Our Team

Principal Investigator

Signy Sheldon.jpg

Dr. Signy Sheldon

associate professor

Department of Psychology, McGill University

Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory

2014 Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, ON, Canada
2011 Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
2011 Ph.D., Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
2006 M.A., University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Graduate Students

JAMIE SNYTTEPhD Student in Experimental Psychologyjamie.snytte[at]mail.mcgill.caI am currently interested in how impairments in cognition manifest in clinical disorders such as depression. Specifically, the goal of my research is to characterize the… — JAMIE SNYTTE
PhD Student in Clinical Psychology
jamie.snytte[at]mail.mcgill.ca
I am currently interested in how impairments in cognition manifest in clinical disorders such as depression. Specifically, the goal of my research is to characterize the link between medial temporal lobe structure and function, and autobiographical memory deficits. Under the co-supervision of Dr. Natasha Rajah, my work also focuses aging processes, and how sex contributes to the risk for disorders such as depression and Alzheimer's disease.

TYLER CALL
tyler.call[at]mail.mcgill.ca
Tyler Call is a research assistant in the Sheldon Memory Lab. He is analyzing post-encoding fMRI data from the Grammy project, investigating the relationship between post-encoding functional connectivity and subsequent recall performance. His research is primarily concerned with how certain experiences (e.g., bilingualism and musicianship) might modify brain structure and function in ways that provide resilience against age-related and pathological cognitive decline. He recently received a Master’s in Cognitive Science from Carleton University. Outside of the lab, he loves to make music, play baseball, boulder, run, and spend time with his partner and their 3 dogs.

CHRISTIANE MARIE CANILLO
MA Student in Experimental Psychology
cm.canillo[at]mail.mcgill.ca
I am interested in two lines of work: (1) the impact of encoding goals on the details we remember, building on prior work conducted in the lab on goal reinstatement effects between memory at encoding and retrieval, and (2) how culture influences what we remember and the way this impacts how we communicate what and why we remember.

SYDNEY LAMBERT
PhD Student in Experimental Psychology
sydney.lambert[at]mail.mcgill.ca
My research interest focuses on the interaction between emotion and memory, particularly how affective states influence encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. I’m also interested in the role of neuromodulatory systems in memory enhancement and impairment, as well as how memory representations evolve over time through experience-driven schema updating.

SUSANNE SEVCIK
MA Student in Music Technology
susanne.sevcik[at]mail.mcgill.ca
My research looks at musical metaphors, or the way we describe sound through timbre semantics and how that may impact our memory for timbre. Specifically, I'm interested in how these descriptions may influence our short-term and working memory for music, as well as autobiographical memories evoked by music. My research is supervised by Stephen McAdams and I am grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with my friends in the memory lab and gain wonderful insights into memory research!

MIKAILA TOMBE
MA Student in Experimental Psychology
mikaila.tombe[at]mail.mcgill.ca
I am interested in the intersection between music and event memories, as well as autobiographical memory. Under the co-supervision of Dr. Caroline Palmer my current research program focuses on how tempo evoked arousal impacts event memories in time and space.

LOUISE VAN DIJCK
MA Student in Experimental Psychology
louise.vandijck[at]mail.mcgill.ca
Hi! My name is Louise, and I am a visiting graduate student from Belgium. During my time in the lab, I will be working on a project examining how information provided about upcoming events shapes the encoding of event details and influences later recall. More broadly, I am interested in aging and memory, as well as memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

undergraduate students

ANNA BOGDAN
Hi! My name is Anna, and I am in my fourth year of my undergraduate degree majoring in psychology with a minor in interdisciplinary life sciences. This year, I will be continuing my NSERC project from over the summer with Mikaila on a study investigating the effects of music as an emotionally salient cue on the enhancement of memory, and the interpretation of visual art.

DENITSA TOSKOVA
Hi! My name is Denitsa and I’m currently a U2 Psychology major with a double minor in behavioral sciences and sociology. I’m a volunteer at the lab where I work with Christiane Marie on her study looking at encoding goals.

RUBY HA
Hi ! My name is Ruby and I’m a U2 psychology major student with a double minor in behavioral science and history. As a volunteer, I will be helping on a project that looks at how episodic memory contributes to empathy.

ALIX LAUGIER
Hi! My name is Alix, and I am a fourth-year student majoring in psychology with a minor in behavioral science. This year, I am writing my thesis while working with Amy on a study examining how knowledge about a person in a distressing scenario may influence empathetic responses.

MAYA SCHMIDT
Hi! My name is Maya, and I am a U2 psychology major with a double minor in behavioural science and anthropology. This semester I will continue at the lab as a volunteer helping Christiane Marie with her project on encoding goals.

SOFIA BALLARANO
Hi! My name is Sofia Ballarano, and I am a U2 undergraduate student in Honours Psychology with a minor in Anthropology. This year, I will be working on my Honours thesis, which explores how music-enhanced arousal affects memory retrieval.

LAUREN NORDSTROM
Hi! My name is Lauren Nordstrom, and I am a U3 psychology major with a double minor in behavioural sciences and sociology. This semester, I will be working on a project looking at the effects of titles and title congruency for artwork on memory and art appreciation.

SHAWN CHINIAH
Hello, my name is Shawn, I'm a U3 psychology major with a double minor in behavioral sciences and education. This year I will be staying with the lab as part as a research course. I am currently working with Christiane Marie on her Encoding Goals study.

EMILIE LEPINASSE
Hi! I’m a U3 Honours psychology student with a minor in philosophy. This year, I’m excited to be working with Christiane Marie on my honours thesis, which investigates cultural differences in autobiographical memory and the role of social goals during retrieval. More broadly, I’m also interested in the intersections of memory, identity, and clinical disorders.

SARA TOCA
Hi! My name is Sara, and I am a research assistant in the Sheldon Memory Lab. This year, I’m excited to be working on a project investigating schema updating through autobiographical memory rescripting.

SYDNEY SMITH
Hey! My name is Sydney and I’m in my last year of the Honours Cognitive Science undergraduate program with a minor in Jewish Studies. This is my second year at the lab after volunteering last year. This year, I’ll be working on a research course and helping Lauren Rudy with her study on the impacts of cancer identity and anxiety on cognition.

ALICIA ZIBREIRA
Hi! My name is Alicia and I’m a U3 psychology major with a double minor in behavioural science and sociology. I am thrilled to join the lab as a volunteer, assisting Louise with a study that looks into how conceptual and perceptual framing of events affects the way we encode and recall them!

OUR MASCOT: THE COG DOG

Click here to contact us if you are interested in being part of our team

COLLABORATORS

At McGill

Jennifer Bartz
Veronique Bohbot
Caroline Palmer
Lesley Fellows
Ross Otto
Mathieu Roy
Madeleine Sharp
Nathan Spreng
Natasha Rajah

At Other Universities

Brian Levine (UofT)
Morris Moscovitch (UofT)
Mary Pat McAndrews (UofT)
Nicole Anderson (UofT)
Carrie Esopenko (Rutgers)
Daniela Palombo (UBC)
Jens Pruessner (Konstanz)
Shayna Rosenbaum (York University)
Stefan Kohler (Western)
Louis Renoult (East Anglia)

alumni

Graduate Students

Azara Lalla
Charles Ferris
Can Fenerci
Lauri Gurguryan
Rebecca Scheurich
Sarah Peters
Marianne Lévesque (collaborator)
Cherie Strikwerda-Brown (collaborator)
Jonas Nitschke (collaborator)
Greta Melega (collaborator)
Olivia Zaborowska (collaborator)
Dorothee Shoemaker

Undergraduate Students

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