Meet the Team
The passionate minds behind McMaster Baby Lab. We combine expertise in psychology, neuroscience, and technology to unlock the secrets of early development.
Principal Investigator
Then
Gabriel (Naiqi) Xiao, PhD
Joined 2020.01
Principal Investigator, Associate Professor, University Scholar
Face Perception
Eye-Tracking
+3
Active Research
Postdoctoral Researchers
Then
Benjamin Sclodnick, PhD
Joined 2024.09
PostDoc (co-supervised with Drs. Bruce Milliken and Hongjin Sun)
Then
Jesse Pazdera, PhD
Joined 2024.09
PostDoc (co-supervised with Drs. Laurel Trainor, Mel Rutherford, Lauren Fink, and Louis Schmidt)
Computational Modeling
Auditory Perception
+2
Active Research
Then
Wei (Vivian) Fang, PhD
Joined 2020.09
PostDoc & former PhD student
Emotional Development
Face Perception and Emotional Expression
+2
Active Research
Graduate Students
Then
Anagha Vinod
Joined 2022.09
PhD student; Research assistant; Undergraduate thesis student
functional brain connectivity
Infant beat perception
+2
Active Research
Then
Carie Guan
Joined 2022.05
PhD candidate
Face Race Perception
Perceptual biases
+2
Active Research
Research Staff
Then
Claire Zhou
Joined 2025.05
Research Assistant; Undergraduate research student
Then
Daniel Bondarev
Joined 2025.01
Research Assistant; Undergraduate thesis student; Undergraduate research student
Face Perception
Eye Tracking
+2
Active Research
Then
Jessica Barron
Joined 2024.05
Research Assistant; Undergraduate thesis student; Undergraduate research student
Emotional Recognition
Parenting
+3
Active Research
Then
Rebecca Yip
Joined 2024.01
Lab manager; Undergraduate research student; Undergraduate thesis student
Face Perception
Eye Tracking
+2
Active Research
Undergraduate Students
Then
Aneesha Sharma
Joined 2026.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Anh Bui
Joined 2025.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Ashlynn (Jia-Yi) Ng
Joined 2026.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Carly Angel
Joined 2026.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Cole Cameron
Joined 2024.01
Undergraduate thesis student; Undergraduate research student
Face Perception
Eye Tracking
+1
Active Research
Then
Cristina Banducci
Joined 2026.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Daniel Lee
Joined 2023.05
Undergraduate thesis student; Undergraduate research student
Face Perception
Eye Tracking
+3
Active Research
Then
Emilia Kasprzak
Joined 2025.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Hannah Menhel
Joined 2026.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Huy Tran
Joined 2025.09
Undergraduate research student
Then
Jacqueline Ahmad
Joined 2025.09
Undergraduate research student
Face Perception
Eye Tracking
+3
Active Research
Then
Jessica Mou
Joined 2025.01
Undergraduate research volunteer
Then
Joonmin Lee
Joined 2024.09
Undergraduate research student
Then
Kaila Huynh
Joined 2026.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Marcie O'Callaghan
Joined 2025.01
Undergraduate thesis student; Undergraduate research student
Emotional Perception
Temperament
+3
Active Research
Then
Maria Dondas
Joined 2025.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Marina Chen
Joined 2024.09
Undergraduate research student
Then
Mehr Jaggi
Joined 2026.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Melinda Zhou
Joined 2025.09
Undergraduate research student
Then
Nimra Atiq
Joined 2025.01
Undergraduate thesis student;Undergraduate research volunteer
Face Perception
Eye Tracking
+1
Active Research
Then
Pavithra Vijaykumar
Joined 2025.09
Undergraduate research student
Then
Sheza Jamil
Joined 2025.09
Undergraduate research student
Then
Sophia Stapleton
Joined 2026.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Sreyoshi Pramanik
Joined 2025.09
Undergraduate research student
Then
Susie Young
Joined 2026.01
Undergraduate research student
Then
Yang Pan
Joined 2025.01
Undergraduate research student
Research Stimulus Preparation
Computational Research Tools
+1
Active Research
Then
Zaina Gohar
Joined 2025.01
Undergraduate research student
Lab
News
John Sun (incoming PhD student)
Has been awarded the prestigious Canada Impact+ Research Training Award (CIRTA)!
Arabi Sarveswaran (incoming MSc student)
Has been awarded the Canada Graduate Research Scholarships - Master's program (CGRS-M)!
Carie Guan (PhD Candidate)
Has been awarded the Canada Graduate Research Scholarships - Doctoral program in SSHRC stream(SSHRC CGRS-D)!
Melinda Zhou (Undergraduate Student)
has been awarded an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA)!
Carie Guan (PhD Candidate)
has been awarded Mitacs Globalink Research Funding to visit Japan!
Carie Guan (PhD Candidate)
has been awarded the 2026 Summer Program Fellowship by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)!
Anagha Vinod (PhD Student)
won the Poster Presentation Award at the WestNIRS 2025 Conference!
Collaborators
Dr. Christine E. Potter
Assistant Professor
University of Texas at El Paso
Dr. Ipsita Goswami, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor
McMaster University
Dr. Kang Lee
Professor
University of Toronto
Dr. Laurel Trainor
Professor
McMaster University
Dr. Lauren L. Emberson
Associate Professor
The University of British Columbia
Dr. Linlin Yan
Associate Professor
Zhejiang Sci-Tech University
Dr. Louis Schmidt
Professor
McMaster University
Dr. Mingbo Cai
Assistant Professor
Miami University
Dr. Olivier Pascalis
Professor
Université Grenoble Alpes, LPNC, CNRS
Dr. Paul C. Quinn
Professor
University of Delaware
Dr. Sagi Jaffe-Dax
Assistant Professor
Tel Aviv University
Dr. Shaoying Liu
Professor
Zhejiang Sci-Tech University
Dr. Yu-Hao P. Sun
Professor
Zhejiang Sci-Tech University
Dr. Zhe Wang
Associate Professor
Zhejiang Sci-Tech University
Lab Alumni
Thuy Tran
2022.05 - 2025.01
Research assistant; Undergraduate thesis student
Kelsie Lau
2021.05 - 2025.01
Research assistant
Senaya Karunarathne
2022.09 - 2025.01
Undergraduate research volunteer
Maya Mammon
2023.11 - 2025.09
Lab manager; Undergraduate research student; Undergraduate thesis student
Derek Zhou
2023.01 - 2025.09
Undergraduate research student
Rachel (Xinyang) Liu
2023.05 - 2025.09
PhD student
Ellen Troyer-O'Connor
2023.05 - 2025.09
Undergraduate research student
Tyler Macdonald
2023.09 - 2025.09
Undergraduate research volunteer
Elisabeth Jonah
2024.01 - 2025.09
Undergraduate research student
Samantha Slater
2024.05 - 2025.09
Undergraduate thesis student
Amy Warren
2024.05 - 2025.09
Undergraduate thesis student
Noor Daanish
2024.10 - 2025.09
Undergraduate research volunteer
Gursharan Kaur
2024.05 - 2025.09
Undergraduate thesis student
Jolie Luk
2021.05 - 2024.01
Research assistant; Undergraduate research student
Ahmed Mohammed Saeed
2021.05 - 2024.01
Undergraduate research volunteer
Grant Bae
2023.07 - 2024.01
Undergraduate research volunteer
Anna Krasotkina PhD
2023.01 - 2024.07
PostDoc
Huma Ali
2024.01 - 2024.05
Undergraduate research student
Anushka Goyal
2023.09 - 2024.05
Undergraduate thesis student
Julia Abe
2022.09 - 2024.05
Undergraduate research volunteer, Undergraduate thesis student
Skade Fernando
2023.05 - 2024.05
Undergraduate research student
Selena Li
2022.01 - 2024.05
Undergraduate thesis student, Undergraduate research student
Emma Resendes
2022.01 - 2024.08
Lab manager; Undergraduate research student
Danny Nguyen
2021.02 - 2024.05
Research assistant; Undergraduate research volunteer
Jason Lau
2021.11 - 2024.05
Undergraduate research volunteer
Juhi Shah
2022.05 - 2024.05
Undergraduate thesis student, Undergraduate research student
Ally Zhao
2022.05 - 2024.05
Undergraduate research student
Nawal Masood
2022.05 - 2024.05
Undergraduate research volunteer
Simran Dhami
2022.09 - 2024.05
Undergraduate thesis student, Undergraduate research student
Amol Kalra
2022.09 - 2024.05
Undergraduate thesis student, Undergraduate research student
Sathurthika Selvanayagam
2023.05 - 2024.05
Undergraduate research volunteer
Christina Kannampuzha
2023.05 - 2024.05
Undergraduate research student
Xintong Lyu
2021.05 - 2024.05
Undergraduate thesis student, Undergraduate research student, Undergraduate research volunteer
Moreyella Kahlon
2024.01 - 2024.06
Undergraduate research student
Jiaye Cai
2023.11 - 2024.12
PhD student (visiting)
Alice Cousins
2024.09 - 2024.11
PhD student (visiting)
Urvi Chaudhari
2021.11 - 2023.03
Undergraduate research volunteer
Jenny Wang
2023.01 - 2023.05
Undergraduate research volunteer
Faheel Ahmad
2021.11 - 2023.05
Undergraduate thesis student, Undergraduate Research Student
Naomi Geller
2022.01 - 2023.05
Undergraduate thesis student
Lein Charkatli
2022.01 - 2023.05
Undergraduate thesis student, Undergraduate research student
Jennifer Zhang
2022.05 - 2023.05
Undergraduate research volunteer
Cynthia Xu
2022.05 - 2023.05
Undergraduate research student
Sahaj Puri
2021.05 - 2023.05
Research assistant
Chantelle Castelino
2021.05 - 2023.05
Research assistant
Talia Rocca
2022.01 - 2023.05
Undergraduate research volunteer, Undergraduate research student
Elysha Springer
2020.08 - 2023.07
Research assistant
Julia Abe
2022.09 - 2023.05
Undergraduate thesis student
Althéa Fratacci
2023.05 - 2023.09
PhD student (visiting)
Samantha Rutherford
2022.10 - 2023.09
Undergraduate research volunteer
Ariana Ladha
2021.05 - 2023.09
Undergraduate research volunteer
Anushka Muresh
2021.05 - 2022.05
Undergraduate thesis student
Uzhma Nagani
2021.06 - 2022.05
Undergraduate thesis student
Carolyn Wong
2021.05 - 2022.05
Undergraduate research volunteer
Leah Tackaberry-Giddens
2021.07 - 2022.05
Undergraduate research volunteer
Hiroshi Nitta
2021.09 - 2022.01
Visiting PhD student
Jing Li
2020.09 - 2022.09
Lab manager, Undergraduate thesis student
Anna Liu
2020.08 - 2022.09
Research assistant, Undergraduate thesis student
Kate Kyuri Kim
2020.08 - 2022.09
Research assistant, Undergraduate thesis student
Ho Wing Chan
2020.08 - 2022.09
Research assistant, Undergraduate thesis student
Alexia Orfalian
2020.08 - 2022.09
Undergraduate research student
Xintong (Meg) Lyu
2021.05 - 2022.09
Undergraduate research volunteer, Undergraduate research student
Roshan Babadinia
2020.09 - 2021.07
Undergraduate thesis student
Rachel D'Ercole
2020.09 - 2021.05
Undergraduate research student
Shreerachita Satish
2020.09 - 2021.05
Undergraduate research student
Zhi Yi Tang
2020.09 - 2021.05
Undergraduate research student
Ryan Tso
2020.09 - 2021.05
Undergraduate research student
Xiaomei Zhou PhD
2020.11 - 2021.09
Post-doc (Joint employment)
Yihan Qian
2020.08 - 2021.09
Undergraduate thesis student
Michelle Hines
2023.01 - undefined
Research Assistant; Undergraduate thesis student; Undergraduate research student
Alsana Amrenova
2025.01 - undefined
Undergraduate research volunteer