Faculty and Graduate Students
Dr. Geoffrey Hall, Lab Director
Dr. Geoffrey Hall is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. He is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. He serves on the Editorial Board of the journal, Language Learning and Development and has been an Associate Editor of the journal, Child Development, and a member of the Editorial Board of the journal, Developmental Psychology. Dr. Hall’s research focuses on language and cognitive development in infancy and early childhood. Dr. Hall’s secondary research area is Cognitive Science.
Email: geoff@psych.ubc.ca
Erica Dharmawan, Graduate Student
Erica is a PhD Student at UBC’s Developmental Psychology program. Her current research projects explore whether children categorize and evaluate artifacts according to the identity of their maker. In her spare time, Erica enjoys going on walks, baking, and watching movies.
Email: edharmawan@psych.ubc.ca
Staff and Undergraduates
Samin Alighanadi, Lab Manager
Samin is a fifth-year undergraduate student pursuing a major in Behavioural Neuroscience. She’s passionate about research on inclusive education and learning disabilities. In the future, she hopes to pursue graduate studies in special education. In her spare time, Samin enjoys painting, reading, and learning about random historical facts.
Email: ghlabmgr@psych.ubc.ca
Billy Lam, Research Assistant
Billy received his Bachelor of Arts in Honours Psychology with a minor in Commerce from UBC. His developmental research focuses on how children/adults evaluate artifacts, but he is also interested in clinical topics such as anxiety, depression, and psychotherapy. In the future, he hopes to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology. In his spare time, Billy enjoys karaoke, learning Korean, and working on various Python projects around the lab.
Michelle Yap, Research Assistant
Michelle is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a major in Cognitive Systems. She is especially interested in cognitive psychology, data science, and quantitative methods in psychology. She loves going to the movies and reading good books!
Jimena, Research Assistant
Jimena is a third-year undergraduate student enrolled in the Honours Psychology program. She is currently an honours student at the OutsidePlay Lab under Dr. Brussoni. Her research interests lie in developmental and clinical psychology. In her free time, she enjoys thrifting and jewelry making.
Emma, Research Assistant
Emma is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a major in Psychology and a minor in Education. Her research interests are in health psychology and social factors on health coping. During her free time, Emma enjoys painting, volunteering, and spending time with her friends.
Hayley, Research Assistant
Hayley graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. She is interested in the development of neurodiverse children and plans to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology. In her free time, Hayley enjoys baking and binge-watching drama series.
Angel, Research Assistant
Angel is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology with a minor in Education, focusing on Interpersonal Development. She is especially interested in cognitive development and social psychology, as well as topics related to mental health. In the future, she plans to pursue graduate studies in counselling psychology. During her free time, she enjoys visiting the beach, baking, and playing the guitar.
Cindy, Research Assistant
Cindy is a second-year undergraduate student pursuing a major in Neuroscience. Her research interests revolve around how children develop important cognitive functions, lexical skills, and other academic and social competencies. She is also interested in learning about research design and observation processes in psychology. During her free time, Cindy enjoys discovering new music, walking around the city, and listening to audiobooks.
Anita, Honours Student
Anita is a fourth-year undergraduate student currently enrolled in the Honours Psychology program. Within the realm of psychology, her research interests include developmental and health psychology. In the developmental field, she aims to explore brand name categorization in children, and she is also actively involved in research focusing on social connectivity and health in older adults. Beyond the lab, Anita enjoys travelling, drawing, and going on early morning runs.
Divya, Research Assistant
Divya received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UBC. She is interested in the development of neurodiverse children and currently works as an Educational Assistant for the Vancouver School Board. In her free time, she enjoys jewellery making, drinking matcha and thrifting!
Clara, Research Assistant