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Lab Director

Veronica Whitford, Ph.D.

I am an Associate Professor and NSERC Canada Research Chair in the Department of Psychology at UNB. I received my Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from McGill University. Afterward, I completed two post-doctoral fellowships in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. The first was at the University of Western Ontario (Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute), and the second was at Harvard University (Graduate School of Education) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research). I then was an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) before joining UNB.
 

Graduate Students

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Narissa Byers

I am a 4th year Ph.D. student in Experimental Psychology at UNB. I completed my basic research project, honours thesis, and NSERC USRA training under Dr. Whitford's supervision, graduating with an Honours BSc in Psychology from UNB. My interests lie in the area of clinical/cognitive experimental psychology, with a focus on the use of behavioural, neuroimaging, and machine learning techniques to better understand healthy vs. accelerated cognitive aging.

Erika Guedea

I am a 4th year Ph.D. student in Experimental Psychology at UNB. I graduated with an Honours BSc in Psychology from the University of Texas at El Paso, where I investigated bilingual language processing and cognition. Under Dr. Veronica Whitford’s supervision, I continue to expand on this line of research by exploring how individual differences in language learning contexts, proficiency, and cognition shape online language processing in monolingual and bilingual individuals with neurotypical  vs. neurodivergent cognitive profiles.

Gabrielle Levasseur

I am a 1st year Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology at UNB. I completed my basic research project and then was an NBIF-funded research assistant under Dr. Whitford's supervision, graduating with a BA in Psychology from UNB. I then completed an MA in Psychology at the Université de Montréal, where I investigated the efficacy of post-secondary accommodation measures for students with ADHD. Through my experience in both clinical and research settings, I have developed a strong interest in language and cognition among newcomer populations, people with learning disorders, and people with psychiatric disorders.

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Courtney Stacey

I am a 2nd year Ph.D. student in Experimental Psychology at UNB. I completed my honours thesis and NSERC USRA training under Dr. Whitford's supervision, graduating with an Honours BA in Psychology (Neuroscience Specialization) at UNB. Through my professional and personal experiences, I have developed a passion for providing support, education, and motivation for people impacted by various medical obstacles. I am particularly passionate about exploring how neurodegenerative disorders impact cognition, language, and quality of life, which is the central focus of my graduate research.

Undergraduate Honours Students

Jillian Grant

 

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Alana Gullison

 

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Kate MacGregor

 

Undergraduate Basic Research Students

Elyon Afriyie
 

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Parvathy Jayadev
 

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Adam Smith
 

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Sanskriti
 

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Karena Wu
 

Past Members

Graduate Students:

  • Astrid Portillo, M.A. Clinical Psychology, UTEP (2018-2020)


Honours Students:

  • Emma Hynes (2023-2024)

  • Hanna MacFarlane (2023-2024)

  • Jayden Roberts (2023-2024)

  • Victoria Matthews (2022-2023)

  • Madeline Wiseman (2022-2023)

  • Sarah MacIsaac (2021-2022)

  • Courtney Stacey (2021-2022)

  • Narissa Byers (2020-2021)

  • Samantha Shaw (2020-2021)​

 

Basic and Independent Research Students:

  • Gabrielle (Gabi) Nash Landry (2024)

  • Caitlin Quinn (2024)

  • Brianna Burns (2023)

  • Shaila Levy-Hachey (2023)

  • Annabelle Strahsburger (2023)

  • Nicole Acupinpin (2022)

  • Büke Dalkir (2022)

  • Victoria Matthews (2022)

  • Yara Bayoumi (2021)

  • Alaina McInnes (2021)

  • Gabrielle Levasseur (2021)

  • Kyle Murphy (2021)

  • Clarice Hoe Sue Yeen (2021)

  • Narissa Byers (2020)

  • Sarah MacIsaac (2020)

  • Lauryn Munro (2020)

  • Mallory Pittman (2020)

  • Marjorie Rouse, UTEP (2018-2019)

  • Yassel Sanchez Romero, UTEP (2018-2019)

​

Research Assistants:

  • Emma Hynes, NSERC USRA (2024)

  • Hanna MacFarlane (2024)

  • Nicole Acupinpin (2023)

  • Büke Dalkir, Canada Summer Jobs (2023)

  • Victoria Matthews, NSERC USRA (2023)

  • Courtney Stacey, NSERC USRA (2023)

  • Yara Bayoumi (2022)

  • Kate MacGregor, NSERC USRA (2022)

  • Sarah MacIsaac, Canada Summer Jobs (2022)

  • Courtney Stacey (2022)

  • Emma Toole (2022)

  • Narissa Byers, NSERC USRA (2021)

  • Gavbrielle Levasseur, NBIF (2021-2022)

  • Kate MacGregor, Canada Summer Jobs (2021)

  • Sarah MacIsaac (2021-2023)

  • Arti Prajapati (2019-2020)

  • Samantha Shaw (2019-2020)​​

  • Sarah Versloot (2019-2020)

  • Erika Guedea, UTEP (2018-2019)

  • Alejandra Gonzalez, UTEP (2018-2019)

  • Raymond Mendoza, UTEP (2018-2019)

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© 2025 Dr. Veronica Whitford - Language Development Lab - University of New Brunswick

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