Our Team
Team Members
Principal Investigator
Dr. Stephanie Denison
Stephanie is the director of the Developmental Learning Lab. She studies infant and early childhood cognition, mostly as it relates to how children learn and integrate multiple types of information in their inferences. Current topics of interest in the lab include infant probabilistic reasoning, how children attribute preferences to others, the development of heuristics and biases, how children use probability to infer others’ emotions, the cues that infants use to detect agency, and multi-modal ratio abstraction.
Post-Doctoral Researchers
Dr. Elizabeth Lapidow
Liz is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab. She is interested in how learners seek to figure out the world around them by taking actions and considering possibilities. Her research looks at learning and reasoning about causality and how learners make decisions during exploration.
Lab Coordinators
Natasha Brooks
Natasha recently completed her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Honours Psychology with the Research-Intensive Specialization at the University of Waterloo, and is currently working as the lab coordinator for the Infant and Child Studies Group. She is interested in the different factors that can affect children’s language development. Outside the lab, Natasha enjoys reading and spending time with family & friends.
Yashika Berry
Yashika is a recent psychology graduate from the University of Waterloo, now working as a research coordinator for the Developmental Learning Lab. She is passionate about clinical developmental research, particularly in exploring how factors such as individual and familial trauma, race, socioeconomic status, and environmental influences shape children's development. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time with friends or family, watching movies, and reading!
Graduate Students
Candice Rubie
Candice is a second-year PhD student in the lab, and completed her BA, MASc, and MA in Psychology at the University of Waterloo. Her research looks at how children use the Approximate Number System to estimate quantities, the development of negativity biases in learning and attitude formation, and frameworks to give more effective failure feedback. Outside of her research, Candice loves baking sourdough and reading every genre of book possible!
Ayshe Ozlu
Ayshe is a second year student in the Master of Arts program, pursuing a degree in Developmental Psychology. She completed her Bachelor's at The University of British Columbia with a double major in Psychology and Film Studies. Her research interests include children's decision-making processes and understanding of social connections.
Amy Howard
Amy Howard is completing her MA in Developmental and Communication Science. She is interested in children's judgement, decision-making processes, and how they perceive others.
Thuvaraka Mahenthiran
Thuvaraka is a second year master’s student in the MA Developmental Psychology program at the University of Waterloo after having graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She’s currently working on a project that looks at joint attention and parent-child interactions during a problem-solving task.
Honours Thesis Students
Alexandra Minard
Alexandra M is a 4th year honours psychology student with a minor in sociology. In the lab, she is working on her honours thesis, supervised by Dr. Denison. She is investigating children’s knowledge and understanding over time!
Alexandra Schiel
Alexandra S is a 4th year student in Honours Psychology. She is currently completing her honours thesis in the lab, supervised by Dr. Denison. Her thesis is exploring how children respond to novel stimuli.
Leanne Schut
Leanne is a 4th year Honours Psychology student with a minor in Communications. Currently, she is conducting her honours thesis under the co-supervision of Dr. Lapidow and Dr. Denison, focusing on causal reasoning—specifically, how individuals reason when faced with inconsistencies.
Research Assistants/Directed Studies
Amy Bota
Amy is a 3rd year student in Honours Psychology with the Research Intensive Specialization and a minor in Human Resource Management. Outside the lab, she loves to thrift jewellery with friends and discover new music!
Jacqueline Laramy
Jacqueline is a fourth-year Honours Psychology student, pursuing a Research-Intensive Specialization alongside double minors in Philosophy and Addictions, Mental Health, and Policy. In the lab, she is completing her honours thesis under the co-supervision of Dr. Stephanie Denison and Dr. Elizabeth Lapidow. Her research explores how children make decisions under uncertainty, specifically comparing contexts where risk is present versus absent.
Sundus Ismaeil
Sundus completed her Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Honours Psychology at the University of Waterloo and is currently working as a Research Assistant in the lab. She is continuing the work she did for her honours thesis, which investigates whether children understand that memory fades over time. She has also worked on various projects that looked at behavioural coding in parent-child dyad tasks. Outside the lab, Sundus enjoys reading and baking!
Chloé Champredon
Chloé is a 3rd year undergraduate student in Honours Psychology, with a Research-Intensive Specialization, and a minor in Sexuality, Marriage, & Family Studies. She is currently completing an Advanced Research Apprenticeship, supervised by Dr. Denison. Outside the lab, she loves reading, drawing, and making music!
Diya Bhatt
Diya is currently in her last year of Honours Psychology with a Research Intensive Specialization, and a minor in Management Studies. Outside the lab, you can find her at a café, trying out new hobbies, or hanging out with her loved ones!
Ananya Arora
Ananya is currently in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Honours Psychology, with a Research Intensive Specialization and a minor in SMF, at the University of Waterloo. She’s currently working as an ABA therapist and is interested in how children understand and navigate emotions. Outside the lab, Ananya enjoys watching movies/TV shows, hanging out with friends, and cooking!
Nismah Afridi
Nismah is a fourth-year psychology student with a minor in cognitive science. She is interested in how children understand causality, probability, and making inferences, along with how their prior knowledge of the world supports their learning. Outside the lab, she enjoys hiking, painting, and watching (and re-watching) Tim Burton movies!
Evelyn Sweet
Evelyn is in her third year of the Honours Bachelor of Science Psychology program, with a Biochemistry minor. She is broadly interested in developmental psychology, as well as genetics. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time with her friends and is on the UW dance team.
Paige Wahl
Paige is a 4th year Honours Psychology undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo. She is an RA in the Developmental Learning Lab and is beginning her honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Lapidow, focused on modal reasoning in children. Outside the lab, Paige spends a lot of her time as a volunteer for the KW Kids with Cancer charity!
Harshvir Chahal
Harshvir is currently in their 2B term of Honours Psychology and is volunteering with the Developmental Learning Lab to learn more about the developmental-cognitive field of psychology.