Sheri Madigan, PhD, Director, Determinants of Child Development Lab

Dr. Madigan is a Canada Research Chair in the Determinants of Child Development. She joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary in 2015 and is currently directing the Determinants of Child Development Lab, a lab that is dedicated to conducting research on the multidimensional influences that shape children's developmental trajectories. Dr. Madigan is a principal-investigator on several research projects on children's development supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program, and the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation. 

Nicole Racine, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow

​Dr. Nicole Racine is a postdoctoral fellow and clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary. Her research examines how childhood adversity influences maternal-child mental health outcomes, as well as how adversity is transmitted across generations. Nicole completed her PhD in Clinical Developmental Psychology at York University in Toronto and her residency in Clinical Child and Pediatric Psychology at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Her  research is funded by an Alberta Innovates clinician fellowship award and she was previously a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada post-doctoral scholar. Her research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Governor General’s Gold Medal Award (2017) as well as the Certificate of Academic Excellence from the Canadian Psychological Association (2017). She is also the recipient of a 2019 University of Calgary Peak Scholar Award for Knowledge Engagement related to her collaborative community projects.

Brae Anne McArthur, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow

​Dr. Brae Anne McArthur is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Calgary working in the Determinants of Child Development Lab. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology: Applied Developmental Emphasis from the University of Guelph and completed her internship in Clinical Child and Pediatric Psychology at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Dr. McArthur’s primary research is in the area of developmental psychopathology. Her current work focuses on understanding the transactional relationship between parental factors and youth risk and resiliency factors to identify mechanisms that contribute to the development and varied manifestation of mood disorders. Her fellowship is funded by the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI).  

Anh Ly, MA, Research Coordinator

​Anh is a doctoral student in medical anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. She is happy to be back in Calgary where she completed her previous graduate studies and where she formerly worked as a Research Coordinator/Associate on several Aboriginal health projects for the Department of Family Medicine and Alberta Health Services. Her current research interests include: anthropology of infectious disease, global health and governance, colonial medicine, science and technology studies, and ethnography of Southeast Asia.

Jessica Cooke, Graduate Student, PhD Candidate (Clinical Psychology)

​Jessy is a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary. Her research interests include understanding how dysfunctional parent-child relationships contribute to children’s risk for psychosocial, emotional, and biobehavioral problems, and developing appropriate methods to improve child mental health and parent-child relationships. Jessy will help work on an assessment tool for identifying maladaptive parenting in high-risk populations.

Camille Mori, Graduate Student, PhD Candidate (Clinical Psychology)

​Camille recently graduated from a combined undergraduate degree program at the University of Calgary with a major in psychology with honours and a major in dance. Her research interests include lifespan psychology and understanding how environmental, social, and intergenerational factors impact development. She is also interested in knowledge translation; specifically, in how to best communicate research across disciplines and to the wider public. Camille will be focusing on antecedents and outcomes of sexting among adolescents.

Rachel Eirich, Graduate Student, MSc II (Clinical Psychology)

​Rachel is a graduate student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary. She is interested in examining the role of screen time on children's socioemotional development, as well as how technology can interfere with caregiver-child interactions and attachment relationships. 

Jenney Zhu, Graduate Student, MSc I (Clinical Psychology)

Jenney holds a Bachelor of Arts, Honours Specialization in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario. Her research interests include understanding the role of adverse childhood experiences on adulthood relationship outcomes, including caregiver-child and romantic relationship interactions.

Chloe Devereux, Lab Coordinator

​Chloe has her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology from University of Calgary and recently completed her honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Hentges and Dr. Madigan. She is interested in child psychology and mental health, and hopes to pursue graduate studies. In the DCD lab, she is currently working on projects examining adverse childhood experiences, parenting behaviours and child mental health. 

Julianna Watt, Research Assistant

​Julianna completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at McGill University. Her interests include language development and bilingualism, as well as intelligence and learning disabilities in children. In the future, Julianna hopes to pursue graduate studies in School and Applied Child Psychology at the University of Calgary.

Katarina Padilla, Research Assistant

​Katarina completed her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology at the University of Calgary. Her research interests include child clinical psychology and child mental health, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also hopes to pursue graduate or professional school in the future

Tashia Christie, PURE Summer Studentship

Tashia is beginning her final year at the University of Calgary.  She will be completing her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with honours under the supervision of Dr. Madigan and Dr. McArthur.  Tashia also holds a minor in sociology and an embedded certificate in Mental Wellbeing and Resilience.  Her research interests include postpartum mental health, childhood development and mental wellbeing, and social-emotional learning.  She is currently completing a PURE position within the lab under the supervision of Dr. McArthur.

Paolo Pador

Paolo is in the final year of his Bachelor of Science in Psychology. He will be completing his honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Madigan and Jessica Cooke. His research interests include child development and the effects of early parent-child interactions. He is currently completing his Mathison Summer Studentship, exploring the impacts of a parent's adverse childhood experiences on children's behavioural problems.

Julianna Park

Julianna is in the final year of her BSc in Psychology at the University of Calgary. She will be completing her honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Madigan. Her interests include the socioemotional development of children and adolescents. Julianna is a recipient of the Alberta Innovates Summer Studentship. She is currently working under the guidance of Camille Mori, exploring the prevalence of sexting behaviour in adolescents. In the future, she hopes to pursue graduate studies in Clinical Psychology. 

Claire McGuiness

Claire completed her Bachelor of Science and is currently completing her MSc in School & Applied Child Psychology at the University of Calgary.

Valeriya Volkova, BSc(Hons), PhD Candidate

Valeriya is a PhD candidate in Kinesiology at the University of Calgary, completing a specialization in Wearable Technology. She participated in the 2019 Innovation 4 Health Hack-a-thon where she worked with a team led by Sheri, Nicole, and Brae to develop a wearable sensor capable of objectively capturing screen time in children. Since then, Valeriya has been working on a screen time meta-analysis under Sheri’s and Brae’s leadership. When not in the lab conducting her doctoral research, Valeriya coaches competitive gymnastics and serves on several committees at and outside UCalgary.