PhD Students
Jenna Barnhardt (iakon:kwe/she/her) is a second year Indigenous PhD student from Kenhte:ke Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in the Clinical Developmental Neuropsychology program. She received her Masters degree (MA) in Clinical Developmental Psychology from York University and her Bachelors degree (B.Sc. Hon.) from Toronto Metropolitan University in Biomedical Science with a minor in Psychology and a certificate in Mental Health & Addictions from TMU's Chang School of Continuing Education. She is focused on neuroscience and Indigenous mental health working to provide relevant and culturally significant intervention/assessment services to Canada’s Indigenous people using her experience with traditional Indigenous knowledge and knowledge mobilization to community. Her research aims to learn more about the Indigenous brain and focusses on measures that explore development of executive functioning (impulsivity and emotion regulation), pediatric oncology (namely brain cancer), and intergenerational trauma of Indigenous children and families.
Khadija (Khad) Bint Misbah is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. She received her M.A. degree from York University. Khad’s research focuses parental causal attributions of children’s behaviour and caregiver sensitivity. She hopes to one day contribute to the development of parenting interventions for vulnerable populations, and to subsequently promote positive child development. Khad’s research is generously funded through the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research.
Marette Abdelmaseh (she/her) is a fourth year PhD student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. She received her undergraduate Specialized Honours degree in Psychology at York University. Marette’s doctoral research investigates the relationships among adverse experiences in childhood, emotion regulation in adulthood, and caregiver sensitivity. She was also actively involved in the I-SPARX project and investigated the perceived appropriateness of the CBT model for supporting Inuit youth wellness. Marette’s doctoral research is funded through the Social Science and Humanities Research Council.
Mariami Bimm is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. She received her Honours B.Sc. degree from the University of Ottawa and her M.A.Sc. from the University of Waterloo. Her research focuses on caregiver sensitivity and infant emotion regulation during stressful relational contexts. She is particularly interested in using behavioural measures to enhance current understanding of caregiver and infant stress experiences, and children's subsequent social-emotional development. Mariami's research is generously funded through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship program, the Meighen Wright Foundation, and the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research.
Yookyung Carol Lee is a fourth year PhD student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. She received her B.Sc. degree (Biopsychology) from University of British Columbia, and M.Sc. degree (Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology) from University College London. Her research focuses on the impact of culture in widely-used caregiver sensitivity assessment tools and whether they are valid measures across cultures. Her ultimate goal is to develop and research parenting interventions that promote positive child development, and that are suitable for diverse cultural groups in Canada. Yookyung’s research is funded through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship program and the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research.
MA Students
Alaina Thomas (she/her) joins the ICMH lab as a research coordinator and first year masters student in York's Clinical Developmental Psychology program. Under the supervision of Dr. Bohr, her specialized honours thesis examined resilience strategies of I-SPARX Inuit youth leaders during the Covid-19 pandemic. She plans to continue this research throughout her masters studies. Additionally, she is interested in the development and evaluation of e-mental wellness technologies, and the relationship between youth mental wellness and socio-political/environmental systems. She is grateful to be a part of the ICMH lab, working and learning alongside Inuit youth and communities in Nunavut. She believes in using community-driven research as a means to highlight the voices and perspectives of youth to inform mental health policy change, promote health equity, and social justice. Alaina's research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Megis Oskalns is a second year master’s Indigenous student in the Clinical Developmental psychology program. She is particularly interested in Indigenous youth suicide prevention, coping strategies for Inuit youth during COVID-19, fostering creativity, and interlinking Indigenous culture with biology and psychology in research. She is highly invested in Indigenous mental health and the effects of intergenerational trauma because her grandparents are residential school survivors. She is completing her M.A thesis on using the Mik’maq two-eyed seeing to evaluate an e-intervention for Inuit youth using an Inuit qaujimajatuqangit framework.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Lab Manager
Nichaela Garvey (she/her) completed her Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology at York University. She is the Lab Manager of the Infant and Child Mental Health Lab. She is grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside Inuit youth and community members across Nunavut on three participatory action research projects: I-SPARX, Covid-Resilience and Virtual Qaggiq. She plans to pursue clinical psychology in graduate school. Her research interests lie in working together with Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) youth to adapt and evaluate the effective of accessible, school-based and/or community-based programs aimed at promoting positive youth development, empowerment, resilience, healthy coping and relationships in the face of adversity. She is particularly interested in exploring whether strengths-based interventions rooted in self-compassion and mindfulness promote mental wellness in BIPOC communities. She recognizes knowledge mobilization and implementation science to be integral to sustainable research and aims to help narrow the existing gap between current research and common health practices in vulnerable communities. She is committed to disseminating accessible, community-informed research findings in her graduate studies.
Assistant Lab Manager
Yogita Singh (she/her) completed her Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology at York University. Her interests include mood disorders and suicide tendency in youth, psychosis and autism spectrum. She is particularly interested in exploring the use of and availability of cognitive behaviour therapy as a treatment option for youth in different communities. She is the assistant lab manager; she resonates with the aims of the lab and is grateful to be able to work with an amazing team of Inuit youth and researchers to contribute to I-SPARX, Covid-19 Resilience and the Virtual Qaggiq project. She plans to pursue graduate school in Clinical Psychology. She hopes to use her background in Psychology by pursuing a clinical practice to support at-risk individuals and communities.
Research Assistants
Cassie Danz has completed her final year in her Specialized Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She spent the last year on exchange, studying at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. For her thesis, Cassie assisted in the development of a self-report scale measuring various aspects of mental effort; she employed cognitive pretesting methods to evaluate how the questionnaire would be understood by those with ADHD. Cassie plans to continue her education at the graduate level in Singapore with the research goal to study the gender differences of ADHD.
Travis Kuhne (he/him) completed his Honours IBBA with distinction at the Schulich School of Business (2019), and continues to work in the tech industry while simultaneously completing an Honours Bachelor of Psychology degree at Glendon College of York University (2025). He applies his cross-professional skills ongoingly as the Lab Technology Manager for the Infant and Child Mental Health Lab, focusing on building the new Virtual Qaggiq Project. His research interests lie in young men's mental health, climate crisis-related psychology, community-based programs, technology, and promoting wellness in remote communities. He shares great gratitude for the opportunity to work-with and learn-from the respected Inuit community within this role, and looks forward to the amazing new things soon-to-come!
Graduates of the Lab
Bramilee Dhayanandhan received her MA and Ph.D. in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. She had formerly received her Bachelor’s degree from McGill University. Bramilee’s research is embedded in an ecological-transactional framework, and focuses on predictors of resilience among parent-child dyads vulnerable to psychopathology. Her Master’s thesis examined factors that mitigate the risk for infant and child maltreatment among adolescent mothers exposed to cumulative adversity. She is passionate about community-based research, and works towards fostering resilience and promoting healthy relationships among high-risk mother-child dyads. Bramilee's research was funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship.
Brooke Halpert did her doctoral work on atypical maternal behaviours and socio – demographic correlates. She now works as a Psychologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, ON.
Cynthia Shih received her Ph.D. from York University. Her research focuses on cross-cultural and immigrant psychology, with specific interests in parenting styles, transnational parenting, and the role of multiple caregivers in immigrant families. Through this work, she aims to further the clinical understanding of culturally appropriate and relevant services for diverse, community-based populations.
Deborah Kanter received her Ph.D. from York University. Her research focuses on protective factors which reduce the likelihood of aggressive children from committing criminal offenses. She is particularly interested in the role of positive relationships in the reduction of criminal outcomes and in the inclusion of protective factors in risk assessment tools.
Jennifer Summers did her doctoral work on motivational factors in group-based anxiety treatment for latency aged children. She now works as a Psychologist at the Chedoke MacMaster Medical Centre.
Jessica Chan completed her M.A. and Ph.D. in the Clinical Developmental Psychology program at York University. She also earned her Honours B.A. Degree at York University. Her main research interests lie in the study of maternal-child relationships and parenting from a cross- cultural perspective, and to the identification of best practices of child-rearing in different cultures. Her Master’s thesis compared the parenting practices of Chinese-Canadian and European-Canadian mothers, and explored the influence of acculturation and immigrant status on parent and child variables such as caregiver stress, confidence, sensitivity, attributions, and child behaviour problems. Jessica’s research was funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Kayla Hamel has graduated from the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. She had received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from McGill University in Montreal. Her experiences working in Latin American in high-risk environments affected by conflict, and in particular, working with children and youth living in difficult circumstances, motivated her to return to graduate school to pursue a career dedicated to promoting resilience in these populations. Her research interests lie in the area of culture, resilience and social justice. Kayla’s work was funded through the Social Science and Humanities Research Council and the Meighan Wright Foundation.
Leah Litwin received her Ph.D. from York University. Her research focuses on the effectiveness of a computer-based video game at decreasing depressive thoughts, and increasing resilience in Inuit youth. She is particularly interested in the cultural adaptations of mainstream prevention and intervention tools, and how these adapted versions can better service remote and isolated communities.
Natasha Whitfield received a Ph.D. in the Clinical Developmental Psychology Program at York University. She earned her M. A. Degree at York University, and her Honours B. A. at the University of Windsor. Her main research interests lie in the study of parent-child relationships and social functioning, particularly in immigrant families. Her M. A. thesis explored the consequences of prolonged parent-child separation practices in Chinese Canadian immigrant families. Natasha’s work was funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Postdoctoral Visitors
Past Honours Students
Cassandra Stevenson graduated from York University in 2020 with a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Under the supervision of Dr. Bohr, her Specialized Honours thesis investigated the relationship between observed quality of maternal care in infancy and those infants’ mental health and perceptions of their mother’s parenting at age 10. Cassandra hopes to pursue graduate studies in Clinical-Developmental Psychology, with a primary interest in violence prevention starting in childhood, as well as caretaking mechanisms that can intercept child maltreatment and encourage prosocial behaviour throughout the course of the child's life. She is also actively involved in the I-SPARX project and is passionate about using community-based research approaches to promote health equity and social justice. Cassandra's studies to date have been graciously funded by The LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research and the Lillian Meighen Wright Foundation.
Irina Osminin is a recent graduate of York University, holding a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Her Honours thesis investigated the relationship between adult attachment style, technology usage, and caregiver sensitivity. She has developed a keen interest in understanding how children's early experiences can shift the trajectory of their development. Specifically, she is interested in the effects of child-mother interactions on children's attachment, development, and mental health. A common thread in Irina's research is a focus on social determinants of health while employing a community-led approach to help offset inequalities through early intervention during this critical period. Irina is an incoming Clinical Psychology MA student at Ryerson University, where she will continue her academic journey.
Myra Massey graduated from York University in 2020 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She conducted her Honours Thesis supervised by Dr. Bohr examining school-based preventive interventions disseminated in Canada for adolescents at risk for suicide. Her current research explores community-based and school-based mental health and suicide interventions for Indigenous youth. She plans tor pursue her education at graduate level in Clinical Psychology. She is particularly interested in the role of resilience on behaviours associated with suicidality and a focus on protective factors to address Indigenous mental health.
Zita Lau was an undergraduate Honours Thesis student in the lab during 2015-2016. Her thesis examined the influence of parental technology use on caregiver-infant relationships. Currently, she is working towards her Master of Arts in Applied Psychology in Schools at Western University.
Past Undergraduate Research Assistants
Fernanda de la Mora is completing her Honours BFA in Visual Art and Psychology at York University. She plans to pursue clinical psychology at the graduate level and conduct research on families, attachment and parent-child relationships.
Riya Trikha (she/they) recently graduated with a Specialized Honours B.A in Psychology (Cognitive Neuropsychology stream) from York University's Glendon Campus. They are extremely grateful to be working alongside a wonderful team of researchers and Inuit youth on the I-SPARX (and related) projects, as well as learning more about parent-child dyads from the York Parenting Project. They wish to pursue developmental psychology in graduate school and hopes to explore the biopsychosocial underpinnings of neurodevelopmental disorders within youth.
Sabrina Da Silva is in her 4th year of her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She is originally from Brazil and is especially interested in clinical developmental psychology, especially areas related to the effects of socioeconomic status on development. She hopes to pursue graduate level education and work with children and families that are involved in the criminal justice system.
International Visiting Students
Gina Riccio was a visiting student from the lab of Prof. Emma Baumgartner at Sapienza University in Rome. Gina’s area of research is the study of psycho-social risk factors in Italian born and immigrant adolescent mothers, and mothers with HIV. Gina is collaborating with members of our lab on papers and conference presentations pertaining to the Teen Moms and the MAP initiatives.
