PEOPLE
Principal Investigator
Dr. Andy Lee
Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough.
Adjunct scientist, Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, Toronto.
andych.lee[at]utoronto.ca
Following a B.A. in Psychology, Physiology, and Philosophy at the University of Oxford, I was a Ph.D. student at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge working with Professors Trevor Robbins and Adrian Owen on the role of the human frontal lobes in memory encoding and retrieval. I then undertook a post-doctoral position with Prof. Kim Graham at the MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK, where I became interested in long-term memory and the medial temporal lobes. In 2006, I moved to the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford on a Royal Society Relocation Fellowship, and became a Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellow in 2008. In 2011, I took up a faculty position at the Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Scarborough campus. Outside of science, I love spending time with my wife and children, and making music.
Post-doctoral fellows
Dr. Qun Ye
Postdoctoral Fellow
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow co-supervised by Dr. Andy Lee and Dr. Rutsuko Ito. Before joining the labs, I completed my PhD under the co-supervision of Dr. Yi Hu and Dr. Sze Chai Kwok at the East China Normal University, where I was investigating the neural basis of human/nonhuman temporal memory and metacognition using MRI/EEG/TMS. Now my research focuses on the contribution of medial temporal structures and its interaction with other brain regions in support of both episodic memory and approach-avoidance decision making. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling, hiking, playing video games and spending time with my family.
Dr. Sonny Dhawan
Postdoctoral Fellow
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in both the Lee-MTL (Dr Andy Lee) and Ito-LiMBiC (Dr Rutsuko Ito) labs. During my PhD at the University of St Andrews (Scotland), I worked with Prof. Verity Brown investigating the role of the subthalamic nucleus in executive functioning – particularly understanding how inactivating this region in the rat impairs the selection of responses necessary for the formation of attentional set. I am interested in both the learning and memory processes exercised during decision making and problem solving, and I am currently exploring the role of the rodent medial temporal lobe in approach-avoidance decision making. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling to new places, eating new food, reading about astronomy, and playing guitar, hockey, and video games.
Dr. Zhemeng Wu
Postdoctoral Fellow
I completed my PhD in Experimental Psychology in University of Oxford, where I used a combined electrophysiology and neuroimaging approach to investigate the interaction between MTL and PFC in recognition memory in non-human primates. I’m interested in what’s the dynamic neural mechanisms operating in macaque hippocampus and PFC and how these mechanisms support memory. Currently, I’m working in both the Ito-Limbic (Dr Rutsuko Ito) and Lee-MTL (Dr Andy Lee) labs to continue my interests on memory. Using a cross-species approach, I aim to investigate the role of MTL in mediating temporal memory and approach-avoidance decision making. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling around the world, making coffee and spending time with my family and friends.
Graduate students
Chi-Hsun (Eric) Chang
Graduate Student
ch.chang[at]mail.utoronto.ca
I am currently a Ph.D. student co-supervised by Dr. Andy Lee and Dr. Adrian Nestor. I completed my B.Sc. in Psychology at the National Chengchi University, Taiwan, where I was investigating sleep and memory using EEG under the supervision of Dr. Chien-Ming Yang. I then worked as a research assistant in Dr. Bo-Cheng Kuo’s lab at the National Taiwan University and Dr. Man-Ying Wang’s lab at Soochow University, where I gain research experiences in fMRI. My current research interests involve using computational modelling and neuroimaging methods to investigate the nature of representations underlying memory and perception for faces as well as how they are impacted by different factors (e.g., interference, healthy ageing, mental illness, etc). Outside the lab, I enjoyed travelling, playing video games and building plastic models.
Sathesan Thavabalasingam
Graduate Student
sathesan.thavabalasingam[at]mail.utoronto.ca
My research interests involve using functional neuroimaging to uncover the role of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in representing rich information about our experiences and guiding behaviour. A major focus of my current research is to clarify how the brain constructs memories that are organized in time. Specifically, I am investigating how temporal information (e.g. order and duration) is integrated in to memory representations and how these integrated codes form the basis for temporal maps of experience. Outside of the lab, I enjoy reading, going to the gym, and spending time with friends and family.
Dean Carcone
Graduate Student
dean.carcone[at]mail.utoronto.ca
I am a graduate student completing my PhD in Clinical Psychology under the co-supervision of Andy Lee and Anthony Ruocco. I obtained a combined honours Bachelor's degree in Biology and Psychology at McMaster University prior to joining the Lee Lab. My research uses neuroimaging to examine the neural bases of memory disturbances that occur in different clinical populations (including individuals with depression and borderline personality disorder). I am also interested in how psychological symptoms and life stressors, which exist across many disorders, influence the development and presentation of these memory disturbances. When not at the lab, I can be found playing board games, listening to audiobooks, or curling.
Dylan Yeates
Graduate Student
d.yeates[at]mail.utoronto.ca
I am PhD student co-supervised by Rutsuko Ito and Andy Lee. I completed my BA in Psychology at the University of British Columbia, under the supervision of Stan Floresco. My current research involves looking at how the hippocampus processes and resolves approach-avoidance conflicts in animals and humans. Outside of the lab I enjoy reading about science and history, cooking, and exploring the city!
Willem Le Duc
Graduate Student
w.leduc[at]mail.utoronto.ca
I am a graduate student pursuing a Master’s and PhD in Clinical Psychology, co-supervised by Drs. Andy Lee and Antony Ruocco. I completed a B.A. in Honours Psychology at McGill University, and conducted the research for my undergraduate thesis in the Sheldon Memory Lab, under the supervision of Dr. Signy Sheldon. My undergraduate research focused on how individual differences in remembering styles are reflected in the structure, connectivity and functional dynamics of the hippocampus. My Master’s thesis will examine approach-avoidance conflict processing in patients with hippocampal lesions. My extracurricular interests include rock climbing, cycling, basketball and cinema.
Shouyu Ling
Graduate Student
shouyu.ling[at]mail.utoronto.ca
I received my B.Sc in Psychology at University of Toronto. I am currently a Ph.D student co-supervised by Dr. Andy Lee and Dr. Adrian Nestor. My research focuses on examining the neural correlates of visual perception and mental imagery. Specifically, I apply various machine learning techniques on neuroimaging data to try to retrieve the content of visual/imagery experiences. Outside the lab, I enjoy reading and spending time with friends.
Denada Alushaj
Graduate Student
denada.alushaj[at]mail.utoronto.ca
I received my B.Sc. at the University of Toronto and completed my undergraduate thesis under the supervision of Dr Rutsuko Ito. Currently, I am a Master’s student under the co-supervision of Drs. Andy Lee and Rutsuko Ito. My research looks at the role of the lateral entorhinal-hippocampal circuit on temporal duration memory in rat models. In my spare time, I like to read, draw and spend time with my family and friends.
Sonja Chu
Graduate Student
sonja.chu[at]mail.utoronto.ca
I am a PhD student in the clinical program at UTSC, and I am co-supervised by Andy Lee and Vina Goghari. Before joining the lab, I completed my Honours BA in Psychology from McGill University. My research uses fMRI and computational modelling to examine approach-avoidance conflict decision making in GAD and MDD. Outside of the lab, I enjoy volunteering and spending time with my dog.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Undergraduate Students
Hilary Watson
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK (2010 - 2011), and Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada (2011 - 2013).
Graduate students
Danielle Douglas
PhD student (2011 - 2016), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada.
Thesis title: ‘Stairway to nowhere: Structural incoherencies reveal the role of the medial temporal lobe in visual perception’.
Sarah Rudebeck
PhD student (2008 - 2012), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
Thesis title: ‘The Human Medial Temporal Lobe, Brain Connectivity, and Recognition Memory’.
Emma Hindley
MSc in Neuroscience project student (2010), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
Rebecca Milington
MSc in Neuroscience project student (2009), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
Matt Margerison
Co-op Placement student & research thesis student (2017 - 2018), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Karlie Wood
Research thesis student (2017 - 2018), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Abdul
Research thesis student (2016 - 2017), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Olga Carpio
Research Assistant (2015), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Mylann Guevara
Research thesis student (2014 - 2015), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Iris Li
Research thesis student (2014 - 2015), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Katrina Bogus
Research thesis student (2013 - 2014), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Zahraa Chorghay
Research assistant volunteer & NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Award student (2012 - 2014), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Jenkin Mok
Research thesis student (2013 - 2014), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Peter Rizk
Research thesis student (2013 - 2014), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Sathesan Thavabalasingam
Research thesis student & University of Toronto Excellence Award in the Natural Sciences and Engineering research student (2012 - 2013).
Sonya Dhillon
Research supervised study student (2012 - 2013), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Eropa Stein
Volunteer research assistant (2012 - 2013)
Eva Ta
Summer undergraduate research assistant (2012), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Kathryn Atherton
Summer undergraduate research assistant (2009), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
Undergraduates
Erin Butler
Research thesis student
Specialist in Mental Health Studies
Kayla Smith
Research thesis student
Major in Health Studies & Mental Health Studies
Theodore Aliyianis
Supervised study student
Major in Neuroscience & Psychology
Hira Fatima
Supervised study student
Major in Molecular Biology, Immunology and Disease & Psychology
Kiah Spencer
Research assistant
Specialist in Mental Health Studies
Iris Li
Research thesis student (2014 - 2015), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Katrina Bogus
Research thesis student (2013 - 2014), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Zahraa Chorghay
Research assistant volunteer & NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Award student (2012 - 2014), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
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Alumni
Postdoctoral Fellows
Yuan-fang Zhao
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada (2018).
Ed O'Neil
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada (2015 - 2018).
Hilary Watson
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK (2010 - 2011), and Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada (2011 - 2013).
Graduate students
Celia Fidalgo
PhD student (2013 - 2018). Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada.
Thesis: 'A Representational Account of Memory and Perception Across the Lifespan'
Danielle Douglas
PhD student (2011 - 2016). Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada.
Thesis: 'Stairway to Nowhere: Structural Incoherencies Reveal the Role of the Medial Temporal Lobe in Visual Perception'
Sarah Rudebeck
PhD student (2008 - 2012). Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
Thesis: 'The Human Medial Temporal Lobe, Brain Connectivity, and Recognition Memory'
Emma Hindley
MSc project student (2010). Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
Thesis: 'Conditioned Pattern Preference Learning and the Effect of Hippocampal Lesions'
Rebecca Millington
MSc project student (2009). Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
Thesis: 'Role of the Fornix in Recognition Memory'
Undergraduate Students
Sukhan Zehra
Research thesis student (2019-2020), University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Maryam Sorkhou
Lab manager (2019-2020) & NSERC USRA (2019), University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Sanaya Engineer
Lab Manager (2019-2020) & NSERC USRA (2018), University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Fatima Syed
Research thesis student (2018-2019), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Supreet Aashat
Lab Manager (2018-2019), Research supervised study (2016-2017), & thesis student (2017-2018), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Luis-Eduardo Munoz Alvarado
Lab manager & research supervised study student (2017 - 2018), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Matt Margerison
Co-op Placement student & research thesis student (2017 - 2018), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Karlie Wood
Research thesis student (2017 - 2018), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Ming Wu
Lab Manager (2016-2017), Research Assistant (2017-2018) Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Arshiya Choudhury
Research assistant (2016 - 2017), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Abdulwahab Sidiqi
Research thesis student (2016 - 2017), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Olga Carpio
Research Assistant (2015), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Mylann Guevara
Research thesis student (2014 - 2015), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Iris Li
Research thesis student (2014 - 2015), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Katrina Bogus
Research thesis student (2013 - 2014), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Zahraa Chorghay
Research assistant volunteer & NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Award student (2012 - 2014), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Jenkin Mok
Research thesis student (2013 - 2014), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Peter Rizk
Research thesis student (2013 - 2014), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Sathesan Thavabalasingam
Research thesis student & University of Toronto Excellence Award in the Natural Sciences and Engineering research student (2012 - 2013).
Sonya Dhillon
Research supervised study student (2012 - 2013), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Eropa Stein
Volunteer research assistant (2012 - 2013)
Eva Ta
Summer undergraduate research assistant (2012), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
Thushana Karunanithy
Summer undergraduate research assistant (2012), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.