Lab Director:

Steven R. Shaw, Ph.D., NCSP is assistant professor of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He earned Bachelors, Masters, Specialist, and Doctoral degrees from the University of Florida. He was a practicing school psychologist in the US from 1988 to 2005 with clinical and administrative experience in school, hospital, and independent practice settings. His research laboratory at McGill University has several ongoing research projects focusing on academic, linguistic and social resilience for children with rare genetic disorders, autism, and chronic medical issues. He has published over 130 scholarly publications and presented dozens of invited workshops across North America. Dr. Shaw is editor-elect of the scholarly journal, School Psychology Forum: Research in Practice.

Please click here for links to Dr. Shaw's C.V., McGill University faculty page, and publications.

Please click here for a link to an article about Dr. Shaw's appointment as editor-elect of NASP's School Psychology Forum.

Graduate Students:

Amira Rahman, M.A., OPQ is a Doctoral candidate in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at McGill University. She earned her Master’s degree from McGill University and Bachelors degree in Psychology from Concordia University. Ms. Rahman is currently working to complete her dissertation research and practicing part-time as a school psychologist at the Lester B. Pearson School Board. Her doctoral research focuses on identifying the specific behaviors shared by children with Phelan-McDermid syndrome (22q13 Deletion Syndrome) and autism.

Shohreh M. Rezazadeh, M.A. is a Doctoral candidate in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at McGill University. She is the recipient of the Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award (CGS) from SSHRC. Her doctoral research focuses on understanding the nature of social-communication and language impairment in autism and Phelan-McDermid syndrome (22q13 Deletion Syndrome). Ms. Rezazadeh is currently completing her doctoral practicum at the Autism Research Unit at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario. She earned her Master’s degree from McGill University, Bachelors degree in Psychology from Concordia University, and Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from the University of Ottawa. Ms. Rezazadeh’s research endeavors focus on early identification of autism and developmental disorders and developing best practices interventions for children and their families.

   

Akanksha Sharma is a Doctoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at McGill University. She received her Bachelor of Science from McMaster University in 2007. Akanksha’s research interests include psychopathology, social functioning, and children with developmental disabilities Her Master’s thesis examined the nature and prevalence of dual diagnosis among children with 22q13 Deletion Syndrome. Her doctoral thesis is currently in the formulation stage and will examine social functioning among children with Autism.

Anna Polotskaia, M.Sc. is a graduate student in the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Moscow State University in 2001, and her Master’s of Science degree in Psychiatry from McGill University n 2008. From 2002 Anna has been a part of the clinical team of the Pharmaco-Genetic Study of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder at the Douglas Research Institute in Montreal (PIs and co-supervisors: Dr. Natalie Grizenko and Dr. Ridha Joober). Anna’s research interests include examination of school success factors (protective and risk), genetic factors affecting treatments, and short and long term effects of pharmacological treatments in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(AD/HD). She is also a recipient of a 2009 Vanier Fellowship from the Canadian Institute of Health Research. You can visit her website here.

Anthony Claro, B.Sc. is currently pursuing his Master's degree in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at McGill University. He received his Bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2007, also at McGill University. His Master's thesis is centered on the association between fatigue and the expression of autistic symptoms in children with a rare genetic disorder, Cri du Chat syndrome. He works at the Autism Spectrum Disorders Clinic of the Montreal Children's Hospital, as well as the Resilience, Pediatric Psychology, and Neurogenetic Connections Laboratory. He looks forward to beginning his Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Steven R. Shaw.

Sarah Glaser is a graduate student in the School/Applied Child Psychology Program at McGill University. She received her B.A. in psychology from Boston University. Prior to joining the program, Sarah worked as a clinical research assistant on a genetics study of Tourette Syndrome, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder at the Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Her Masters thesis investigates the relationship between emotion regulation and stereotypy among children with Autism and related conditions. Sarah's research interests include mental health issues in children with developmental disabilities, chronic illness, and emotion regulation. Starting in the summer of 2010, Sarah will serve as the editorial assistant for the School Psychology Forum: Research in Practice (a scholarly journal of the National Association of School Psychologists). Please click here for a list of her publications and conference presentations.

 

Anna Takagi is a first-year Master's student in the School/Applied Psychology program at McGill. She completed her B.Sc. in psychology at the University of Toronto. She currently holds a SSHRC Master's fellowship. She worked in several psychobiology labs and intended to pursue research in animal behavior. Her experiences working in a pediatric clinic in Toronto shifted her trajectory and re-focused her attention on child development and psychology. Anna is currently interested in imitation behaviors in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and how they relate to language and social development in these children. She is excited to be in Montreal and at McGill, but most especially to be part of the Resilience, Pediatric Psychology, and Neurogenetic Connection Lab!

Jessica Ganten is a graduate of McGill University with a B.Sc. in Psychology, and minors in Computer Science and Management. She has spent the last two years volunteering in various labs in the department (including this one!) and working with autistic children as an ABA therapist and integration aide. She is now in her first year of her Master's degree in School/Applied Child Psychology, and is excited to be back at school! Her research interests are in the field of autism and communication impairments.

 

Laura McGill is a graduate student in School/Applied Child Psychology at McGill University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Guelph, Ontario. She has clinical experience in the planning and implementation of interventions for children with autism, which has contributed to her present research goals. As a member of the Resilience, Pediatric Psychology, and Neurogenetic Connections Lab at McGill University, her current research interests include communication and play skills development in children with autism.

Melissa Stern is a graduate student in School/Applied Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Her research interests include the development of language, joint attention, social skills and stereotypical behaviors in children with developmental disabilities, more specifically in populations with Autism and 22q13 Deletion Syndrome. 

Visiting Scholar: (March - June, 2010)

Anna Jankowska, M. A., is a graduate of University of Gdańsk (Poland) with a M.A. in Psychology. Her Masters thesis investigates the relationship between the body image and perfectionism in patients with anorexia nervosa. Since 2006 Anna holds a position of professor’s assistant in the Department of Special Education and Psychology at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland). For the last three years she is also dedicated to therapeutic work with children in foster care families. She is now in her third year of her Doctoral program in the Department of Developmental Psychology at the University of Gdańsk (Poland). Her research interests are in the field of special educational needs, as well as cognitive, social and emotional development of children with borderline intellectual functioning.

 

Undergraduate Research Assistants:

Corina Sferdenschi, B.Sc. is a recent graduate, having completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at McGill University. She is currently enrolled in a Graduate Diploma in Public Relations, also at McGill University. Corina co-wrote an article with Dr. Steven Shaw earlier this year entitled “Chronic Illness in Schools” and she is looking forward to contributing to other publications in the future. She is presently helping out the team with various projects

Amanda Chalupa is an undergraduate student at McGill University pursuing a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in History. In addition to being a research assistant in Dr. Shaw's lab, she has past experience working at the McGill Infant Development Centre and as a clinical apprentice at the Douglas Hospital (Crisis Intervention Team). She is currently assisting Sarah Glaser with her research, as well as collaborating with Dr. Shaw and Dr. Anna Jankowska on an international project titled "International Responses to Low Achieving Students: Problems, Policy, and Pedagogy". Her interests are broad, ranging from theatre direction to ethnic conflict, with significant amounts of psychology in between. In particular, her research interests include emotion regulation, social development, cultural and cross-cultural psychology, "edutainment" design, therapeutic/clinical techniques, and forensic psychology.