Prospective Students

This section contains important information for prospective students interested in working with me and joining the Queen’s Attentional Dynamics (QuAD) lab. Feel free to review Queen’s Psychology’s general application guidelines and the information contained on this page.

Q: Why does this page exist?

I created this Q&A because graduate application processes are a highly uneven playing field. Often, a lack of early mentorship or professional connections leads to a lack of access to information, and I firmly believe that no one should be left behind simply because they did not have adequate guidance on the application process. So this page draws inspiration from colleagues who have crafted similar documents and will hopefully help level the playing field for anyone interested in working with me and the QuAD lab.

Q: Will you be taking on new students this year?

Yup! For Fall 2025, I’ll be reviewing graduate applications in the Cognitive Neuroscience and Social-Personality area for students interested in exploring attentional dynamics across all domains. Unfortunately, due to funding restrictions at Queen’s, I will be unable to review any international graduate applications, but I expect that to change next year.

Q: What are you looking for in a graduate student?

• First and foremost, it’s passion. I find passion and enthusiasm to be the biggest driver of excitement in academia, and if you have a passion for science, a passion for research, a passion for stats, or a passion for coding, you’ll likely be a good fit for the QuAD lab.
• Second, I look for persistence. I think many people in academia are naturally curious because we like learning about new topics, new methods, and new questions. But in order to learn these things, we need to be okay with failing a lot because there’s lots that we don’t know and that we’ll mess up along the way to knowing. For this reason, recovering from these failures is so critical since it means being open to learning more, being open to fixing mistakes, being open to feedback, and being persistent despite struggling.
• Third, I look for an alignment with my research interests, such that you care about attention and are interested in how it functions and moves over time. Though I’m happy to consider co-supervision with experts in other areas, attention in all its facets will always be my bread and butter.
• Finally, I’m a stickler for details. I aim to do things effectively and thoroughly, as I think thorough work creates the best science, fosters the most learning, and gives you the most skills. What this means is that I tend to recruit students who like detailing their work and progress for future use, using code or programming when cleaning data and running analyses, and working through their writing so that the science that makes sense in their mind also makes sense to others.

Q: What is your mentorship style?

My mentorship style is based on my own experiences with past mentors and former students, and as such, it’s still evolving as I learn how best to support the diversity of my students. My current approach is to be a personal scaffold as you work through your career. What this means is that I’ll work with you to figure out what you want and help you identify both short-term and long-term goals that will help get you there. Once we know these goals, my aim is to offer you guidance and room to try, fail, and succeed. My ultimate goal is to figuratively work myself out of a job and get you to the point where you feel confident as an independent researcher and scholar.

What this means practically is that I like to establish clear and collaborative goals for your research and professional development early in training. Doing so means that I can best support your individual development through one-on-one mentorship that ensures that you are on track to achieve your goals. Regular meetings with me and weekly meetings with the QuAD lab are a given to help foster critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Through this, you will learn conceptual co-creation skills surrounding: (1) qualitative and quantitative understanding of research literature; (2) developing, designing, and programming experiments; (3) collecting and analyzing data; (4) reporting research findings through scientific presentations and public lectures; and (5) writing grants and research papers for specialized and general audiences. As a result, during your time with me and with the QuAD lab, you will gain a mastery of technical skills that include: (6) learning how to program in Python, Javascript, R, & MATLAB; (7) working with big data, along with the high-level computational analyses that accompany these complex datasets; (8) operating and collecting gaze data via eye tracking systems; (9) operating and collecting electrophysiological activity via EEG systems; and (10) operating and collecting neuroimaging data via MRI scanning. These skills should have you well prepared for the next stage of your career, whether that be in academia, industry, healthcare, or government sectors.

That said though, this is ultimately my interpretation of what it would be like to work with me! For a more accurate perspective, my current and former students would be the best source for this information. All the individuals listed on the QuAD lab website have consented for potential applicants to contact them with questions and I genuinely encourage you to reach out to them before or during the application process.

Q: What is your perspective on equity, diversity, & inclusion (EDI)?

My own perspective on EDI has been shaped by my experiences as a woman, an immigrant, a first-generation scholar, a member of a visible minority group, and a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. These backgrounds have afforded me a unique perspective on the challenges and barriers that exist for scholars of historically excluded groups in academia. As such, my perspective on EDI is that it benefits the entire field of psychological science when we ensure that everyone has the necessary supports to thrive within academia, and I am committed to ensuring that I’m always addressing these challenges and barriers for future generations of scholars while learning and practicing how to be the best ally I can be.

Q: Should I email you to express interest in working with you?

Sure, but only if you’d like! While you’re more than welcome to reach out and say hi or ask questions that aren’t answered elsewhere on my website, you absolutely do not need to email me just to let me know you’re applying. I know how stressful writing these emails can be, and ultimately, it won’t impact how I review your application, so feel free to save yourself the stress if you’d like!

Q: Any final words of advice?

The graduate application process is immensely hard work, both academically and emotionally. So be kind to yourself always and good luck!