Meet the team

Alex is a Graduate Student in the Clinical Psychology program at Concordia University under the supervision of Dr. Alberts. He completed his B.Sc. (Hons.) in Psychology and M.Sc. in Psychiatry Research at Dalhousie University. Broadly, Alex is interested in pain in youth undergoing cancer treatments, chronic pain in childhood cancer survivors, pain in children living with sickle cell disease, fear of cancer recurrence in pediatric cancer survivors, and health anxiety.

Claire Galvin is a Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at Concordia University under the supervision of Dr. Nicole Alberts. Prior to joining the BHI lab, Claire obtained an M.Sc. in Experimental Medicine from the University of British Columbia and an Honours B.Sc. in Psychology and Biology from the University of Toronto. Her work focuses on cancer identity and its associations with mental and physical health among survivors of childhood cancer. Her lived experience of childhood cancer contributes to her passion within the field of health psychology – particularly among children and families affected by catastrophic illness or complex medical conditions.

Tori is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program at Concordia University under the supervision of Dr. Alberts. Previously, she completed a Bachelor of Cognitive Science (Hons.) and a Bachelor of Psychology (Hons.) at Carleton University. Tori’s research interests are primarily within health psychology, behaviour change, and implementation science. She is particularly interested in the wellbeing of adolescent and young adults living with sickle cell disease or cancer (including cancer survivors), patient-provider pain communication, and community-engaged research. Tori is passionate about incorporating equity, diversity, inclusion and intersectionality into research and practice.

Jada is in her first year of the M.A. in Clinical Psychology program at Concordia University under the supervision of Dr. Nicole Alberts. She previously completed her B.A. (Hons) in Psychology at the University of Manitoba. Jada’s research interests primairly lie within health psychology, particularly the development of mental health interventions for individuals living with cancer and undergoing treatment such as surgery. She also has a strong interest in chronic pain, women’s health, and health anxiety in youth. Jada is passionate about increasing mental health care and access for patients (and families) facing a variety of physical health conditions.

Kelly helps manage the BHI lab, contributes to various research projects and is the coordinator for the Beyond Study, which is examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth with cancer, childhood cancer survivors, and their parents. She obtained her Honours B.A. in Psychology at Concordia University with a Minor in Biology. She completed her honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Dunfield in the Concordia Social Cognitive Development Lab. Her thesis explored the influence of parental stress on children’s prosocial development. Throughout her studies, Kelly developed an interest in health psychology, child psychology, and positive psychology. She plans on pursuing graduate studies in psychology.

Kathryn is a research assistant for the BHI lab, she helps by completing various tasks and provides assistance for ongoing lab projects. She obtained her Specialization in Psychology at Concordia University. Throughout her studies she gained interests in health anxiety management, child psychology, and lifespan development. After working with stroke victims for over two years, she has also developed an interest in health education. She plans on pursuing graduate studies in psychotherapy.

Jasmine is an undergraduate student at Concordia University, currently completing a B.Sc. Honours in Psychology. She has previously completed a directed research project under the supervision of Dr. Alberts, focusing on the acceptability of mHealth symptom monitoring among adult survivors of childhood cancer with chronic pain. Her honours thesis will explore oncologists’ knowledge and perception of pain and pain management. Jasmine’s research interests center on health psychology, development across the lifespan, and psychopathology. She plans on pursuing graduate studies in clinical psychology in the future.

Elisa is an undergraduate currently completing a B.Sc. Honours in Psychology at Concordia University. She will be completing her honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Alberts in the fall of 2024. Her interests include positive psychology, internet phenomena viewed through the lens of social psychology, and clinical psychology. She aims to pursue graduate and post-graduate studies in clinical psychology.

Kayla is an undergraduate student at Concordia University, currently completing a B.A. Honours in Psychology with a Minor in Human Relations. She will be completing her honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Alberts during the 2024-2025 academic year. Throughout her studies, she has developed an interest in the psychology of learning, social psychology and psychopathology, specifically in young adulthood. She plans on pursuing graduate studies in psychology.

Priya is an undergraduate student at Concordia University, completing a B.A Honours in Psychology. She is currently completing her honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Alberts. Prior to her current studies at Concordia, she was a practicing pediatric dentist in her home country where she was actively involved in research concerning the role of saliva for monitoring health and disease status. During her journey as a psychology student, she developed an interest in pain research. She is especially interested in chronic pain in medically compromised populations with a focus on pediatrics. Her special interest is in the psychosocial outcomes of chronic orofacial pain. She plans to contribute to the development of innovative nonpharmacological interventions for chronic pain and orofacial pain.

Natalia is an undergraduate student specializing in Psychology (Behavioural Neuroscience) at Concordia University. Natalia’s years of studies in psychology and personal experiences have allowed her to develop interests in prosocial behaviour, health psychology, and social psychology. She is also interested in improving the psychological well-being of cancer patients and their pain management during and post-treatment. She hopes to further her studies in psycho-social oncology within the healthcare system.

Leora is an undergraduate student currently completing a B.Sc. Honours in Psychology at Concordia University. She will be starting her honours thesis this fall under the supervision of Dr Stack at the Infant and Child Studies Lab. Through working at various organizations geared toward childhood illness, she has become particularly interested in child psychology, child development and psychosocial oncology. She plans on pursuing graduate studies in psychology.  

Jeff joined the BHI lab as a patient partner in October 2023. In addition to being a husband and father of two children – Claire and Jamie, Jeff is a secondary school vice-principal, a musician, and an avid camper. Jeff’s daughter Claire is a pediatric cancer survivor and when she finished active treatment, Jeff looked for opportunities to give back to the system that saved her life and treated her so well. He has previous experience on the Hamilton Health Sciences Patient & Family Advisory Council and the McMaster Children’s Hospital Family Advisory Council. When asked why patient engagement is important, Jeff responded “While researchers and clinicians are close to trends and gaps within their field, patients and families offer a unique and important perspective. Narrations of their lived experiences paints a picture of a journey and provides insights into the implications of the research. These insights offer a lens that may not have been considered and captures ideas that only those on the journey can express. I believe that family engagement should not just be rooted in traditional methodologies where families simply act as a research subject. Families can be co-researchers/co-learners. Bringing together those with knowledge of primary research methodologies, and those with lived experiences creates a rigorous environment for setting priorities for research in the field, conducting studies, and analyzing the results for emerging themes. In addition to sharing lived experiences and co-learning, family participation allows for findings to be disseminated in lay terms to families in clinic waiting rooms, to interested stakeholders, or to support/community groups.”

Isabel currently attends highschool in Montreal. Her hobbies include badminton and spending time with friends. As a childhood cancer survivor, she participates in research because she wants to make the cancer journey easier for other kids. When she grows up, Isabel hopes to become a doctor who works with children.

Anne currently lives and works in Montreal. As the parent of a childhood cancer survivor, she participates in research as a way to give back for the excellent care her daughter received at a local children’s hospital in Montreal, and to support the scientific community at large. She finds the patient partner model especially impactful.