quebec Autism Research Training (QART) program.
Charlotte Rimmer, Hons. B.A.听(York University),听M.A (9I制作厂免费)
Charlotte graduated from the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at 9I制作厂免费. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in the Specialized Honours program for Psychology at York University, Glendon Campus, and her Masters in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at 9I制作厂免费. In 2018, she was a trainee in the Autism Research Training (ART) Program, which provides autism researchers from across Canada with transdisciplinary training and mentorship. Charlotte was supervised by Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin (Behaviour, Autism, and NeuroDevelopment Reseach Group). Her research interests was in examining the association between music and emergent literacy skills of children on the autism spectrum. She aimed to improve educational intervention programs for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions.听She has also worked at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, ADHD Clinic, conducting cognitive and academic assessments for the Clinical and Pharmacogenetic study of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.听She was the recipient of the 2018 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Master's bursary and is currently supported by a Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship.
Dianne Macdonald, B.A. Linguistics (9I制作厂免费), M.Sc. Communication Disorders (University of British Columbia), Ph.D. Human Development/Autism and Hyperlexia Research (9I制作厂免费)
Dianne is a PhD graduate of the Human Development Program in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at 9I制作厂免费. She is a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist and owner of Communication Works Speech and Language Therapy, focused on reading disorders of children, adolescents, and adults. Her clinical work provided the impetus to pursue a doctoral degree at 9I制作厂免费 to delve deeper into reading disorders specific to children with autism spectrum disorder. Supervised by Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin and Dr. Gigi Luk, her research centers on harnessing the strength and special interest in early word reading of children with autism and hyperlexia to support their challenges with reading comprehension and oral language comprehension. Dianne developed an app-based, parent-supported intervention that targets reading comprehension and oral language comprehension for preschoolers with autism and hyperlexia. Her research, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (JADD), earned first place in Holland Bloorview鈥檚 2021 Pursuit Award competition for outstanding contributions to childhood disability research. The Organization for Autism Research (OAR); Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), and Fonds de Recherche du Qu茅bec 鈥� Soci茅t茅 et Culture (FRQSC) all supported her research. She is currently a part-time lecturer in Concordia University鈥檚 Child Studies program.
Sandy Stanutz, B.A. Mus (St. Francis Xavier University), Ph.D. Music Education/Research (9I制作厂免费)
Sandy was听the Miriam Post-Doctoral Researcher of the School of Applied Child Psychology and Human Development in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at 9I制作厂免费. She researches the quality of musical memory in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Sandy and her supervisors,听Dr. Jacob Burack and Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin, were听awarded a Grammy Foundation Grant to investigate absolute pitch ability, a rare memory for pitch and melody, in children with ASD. The implication of determining musical strengths in ASD is that they could be used as tools to enhance other areas of development. Sandy听has听developed a music curriculum for use with children aged 3-6 at the Abe Gold Learning Centre, Miriam Foundation, Montr茅al.