Our Team

Principal Investigator

Research Fellows

Dr. Dawei Shen

Dawei is a research associate working with Dr. Claude Alain and Dr. Bernhard Ross to investigate the temporal characteristics of attentional processing (e.g., auditory attentional blink), the effects of background noise on speech perception, and auditory spatial working memory by using EEG, MEG and fMRI measures. She received her Ph.D. in 2006 from the University of Manitoba. In her free time, she likes to read history and science fiction books.

Dr. Vivek Sharma

Vivek has obtained his PhD in Music and Health Sciences at the Faculty of Music at University of Toronto using EEG and behavioral methods in his research. Currently, Vivek is studying the neuroplasticity of the brain from musical training along with enhancements in the cortical representation of sound and executive inhibitory control when responding to musical and linguistic information. He is an avid professional musician who also enjoys martial arts, swing dancing, and computer programming in his free time.

Dr. Rachel Rabi

Rachel is a postdoctoral fellow working with Dr. Claude Alain, Dr. Nicole Anderson, and Dr. Lynn Hasher to examine changes in sensory and cognitive inhibition that accompany healthy and pathological aging (e.g., mild cognitive impairment) using ERP. She received her Ph.D. in 2016 from the University of Western Ontario. There, her research examined category learning across the lifespan, with a particular focus on how age-related changes in executive functioning impact categorization performance. In her free time, Rachel likes to cook, spend time with her family, and travel.

Manda Fischer

What is the relation between awareness, attention, and memory? Currently, I am investigating the dynamic interplay between attention and memory. My work uses EEG and behavioural measures to examine how auditory experience and memory can optimize attention and performance during online perception of real-world scenes. Specifically, I am interested both in how everyday auditory experience and implicit memory can bias spatial attention in complex scenes and in how these effects appear in different populations, for example, in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and in congenitally blind individuals. This area of research is fascinating, and constantly pushes me to see the complexity of things.

My background in psychoacoustics and auditory cognitive neuroscience includes, also, examinations of 1) the role of timbre and attention in the perceptual organization of sound (auditory scene analysis) and 2) the neural encoding and cross-modal plasticity of audio-motor sequences in music learning.

My work is co-supervised by Dr. Claude Alain and Dr. Morris Moscovitch.

Maxime Perron

Maxime is a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. Prior to joining the laboratory, he completed a master’s degree in Clinical and Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Rehabilitation at Université Laval, in which he studied the structural neuroplasticity induced by amateur singing and its effects on speech-in-noise in aging. Currently, his doctoral projects focus on the impact of hearing loss and hearing devices on auditory perception, cognitive processing, and brain function in older adults using behavioural, EEG, and MRI methods. When Maxime is not in the lab, he enjoys baking, playing board games and spending time with friends.

Veronica Vuong

Veronica is a PhD student in Medical Science and a research coordinator at the Music and Health Science Research Collaboratory, University of Toronto. Through her research, she aims to use various neuroimaging techniques to gain a greater understanding of the neural mechanisms by which long-known music listening may promote changes in the brain and result in cognitive improvements, such as memory, in persons with dementia. Veronica is a professional musician (pianist) and enjoys travelling, hiking, gardening, art, and exploring new and diverse food.

Amisha Ojha

Amisha is a graduate student in the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. She completed her BSc. Hons. in Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of Toronto where she studied attention control and working memory capacity as components of the n-back task. Currently, her research project focuses on the impact of hearing loss and cochlear implants on reflective visual and auditory short-term memory in older adults using behavioural and EEG methods. When Amisha is not in the lab, she enjoys cooking, reading, and hiking.

Myriam Lesage

Myriam is a PhD student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. She completed her undergraduate studies at McGill University, graduating with a major in Psychology and minors in biochemistry and behavioural science. Her current research aims to further our understanding of the link between incidental learning, memory-guided attention, and auditory scene analysis using behavioural and EEG methods. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, hiking and discovering new TV shows.

Steven Baker – Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Dr. Shayna Rosenbaum
Rohila Hashimi – Sam & Ida Ross Memory Clinic, Dr. Morris Freedman
Dr. Rachel Rabi – Anderson Lab, Dr. Nicole Anderson
Dr. Annette Schumann – MEG Lab, Dr. Bernhard Ross
Dr. Jennifer Bugos – Cognitive and Neurophysiology of Aging Lab,  University of South Florida
Dr. Tysen Bauer – Herrmann Lab, Dr. Björn Herrmann
Ricky Chow – Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Dr. Shayna Rosenbaum

Shahier Paracha

Shahier is an undergraduate student in the Specialist Co-op Neuroscience program at the University of Toronto. He is passionate about understanding the functional significance of different brain areas and how differences at the neural level contribute to uniqueness between individuals. He hopes to pursue medicine in the future with a specialization in neurosurgery. In his free time, Shahier likes to play the guitar and spend time with his friends. He also enjoys playing sports, especially soccer and cricket.

Mello Mo

Mello is an undergraduate student in the Psychology Specialist program at the University of Toronto. She is passionate about neuroimaging techniques, cognition, and memory. She is currently assisting with the experiment on auditory memory-guided attention under the supervision of Manda Fischer. In her free time, Mello likes to spend time with her friends, read, and play video games.

Victoria Nieborowska – Lab Manager
Jeffrey Wong – Lab Manager
Claire Salloum – Lab Manager
Patricia Van Roon – Lab Manager
Yu He – Lab Manager
Ayomide Fakuade – Research Assistant
Alix Noly-Gandon – Research Assistant