Our Team
Christopher Bowie, PhD, C.Psych.
Lab Director
Dr. Bowie is a clinical psychologist and Professor in the departments of psychology and psychiatry at Queen’s University. He primarily studies neurocognition and functional disability in severe mental disorders like schizophrenia and mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder. Neurocognition refers to the functions of the brain that allow us to perceive and process information and guide our actions. When we talk about attention, memory, and problem solving, we are referring to neurocognitive functions. Functional disability refers to difficulties performing in areas of life such as academics, working, living independently, and socializing with others.
Tammy Vanrooy
Clinical Research Associate
After graduating from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario with a B.A. Law (Hon.) in 2001, Tammy worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist with Addictions and Mental Health Services - KFL&A in Kingston, Ontario from 2001-2016. She has a wealth of experience in vocational program development, direct client service delivery, and community outreach. As a mental health professional, Tammy has over 20 years of clinical experience and has worked with a broad range of community partners, mental health service providers, educational institutions, hospitals, employers, and other supports within the community to improve client care.
Tammy joined the CPD Lab team in 2016 to help coordinate some of the lab’s clinical research studies and also assists with the delivery and implementation of the Action Based Cognitive Remediation treatment program as a trainer and therapist. She continues to foster greater collaboration amongst mental health professionals and community partners to advance community and national mental health initiatives and to promote research that will lead to innovation and the development of leading-edge best practices aimed at improving mental health care.
Anna Baumgartner
Full-Time Research Assistant
Anna recently completed her Bachelor of Science (Hon.) degree in Psychology. Her honours thesis explored factors that impact the well-being of caregivers for individuals experiencing psychosis, including locus of control, self-efficacy, and resilience. In her new position, Anna will gain further experience working with participants and conducting cognitive assessments. She is excited to continue investigating aspects of the caregiving role and hopes to expand her knowledge on psychosis. Anna is also interested in learning more about stigma in the context of psychosis and other mental health conditions.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Chloe Stewart, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Chloe graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor's degree in psychology and criminology & sociolegal studies. She completed a master's degree in cognitive neuroscience at University College London with a focus on the development of executive functions in term and preterm infants. Her PhD research at Western University focused on the experience and expression of guilt in healthy adults and in neurodegenerative disorders.
Graduate Students
Casey Upfold Second-Year Masters Student
Casey graduated from the University of Guelph with a B.A. (Hon) in Psychology and a Minor in Child and Family Studies. She conducted her thesis on public perceptions of people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the Criminal Justice System. After graduating, Casey worked as a Research Assistant in the Forensic Psychiatry Program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton for four years. During her time there, Casey was involved in numerous studies for individuals involved with the Forensic Mental Health System in Canada. Casey’s clinical and research interest center around individuals with severe mental disorders, stigmatization, and advancing assessment and intervention in ways that can improve individuals functioning and quality of life.
Chelsea Wood-Ross
Fourth-Year PhD Student
Chelsea graduated from Queen’s University with a B.Sc (Hon.) in Psychology. Chelsea completed her undergraduate thesis in the CPD lab where she studied avoidance of cognitive effort in major depressive disorder. As a Master's student, Chelsea compared performance in individuals with geriatric depression on traditional neuropsychological tests to experimental cognitive measures in collaboration with the PACt-MD study. Chelsea’s research interests are focused on exploring mechanisms associated with avoidance of cognitive challenge in depression using experimental methods.
Olivia Simioni Second-Year Masters Student
Olivia graduated from the University of Ottawa with a B.A. (Hon.) in Psychology. Her honours thesis focused on memory reconsolidation and examined whether an expectation for learning impacts the mechanisms involved in updating long-term memory. Olivia has since worked as a research assistant at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre in the Schizophrenia Recovery Program. In her graduate studies, Olivia is interested in focusing on functional outcomes and recovery in individuals with psychosis.
Lindsay Simourd
First-Year PhD Student
Lindsay completed her B.Sc. (Hon) in Psychology with a minor in Biology at Queen’s University. For her undergraduate thesis, Lindsay utilized a novel measurement approach for detecting and describing patterns of neurocognitive impairment in remitted depression. By employing tasks of increasing difficulty, Lindsay’s thesis explored the extent to which neurocognitive performance in remission may be influenced by appraisals of task difficulty and self-evaluations of one’s own ability. In graduate school, Lindsay is excited to continue working to understand clinical and neurocognitive recovery in severe mental disorders.
Undergraduate Thesis Students
Sach Grewal
Sach is in her final year of her Bachelor of Arts (Hon.) degree in Psychology. This is her fourth year working in the CPD Lab, and she is interested in gaining more insight into cognitive functioning in psychosis and depression, as well as learning about factors that explain differences in engagement with real-world tasks, and/or the application of one’s skills. She is also eager to explore the mechanisms contributing to the maintenance of cognitive and affective residual deficits in individuals who are in remission. As a SWEP student this summer, Sach developed and strengthened valuable research skills, including administering and interpreting cognitive assessments and coding qualitative data. Sach is looking forward to completing her honours thesis in the lab and being immersed in the research process!
Maya Druss-Wong
Maya is in her fourth year of her Bachelor of Science (Hon.) degree in Psychology. As a Research Assistant and SWEP student with the CPD lab, she conducted and scored neurocognitive assessments, analyzed psychophysical data, transcribed and coded qualitative interviews, and examined social cognition and motivation in individuals with chronic schizophrenia. She is especially interested in the design and implementation of intervention treatments in clinical settings to improve everyday cognitive functioning and executive skills for individuals with psychosis and depression. Maya is also passionate about increasing the accessibility and acceptability of mental illness services in underserved communities by decreasing stigma and addressing the social determinants of health. She is excited to gain further hands-on research experience as an honours thesis student examining factors related to psychosis.
Olivia Merulla
Olivia is in her fourth year of her Bachelor of Arts (Hon.) in Psychology. Olivia is interested in questions related to major psychological dysfunctions in adolescents and adults. She is interested in life improvements for individuals living with major psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. Olivia is fascinated by the mechanisms of functional recovery in individuals with major psychological disorders. She is eager to study social cognitive abilities in clinical populations. Olivia is also looking forward to doing her honours thesis with the CPD lab and exploring the social cognitive and neurocognitive mechanisms that play into the development and maintenance of major psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and major depressive disorder.
Research Assistants
Heather Reid
Heather is in her fourth year of her Bachelor of Science (Hon.) in Psychology. This will be her first year in the CPD Lab but second year as a research assistant, having worked in the Adolescents Dynamics Lab last year. Heather is eager to expand her knowledge of psychological disorders particularly the factors (i.e., neurological and cognitive) that play important roles in the functional recovery of these disorders. More specifically, Heather is interested in the influence of interventions such as psychoeducation and sleep regulation in the functional recovery of disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorders. She is looking forward to gaining experience in a clinical research environment and is eager to continue to learn!
Emily Robbie
Emily has just finished her fourth year of her Bachelor of Arts (Hon.) in Psychology. She is particularly interested in clinical and cognitive psychology. Within this, she is interested in exploring factors pertaining to early chronic schizophrenia as well as social mechanisms that can impact daily functioning and treatment in individuals with particular psychological disorders. Emily is excited to broaden her research skills through administering cognitive assessments and learning methods to improve quality of life through intervention strategies. Emily has completed a Special Directed Lab and was a previous undergraduate thesis student, where she focused on motivational factors and social cognition in individuals with chronic schizophrenia. For her current role in the team, Emily is a volunteer Research Assistant within the lab.
Alexandra Culbert
Alexandra is in the fourth year of her Bachelor of Arts (Hon.) degree, majoring in psychology and minoring in history. This year, she will be working as a research assistant in the CPD Lab, where she is excited to expand her research skills into the clinical side of psychological research. She is particularly interested in research that aims to develop early recognition of psychological disorders using cognitive assessment. She is also curious about the development of effective interventions for use after early diagnosis of disorders. Alexandra is looking forward to spending the upcoming year as a part of the CPD team.
Alyssa Harty
Alyssa is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Science (Hon.) degree in Psychology with a Minor in Biology. This is her first year working as a research assistant in the CPD Lab and she is looking forward to expanding her knowledge of psychological disorders and how to develop effective treatment interventions that improve quality of life. She is excited to gain more experience working within a lab as well as developing her clinical skills. After completing her undergraduate degree, Alyssa plans to complete a master’s degree and PhD to become a clinical psychologist. She will specialize in trauma resiliency and work with first responders to develop effective, positive coping mechanisms to improve well-being in these highly stressful, often traumatizing professions.
Isabel Bruce
Isabel is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Arts (Hon.) in Psychology and the Concurrent Education program. She is eager to understand the cognitive impairments that underlie disorders such as schizophrenia and how cognitive mechanisms can impact social and occupation domains. Isabel is interested in the implementation of treatment interventions in clinical settings to promote cognitive abilities that improve quality of life. In addition, she is looking forward to developing effective research skills in the field of psychology. With the intent to pursue clinical psychology in school settings, Isabel is driven by her passion to create safe and inclusive environments for those struggling with mental illness.