Dr. Natalie Spadafora
Dr. Natalie Spadafora is a post-doctoral fellow studying civility in the lab. Natalie completed her MA and PhD with Dr.’s Zopito Marini and Tony Volk in CHYS at Brock before going to McMaster to work as a post-doc at the Offord Center.
Kristopher Brazil
Kristopher Brazil is in the final year of his CHYS PhD in Tony Volk’s lab. He received his MA from Carleton and did his undergrad at McMaster. He is interested in studying the developmental pathways underlying psychopathy and is eager to start post-doctoral research at Carleton once he successfully defends his PhD here.
Elizabeth Al-Jbouri
Elizabeth Al-Jbouri is entering the final year of her PhD in CHYS with Tony Volk, with whom she also did her MA in CHYS. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Ottawa. She is also actively engaged with Naomi Andrews research. Elizabeth’s research focuses on girls’ intrasexual friendships and aggression.
Rachel Christopher
Rachel Christopher is in her 2nd year in the PSYC MA program with Tony Volk. Rachel did her undergraduate degree at the University of Ottawa and is interested in studying the neurocognitive mechanisms associated with antisocial personality traits. Click here for a Brock profile on her research.
Julie Mills
Julie Mills is a 2nd year MA student in the CHYS program and will be working with Tony Volk. Julie completed her undergraduate degree at Trent University, majoring in both CHYS and PSYC. She is interested in studying bullying among children.
Perla Matusof
Perla Matusof finished her Honours degree in PSYC with Drew Dane and is in her 2nd year of an MA in social/developmental psychology. Perla is interested in studying how competition is related to positive and negative outcomes in older children and adolescents. Click here for a Brock profile on her research.
Oya Pakkal
Oya Pakkal is a PhD student in PSYC. She completed her MA in PSYC and undergraduate degree at McMaster University. Oya’s research focuses on the social hierarchy, emotions, and social behaviors. She has been working with Naomi Andrews on a project relating to teasing and other social interactions.
Kirsten MacAulay
Kirsten MacAulay is a first-year MA student in CHYS, working with Naomi Andrews. Kirsten completed her undergraduate degree at Brock University in CHYS. She is interested in parenting, adverse childhood experiences, and children’s mental health.
BRAVE Alumni
Jiayi Li
Jiayi Li is in her final year of her MA in CHYS with Naomi Andrews and Tony Volk. Jiayi did her undergraduate degree at the University of Calgary and is interested in whether homophiliy (similarities) between friends offers protection from being victimized by others.
What opportunities are there for students in the BRAVE group? Between the four of us, we offer students a wide range of thesis topics. Student can also expect to work on group projects that cut across labs. While we operate as individual supervisors, we frequently collaborate on grants, projects, and papers. So in essence, if you work with one of us, you will have the opportunity to work with all of us!
What are we looking for? We are looking for individuals who are curious and motivated to study aggression and victimization experiences. We work with undergraduate and graduate volunteers and research assistants, as well as undergraduate thesis students, MA students, PHD students, and post-doctoral fellows. We can supervise students in both CHYS and PSYC, so we can accommodate a broad range of interests.
Where can you get more information? More information on the CHYS and PSYC grad programs can be found in those links. But perhaps the best source of information is to contact us. Both faculty and students are always interested in talking to potential recruits for the group. We emphasize the importance of having a good fit with the team so we think it’s as important for us to know you as it is for you to know us. The same thing applies with our students, many (if not all) of whom you will end up working with in some capacity, so they are always happy to talk to prospective group members.