Research Team

Lab Director: Dr. Alison O'Connor
Assistant Professor, PhD
[email protected]
506-939-0970

Google Scholar // Research Gate // Twitter

Dr. O'Connor is an Assistant Professor at Mount Allison University. She completed her MA and PhD degrees in Developmental Psychology at Brock University under the supervision of Dr. Angela Evans. Her research is currently funded by Mount Allison University, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and ResearchNB. She provides a breadth of training opportunities for Mount A students interested in developmental psychology.

Outside of the lab, Dr. O'Connor is an avid hiker, runner, TV show consumer, and lives a peaceful life beside the ocean!

Thesis Students

2024/2025

Marie Fogarty
Marie is completing her honours thesis in the lab during the 2024/2025 academic year.

I grew up in Charlottetown, PEI. I grew up playing volleyball for team PEI and have played in different parts of Canada for tournaments like Canada cup and Canada Games. I am now on the women's volleyball team here at Mta, and I absolutely love spending time traveling and playing with my teammates. In the summer, I enjoy spending my time at the beaches in PEI with my friends and working in the service industry. I love to travel and I plan on taking a year off next year to experience new places and get some real world experiences. For my next education journey I plan to get my masters in counselling and work in the mental health field.

Madeleine Logelin
Madeleine is completing her honours thesis in the lab during the 2024/2025 academic year. Her project uses eye-tracking software to compare how younger and older adults detect fraud in emails and text messages. Last year she assisted the lab with data coding.

She grew up in Dieppe, NB and loves to try new things. She has a new interest every other week but mostly sticks to travelling, working out, and watching Star Wars with her friends and family. Madeleine hopes to conduct research for a few years and then work towards becoming a psycho-assessor after completing a Ph.D.

Independent Study Students

2024/2025

Drew Tsiptsis
Drew is completing his independent study over the fall 2024 semester. His project explored doctor patient interactions and how to improve healthcare experiences for patients across age groups

Drew likes to paint, go on walks, and travel. He has spent every summer for the last 6 years outdoors working with children at summer camps and loves to go on hikes and swim. He is pursuing a degree in psychology with a minor in fine arts. He hopes to complete a master's degree in industrial-organizational psychology or social psychology after graduating

Kate Whalley
Kate is completing her independent study over the fall 2024 semester.

Research Assistants

2024/2025

Julia Stubbert
Julia completed her honours thesis in the lab over the 2023/2024 academic year. This year she is working as the lab manager.

Julia grew up in Sackville and enjoys playing guitar, watching the sunset, fishing, walking in the waterfowl park, and going for drives. Julia has always had a passion for psychology and helping people and she hopes to pursue a masters in occupational therapy next year.

Anna Bacalu
Anna is an RA in the lab assisting with data collection.

Anna is in her third year at Mount Allison pursuing a double major in psychology and history. In her free time she enjoys hiking, reading, and travelling. She spent this past summer working hands on in archeology and is excited to also get hands on experience in psychology. In the future she would like to continue her studies in psychology, specifically in the developmental or forensic field.

Jessica Landry
Jessica is an RA in the lab for her second year.

Jessica grew up in Montreal, Quebec and spent most of her education in French schools. She enjoys writing novels and going on walks to watch the wildlife. She plans on pursuing an honours degree in Psychology with a minor in Language and the Mind. After graduating from Mount Allison, she would like to pursue a PsyD at UPEI or UdeM as the next step in her long-term goal of becoming a child Psychologist. Jessica's favourite topics in Psychology are child development, psychopathology, and personality. She would also like to freelance as a fictional author using psychological themes!

Lab Alumni

Hannah Breneol
Hannah was an RA in the lab and undertook the role of “knowledge mobilizer” where she helped visualize the research completed in the lab.

Devin Lapointe
Devin completed an independent study project in the lab during the 2024 winter term. This year he will be completing his honours thesis in psychology. In the future, Devin hopes to become a clinical psychologist following his degree at Mount A.

Emilie Barro
Emilie was an RA in the lab and managed our lifespan lab website from 2023/2024. This year she will be completing her honours thesis in psychology.

Mintra Taylor
Mintra completed an independent study project in the lab during the 2023 Fall semester.

Mary Lyons
Mary completed her honours thesis in the lab over the 2023/2024 academic year. Mary also completed an independent study in the lab during the 2023 winter semester. Mary has now graduated and is pursuing her JD degree at UNB Law. She is also currently in the process of publishing her honours thesis.

Beckett Elliott
Beckett was an RA in the lab from 2023/2024. After his graduation from MtA, he has begun working with the Developmental Disabilities Association in Vancouver.

Madison Harrison
Madison was an RA in the lab throughout the Fall 2023 term. She has now graduated from Mount Allison with a BSc and is now pursuing a BEng.

Jessica Frias
Jessica completed her honours thesis in the lab over the 2022/2023 academic year. She recently published her honours thesis in the Journals of Gerontology. This year, Jessica will be continuing her MSc degree in Development, Disorders, and Clinical Practice at the University of York in the UK.

Are you a Mount A student interested in working in the lab? Email Dr. O'Connor ([email protected])