Lab Members
Principal Investigator
Michael Mack, PhD
Assistant Professor Department of Psychology Ph.D., Vanderbilt University (2011) View CV |
Want to join the team?We are always looking for motivated undergraduates or recent grads interested in research experience. Contact Dr. Mack for more details. |
Graduate Students
Gaeun Son
B.A. in Psychology, Yonsei University
M.S. in Cognitive Science, Yonsei University
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
Gaeun is a PhD student with the BWLab and Mack Lab. Her research interest is in the interaction between perception and memory. During her Master’s, she worked on how ensemble perception impacts on visual working memory with Dr. Sang Chul Chong. Now she is expanding her research into various aspects of perception and memory in a realistic visual environment.
gaeun.son@mail.utoronto.ca
B.A. in Psychology, Yonsei University
M.S. in Cognitive Science, Yonsei University
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
Gaeun is a PhD student with the BWLab and Mack Lab. Her research interest is in the interaction between perception and memory. During her Master’s, she worked on how ensemble perception impacts on visual working memory with Dr. Sang Chul Chong. Now she is expanding her research into various aspects of perception and memory in a realistic visual environment.
gaeun.son@mail.utoronto.ca
Juliana Adema
Hon. B.A. in Psychology and Minor in Philosophy, University of Ottawa
M.A. in Philosophy, University of Ottawa
M.A. in Experimental Psychology, University of Toronto
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
Most recently, Juliana received her Master's in Experimental Psychology from the University of Toronto. Her current research investigates attention and how it can be guided by perception, learning, and memory; she is especially interested in the neural underpinnings of these interactions. Her interests outside of academia include yoga, bouldering, and playing the cello.
juliana.adema@mail.utoronto.ca
Hon. B.A. in Psychology and Minor in Philosophy, University of Ottawa
M.A. in Philosophy, University of Ottawa
M.A. in Experimental Psychology, University of Toronto
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
Most recently, Juliana received her Master's in Experimental Psychology from the University of Toronto. Her current research investigates attention and how it can be guided by perception, learning, and memory; she is especially interested in the neural underpinnings of these interactions. Her interests outside of academia include yoga, bouldering, and playing the cello.
juliana.adema@mail.utoronto.ca
Emily Heffernan
B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, Queen’s University
M.A. in Experimental Psychology, University of Toronto
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
After a brief stint in tech after completing her undergraduate degree, Emily chose to return to academia to pursue her passion for learning and teaching. She completed her MA at Mack Lab in 2020 and is currently working on her PhD. Emily is interested in combining computational models and neuroimaging data to better understand how we learn. Her research is fuelled by large amounts of tea, hiking/camping trips, and frequent yoga sessions.
emily.heffernan@mail.utoronto.ca
B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, Queen’s University
M.A. in Experimental Psychology, University of Toronto
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
After a brief stint in tech after completing her undergraduate degree, Emily chose to return to academia to pursue her passion for learning and teaching. She completed her MA at Mack Lab in 2020 and is currently working on her PhD. Emily is interested in combining computational models and neuroimaging data to better understand how we learn. Her research is fuelled by large amounts of tea, hiking/camping trips, and frequent yoga sessions.
emily.heffernan@mail.utoronto.ca
Melisa Gumus
Hon. B.Sc. in Neuroscience and Mathematics, University of Toronto
M.S. from Institute of Medical of Science, University of Toronto & Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
Melisa is an incoming graduate student for Fall 2021! In her Master's, Melisa investigated the link between cognitive outcomes and structural/functional brain changes in post-concussion and CTE patients, being supervised by Dr. Carmela Tartaglia and collaborating with Dr. Mack. She is also part of the DTI team at the Mack Lab, that studies the interaction between differences in white matter tracts and learning performance during rapid categorization using computational models. She has been part of the lab since the beginning and previously served as a lab manager. She believes that math can solve anything, even the complexity of the human brain.
melisa.gumus@mail.utoronto.ca
Hon. B.Sc. in Neuroscience and Mathematics, University of Toronto
M.S. from Institute of Medical of Science, University of Toronto & Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
Melisa is an incoming graduate student for Fall 2021! In her Master's, Melisa investigated the link between cognitive outcomes and structural/functional brain changes in post-concussion and CTE patients, being supervised by Dr. Carmela Tartaglia and collaborating with Dr. Mack. She is also part of the DTI team at the Mack Lab, that studies the interaction between differences in white matter tracts and learning performance during rapid categorization using computational models. She has been part of the lab since the beginning and previously served as a lab manager. She believes that math can solve anything, even the complexity of the human brain.
melisa.gumus@mail.utoronto.ca
Dory (Yongzhen) Xie
Hon B.Sc. in Psychology, University of Toronto
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
Dory is interested in the neural mechanisms underlying concept learning and changes in concept representations overtime. She wants to apply my understanding to improve category learning models in the future. In her spare time, she enjoys creating digital arts, playing video games, and studying insects.
yongzhen.xie@mail.utoronto.ca
Hon B.Sc. in Psychology, University of Toronto
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
Dory is interested in the neural mechanisms underlying concept learning and changes in concept representations overtime. She wants to apply my understanding to improve category learning models in the future. In her spare time, she enjoys creating digital arts, playing video games, and studying insects.
yongzhen.xie@mail.utoronto.ca
Research Assistants
Xinyaun (Zoe) Wu
University of Toronto, 2nd year Undergraduate
Psychology Specialist, Nutritional Science Major
Zoe is a former ROP student at the Mack Lab and is now a volunteer RA. She is really excited to explore the field of psychological research through the opportunities provided at Mack Lab. Her project is on recognition-induced forgetting, a phenomenon that people tend to forget the first object they learn from a category by learning another object in the same category. Outside of her academic life, she is a huge fan of Broadway musicals.
zoexinyaun.wu@mail.utoronto.ca
University of Toronto, 2nd year Undergraduate
Psychology Specialist, Nutritional Science Major
Zoe is a former ROP student at the Mack Lab and is now a volunteer RA. She is really excited to explore the field of psychological research through the opportunities provided at Mack Lab. Her project is on recognition-induced forgetting, a phenomenon that people tend to forget the first object they learn from a category by learning another object in the same category. Outside of her academic life, she is a huge fan of Broadway musicals.
zoexinyaun.wu@mail.utoronto.ca
Shuran (Rayna) Tang
University of Toronto, 2nd Year Undergraduate
Psychology Specialist, Cognitive Science Major
The research opportunity in Mack Lab is a good start to explore Rayna's interests and career path for the future. She will participate in lab as a ROP student for the whole academic year, studying the mutual interaction of attention and learning in scene categorization. Outside the lab, Rayna is a NASM certified personal trainer and a K-pop fan.
shuran.tang@mail.utoronto.ca
University of Toronto, 2nd Year Undergraduate
Psychology Specialist, Cognitive Science Major
The research opportunity in Mack Lab is a good start to explore Rayna's interests and career path for the future. She will participate in lab as a ROP student for the whole academic year, studying the mutual interaction of attention and learning in scene categorization. Outside the lab, Rayna is a NASM certified personal trainer and a K-pop fan.
shuran.tang@mail.utoronto.ca
Xuan (Sophia) Zhang
University of Toronto, 3rd Year Undergraduate
Psychology Specialist
In Mack Lab, Sophia will conduct research with Emily to look at how rule exception affects categorical learning. She is also interested in how the brain plays a part in this process. Outside the lab, she likes to practice her dancing skills and read interesting books.
xuanxuan.zhang@mail.utoronto.ca
University of Toronto, 3rd Year Undergraduate
Psychology Specialist
In Mack Lab, Sophia will conduct research with Emily to look at how rule exception affects categorical learning. She is also interested in how the brain plays a part in this process. Outside the lab, she likes to practice her dancing skills and read interesting books.
xuanxuan.zhang@mail.utoronto.ca
Marian Wang
University of Toronto, 3rd Year Undergraduate
Cognitive Science Major, Computer Science Major, Mathematics Minor
Marian is interested in integrating computer science and computational modeling to learn more about human categorization and learning. Ultimately, she hopes to help develop algorithms that can learn as quickly and accurately as humans do. In her spare time, she enjoys watching heist movies, catching up on anime, or taking naps.
marian.wang@mail.utoronto.ca
University of Toronto, 3rd Year Undergraduate
Cognitive Science Major, Computer Science Major, Mathematics Minor
Marian is interested in integrating computer science and computational modeling to learn more about human categorization and learning. Ultimately, she hopes to help develop algorithms that can learn as quickly and accurately as humans do. In her spare time, she enjoys watching heist movies, catching up on anime, or taking naps.
marian.wang@mail.utoronto.ca
Carleigh Pace-Tonna
University of Toronto, 4th Year Undergraduate
Neuroscience Major, Psychology Major
Carleigh is a former ROP student at the Mack Lab and am now a volunteer RA. She is interested in understanding how people learn and remember information. In her free time, she enjoys playing violin, drawing, writing scripts, and filmmaking.
carleigh.pacetonna@mail.utoronto.ca
University of Toronto, 4th Year Undergraduate
Neuroscience Major, Psychology Major
Carleigh is a former ROP student at the Mack Lab and am now a volunteer RA. She is interested in understanding how people learn and remember information. In her free time, she enjoys playing violin, drawing, writing scripts, and filmmaking.
carleigh.pacetonna@mail.utoronto.ca
Nahal Alizadeh Saghati
University of Toronto, 4th Year Undergraduate
Psychology Major, Human Biology Major
Nahal is a fourth year undergraduate student majoring in psychology and human biology. She is currently taking an individual research project focusing on gist-guided attention using fMRI as she evaluates the role of rapid scene categorization in visual search.
nahal.alizadehsaghati@mail.utoronto.ca
University of Toronto, 4th Year Undergraduate
Psychology Major, Human Biology Major
Nahal is a fourth year undergraduate student majoring in psychology and human biology. She is currently taking an individual research project focusing on gist-guided attention using fMRI as she evaluates the role of rapid scene categorization in visual search.
nahal.alizadehsaghati@mail.utoronto.ca
Lab Alumni |
Collaborators |
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