BSc.- Psychology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara Turkey
MSc.-Clinical Psychology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara Turkey
PhD (all but dissertation)-Clinical Psychology, Neurological Sciences and Psychiatry Institute, Hacettepe Medical School, Ankara Turkey
PhD- Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo NY
Post-doctoral fellowship:
Clinical Neuropsychology, Jacobs Neurological Institute, SUNY Medical School

Dr. Tekok-Kilic is a clinical cognitive neuroscientist and Fulbright alumnus who joined to the department of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University in July 2008. Before coming to Brock, she was an established scholar with an extensive clinical and research training in mental health, neuropsychology, and cognitive electrophysiology.

Currently, she studies cognitive, sensory, affective and temperamental aspects of executive control/self-regulation in anxiety and attentional difficulties from a developmental psychopathological framework. Her recent research also involves understanding the sex-biases in ADHD and anxiety. In her research she uses EEG based metrics, neurocognitive tests, and self-report questionnaires.

BA, First-Class Honours-Linguistics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
PhD, Linguistics (focus on Psycholinguistics), University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Post-doctoral fellowship:
UBC Infant Studies Centre, Dept. of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Dr. Suzanne Curtin is a developmental cognitive scientist who joined Brock in 2020. Her research studies interface between early speech perception and social communication in typically and atypically developing populations. The goal of her research program is to understand how early speech perception and word learning contributes to the acquisition of a phonetically driven phonological system. She is also interested in the nature of the infant’s initial state and how this influences the infant’s developing speech perception system. Her research explores the role of early biases in directing attention to the necessary information in the speech signal that will enable the infant to bootstrap into language. She also examines infants’ sensitivity to distributional information in the speech input and explores how this information is used for parsing the continuous speech stream and learning words. Her research is funded by SSHRC and NSERC. She is one of the co-leads for the SSHRC Partnership Grant, “Ensuring Full Literacy in a Multicultural and Digital World,” which brings together her interest in how early language impacts other aspects of cognition – specifically reading. In addition to her role as a Professor in Child and Youth Studies, Suzanne is also the Vice-Provost and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

BSc. Honours-Psychology and Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
PhD.-Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience/Language Acquisition, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
Post-doctoral fellowships:
Neuro-Education across the Lifespan Lab, Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Learning Disabilities Research Program, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario
Neurosciences and Mental Health SickKids Research Institute, Toronto Ontario

Dr. Erin Panda is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist who came to Brock in 2019. She is interested in: 1) how the brain processes language, allows us to read and regulate our attention; 2) how these processes differ between people and change with development, learning and remediation; 3) how to effectively implement research findings into classrooms and clinics. She’s the kind of person that loves learning new things. During her PhD she studied how the brain changes when we learn a second language. She went on to do three postdocs to study: 1) music-based cognitive training on the neurocognitive basis of language and attention in young children; 2) reading remediation in children with reading disabilities and ADHD; 3) development of the brain’s language networks in typically developing children and children with epilepsy. Currently, she uses electrophysiology (EEG) to track developmental changes to children and young people’s brain network responses while they read, listen to speech and direct their attention. Working in collaboration with local school boards, another research arm evaluates how evidence-based educational programs can improve learning outcomes.

Outside of Brock, she loves yoga, hikes in the forest, sunny days on the beach, and time with her family.

BA, Psychology, McGill University, 1970
Ph.D. Cornell University, 1974, with major in Human Development, minors in Neurobiology and in Linguistics.

I joined the Brock Psychology Department in 1974, was Director of the interdisciplinary Child Studies Programme before its establishment as the CHYS Department, and was the Founding Director of the Jack and Nora Walker Centre for Lifespan Development Research (2007-2020).

I have mainly been interested in studying how we can make use of EEG brain responses to better understand specific thinking processes and certain personality attributes. For the thinking processes, my research has focused especially on developmental growth patterns as well as brain responses to cognitive challenges in attention, inhibitory control, and more recently linguistic issues. For the personality issues, the focus has been on individual differences and their brain response correlates. More recently, I have also focused on developing better mathematical techniques for relating EEG responses to the psychological factors. Although I retired from teaching in 2020, I remain active in specific research projects on these topics. However, I am also now able to indulge my lifelong passion for chamber music, currently playing clarinet in a classical music group and in a Klezmer band.

Holly Lockhart

Postdoctoral Fellow

Holly is a postdoctoral fellow in the Developmental Neuroscience Lab since 2024. Holly has earned a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience, Masters of Arts in psychology, and Doctoral degree in psychology from Brock University. Before joining the DNLab, Holly did research in cognitive neuroscience with a focus on visual working memory. Since joining the lab, Holly has been studying the relationship between self- and parent-reported ADHD-like behaviour (inattention) and brain’s response to novel stimuli in youth. Holly is currently leading multiple research projects in the lab that use EEG and eye-tracking technology to investigate the relationship between our lab’s many areas of interest.

Alicia Miller

PhD Student

Alicia is a PhD student in the Child and Youth Studies program and is under the supervision of Ayda Tekok-Kilic. She has received her Honours of Bachelors in Child and Youth Studies from Brock University and completed a Masters of Education in Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Toronto. She is working on becoming a Qualifying Psychotherapist at this time. She works from a scientist-practitioner model and uses trauma informed approaches in her clinical work. Her research experience includes examining ADHD, Anxiety, temperament, sensory processing and executive functions as risk factors for externalizing and internalizing issues/disorders. Other research interests include areas such as, mental health, addictions, trauma and resiliency.

Zihang Bu

PhD Student

Zihang is a PhD student in the Department of Child and Youth Studies under the supervision of Dr. Ayda Tekok-Kilic. She completed the Bachelor’s degree at Dalian Medical University with majoring in Applied Psychology, and She received MA in Child and Youth Study at Mount Saint Vincent University in Nova Scotia. Zihang is now interested in applying the Biopsychosocial Model to mental health intervention and evaluation, neuroscience research on bilingual children, and psychological/developmental issues of children and youth.

Lauren Stepien

PhD Student

Lauren is a PhD student in the Department of Child and Youth Studies working with Dr. Tekok-Kilic. She graduated from the Neuroscience undergraduate program and the Child and Youth Studies MA programs here at Brock before entering her PhD. She began her journey in the lab in 2021 while completing her honours thesis on sex differences in anxiety and temperament. This sparked her to continue into graduate studies in the DNLab using using EEG, neuropsychological and questionnaire data to study sensory processing sensitivity, anxiety and attention.

Tinashe Buckenham Dziva

Honours Student

Tinashe is an Honours Psychology student at Brock University completing his thesis in the DNLab under the supervision of Dr. Erin Panda. Tinashe has been involved with the DNLab since his second year, so he is thrilled now to be completing a research project as a part of this lab! Tinashe is especially interested in contributing to research in attention, neurodiversity, cognitive control and generally research that can support inclusive and equitable well-being.

Megan Jaques

Honours Thesis Student

Megan is a 4^th year undergraduate student pursuing her BSc in the Neuroscience (Neuropsychology) program here at Brock. Megan is completing her undergraduate thesis under the supervision of Dr. Tekok-Kilic. Megan is interested in studying executive function and language.

Vanessa Kosior

Honours Thesis Student

As a fourth-year student in the Concurrent Education (P/J) program at Brock, Vanessa is completing their undergraduate thesis under the supervision of Dr. Erin Panda. Their research focus revolves around the complex minds of children and youth, with a particular interest in attentional control and the ways in which attention is both focused and sustained. As a prospective teacher candidate, Vanessa is curious about how children and youths’ internal cognitive processes connect to their external expressions and overall mental wellness as human beings.

Brianna Catalano

Project Student

Brianna is a fourth-year Child and Youth Studies student completing a research project under the supervision of Dr. Ayda Tekok-Kilic. This is Brianna’s first year in the DNLab, and they were drawn to the opportunity by their interest in how cognitive processes influence children’s learning and mental health. Brianna’s research interests include ADHD and anxiety in children and youth.

Victoria Leonard

Directed Studies Student

Victoria is a fourth year undergraduate student pursuing a BA in Psychology at Brock University. She is completing a directed study under the supervision of Dr. Tekok-Kilic. After graduating, plans to complete a Masters in Psychotherapy to become a registered psychotherapist. Victoria is interested in being a part of the Developmental Neuroscience Lab, as the research aligns with her interest in clinical work.

Jazlyn Savoie

Volunteer

Jazlyn is an undergraduate Child and Youth Studies student at Brock University, volunteering in the DNLab to gain experience in preparation for an honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Erin Panda. She is interested in accessibility and inclusion in education, particularly how developmental neuroscience research can help shape inclusive pedagogy and inform educational policy.

Doctoral Alumni

• Veronica Panchyshyn (Child and Youth Studies, 2025)

Masters Alumni

• Chae Lynn Bush (Child and Youth Studies, 2025)
• Yasaman Zahed (Child and Youth Studies, 2025)
• Ben Johnson (Child and Youth Studies, 2025)
• Jonah Kember (Child and Youth Studies, 2022)
• Carolynn Hare (Child and Youth Studies, 2020)
• Melissa Nichol (Child and Youth Studies, 2014)
• Carleigh Sanderson (Child and Youth Studies, 2013)
• Monika Ovsonka (Child and Youth Studies, 2012)

High School Students (Brock Science Mentorship Program or Co-op Placement)

• Evan Bailie, Nelson High School, 2025
• Zoe Delrue, Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School, 2022-2023
• Mayah Causens, A.N. Myer Secondary School, 2019-2020
• Jacob Zhang- St. Michael Catholic High School, 2017-2018
• Eric Sun- A.N. Myer Secondary School, 2016-2017

Honours Theses Students

• Jessica Howell (Child and Youth Studies, 2025)
• Kyra Omland (Neuroscience Program-Neuropsychology Stream, 2024)
• Masum Patel (Neuroscience Program-Neuropsychology Stream, 2023)
• Serene Haq (Neuroscience Program-Neuropsychology Stream, 2023)
• Emma Boswell-Hicks (Medical Sciences & Child and Youth Studies, 2023)
• Paige Vaccarella (Child and Youth Studies & Psychology, 2022)
• Renae McLean (Neuroscience Program-Neuropsychology Stream, 2022)
• Sophia Nelson (Neuroscience Program-Neuropsychology Stream, 2022)
• Liam Winters (Neuroscience Program-Neuropsychology Stream, 2022)
• Chelsey Goorbachan (Neuroscience Program-Neuropsychology Stream, 2021)
• Abraham Omogierava, (Neuroscience Program-Neurobiology Stream, 2019)
• Chris Desorsiers, (Neuroscience Program-Neuropsychology Stream, 2019)
• Cassandra Gordon (Child and Youth Studies-Psychology, 2017)
• Nicole Statie, (Child and Youth Studies, 2017)
• Erica Sullivan (Child and Youth Studies, 2017
• Maggie Lewis (Child and Youth Studies, 2014)
• Jessica Garon (Child and Youth Studies, 2012)
• Melissa Prior (Child and Youth Studies, 2011)
• Lindsy Nicholson (Child and Youth Studies, 2010)