People

If you are a motivated undergraduate student interested in cognition and perception, we encourage you to contact us about research volunteer opportunities!


Van Hedger

Stephen Van Hedger - Asst. Professor of Psychology (Principal Investigator)
Stephen received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (Dept. of Psychology) in 2015. He completed two postdoc positions. The first was at the University of Chicago (Dept. of Psychology, Center for Practical Wisdom) working jointly with Dr. Howard Nusbaum and Dr. Marc Berman. The second was at Western University (Dept. of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute) as a BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Fellow, working jointly with Dr. Ingrid Johnsrude and Dr. Laura Batterink. Feel free to take a look at his CV, Google Scholar profile, or email him.


Axler

Ethan Axler - Undergraduate Research Assistant / Honors Thesis Student
Ethan is a fourth-year student pursuing an Honours Specialization in Psychology at Huron University and has been working with Dr. Van Hedger since March 2021. Outside of the lab, Ethan enjoys snowboarding and biking and everything outdoors. He is also an avid listener of music and enjoys playing guitar and the electric bass.



Bongiovanni

Noah Bongiovanni - Research Assistant
Noah is a 2022 graduate of The University of Notre Dame with degrees in piano performance and pre-health studies. An absolute pitch possessor himself, Noah began working with Dr. Van Hedger in 2019 after finding his studies in AP online. Outside the lab, Noah enjoys playing jazz piano (as well as the other 15 instruments in his arsenal), DJing and remixing, skiing, cooking, and baking.


Grenier

Andre Grenier - Undergraduate Research Assistant
Andre is a fourth-year student pursuing an Honours Specialization in Psychology at Huron University College. In his spare time Andre enjoys playing badminton and going on walks with his dog. He also enjoys spending time with his family and watching movies/TV shows.



Hoh

Austyne (Sum Yee) Hoh - Undergraduate Research Assistant
Austyne is a second-year student in Huron University pursuing an Honours in Psychology. Their hobbies include sleeping, eating, and being lazy. When not being lazy, Austyne enjoys writing and composing orchestral music.




Jovanovic

Katarina Jovanovic - Undergraduate Research Assistant
Katarina is a second-year working towards Honours Specialization in Psychology at Huron University and a Minor in the Italian Language at Western University. Before joining the HAP lab, she worked on projects on cognition and psycholinguistics. Katarina likes spending her leisure time learning languages, rock climbing or bartending.




Tong

Natalie Tong - Undergraduate Research Assistant / Honors Thesis Student
Natalie is a fourth-year student pursuing an Honours Specialization in Psychology at Huron University College, as well as a Minor in Studio Arts at Western University. She enjoys doing all types of arts and crafts, singing, dancing and going to the gym.




Honours Thesis Students

2022-2023
Mark Dunlop ("Effects of Age, Need for Cognition, and Cognitive Fatigue on Statistical Learning") [PDF]
André Grenier ("Assessing the Effectiveness of Different Training Paradigms in Pitch Categorisation") [PDF]
Evan Smith ("Tonal Working Memory and Singing Ability Relate to Individual Differences in Long-Term Memory for Musical Pitch") [PDF]
Jordan Thomson ("Effects of an Auditory-Based 15-Minute Daily Online Mindfulness Intervention on Cognitive Processing, Socio-Affective Functioning, and Dispositional Mindfulness") [PDF]

2021-2022
Huda Ahmed ("The Influence of Environmental Sounds on Cognition and Mood") [PDF]

2020-2021
Giuliana Brancato ("The Effects of Virtual Walks on Health and Well-Being") [PDF]
Hannah Cormier ("The Role of Attention in Inducing Cross-Modal Aftereffects") [PDF]


HAP Lab Alum