People
Scientists
Jennifer Campos, PhD
MIVE Director - Chief Scientist
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory (iDAPT, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - UHN)
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
Director, iDAPT Young Innovators Program
jennifer.campos@uhn.ca
(416) 597-3422 x 7958
My research focuses on enhancing safe mobility during walking and driving under realistic and challenging conditions. This includes understanding how age‐related sensory impairments (e.g. vision, hearing) and cognitive impairments can increase the risk of falls and vehicle collisions (e.g. in healthy older adults, those with hearing loss, dementia). I make use of virtual reality and simulation technologies to a) carefully recreate real world conditions, thereby ensuring the generalizability of research outcomes to real world applications and b) adapt these technologies as powerful and novel tools for training and rehabilitation interventions.
Behrang Keshavarz, PhD
Scientist
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory (iDAPT, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - UHN)
Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto
behrang.keshavarz@uhn.ca
(416) 597-3422 x 7846
My research focuses on human factors in virtual environments, with particular emphasis on preventing adverse effects of simulators, such as nausea and disorientation that are related to visually induced motion sickness. In addition, my research also aims to increase driving safety for younger and older drivers, such as developing methods to prevent drowsy driving, and to explore the neurocognitive and behavioral aspects of self-motion perception (vection) in virtual reality applications.
Bruce Haycock, PhD
Scientist
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory (iDAPT, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - UHN)
Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Toronto
bruce.haycock@uhn.ca
(416) 597-3422 x 7846
Graduate Students
Robert Ramkhalawansingh, MSc
PhD student
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory
(iDAPT, Toronto Rehab-UHN)
Psychology at University of Toronto
robert.ramkhalawansingh@uhn.ca
(416) 597-3422 x 7861
I investigate age-related changes in multisensory self-motion perception. Specifically, I am concerned with how age-related changes in the way that information from across the sensory systems is integrated and how these changes may influence the ability to perceive and thereby control one’s own movement during tasks like walking and driving.
Stephanie Yung, MA
PhD student
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory
(iDAPT, Toronto Rehab-UHN)
Psychology at University of Toronto
stephanie.yung@uhn.ca
(416) 597-3422 x
I am interested in subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), particularly whether people who have SCC may be more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment and dementia. If so, what are the underlying factors? Is it purely cognitive, or do the integrity of sensory systems (e.g., auditory) further modulate this development?
Robert Nowosielski
PhD student
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory
(iDAPT, Toronto Rehab-UHN)
Psychology at University of Toronto
Robert.Nowosielski@mail.utoronto.ca
(416) 597-3422 x
I am interested in utilizing virtual reality and simulation technologies to investigate models of attention. Specifically, I am concerned with programming 3D environments in order to examine how perceptual and cognitive load influence the degree to which common in-car distractions affect driving performance in younger and older healthy adults
Sin-Tung Lau
MSc student
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory
(iDAPT, Toronto Rehab-UHN)
Kinesiology at Wilfried Laurier
Sin-Tung.Lau@uhn.ca
(416) 597-3422 x
Sophie Carr
MSc student
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory
(iDAPT, Toronto Rehab-UHN)
Psychology at University of Toronto
sophie.carr@mail.utoronto.ca
(416) 597-3422 x
I am interested in understanding the degree and nature of impairment experienced by individuals at very early stages of cognitive decline. The project I am currently working on looks to explore the differences among individuals with varying levels of cognitive decline using a multitasking, multisensory integration approach within a virtual reality setting.
Aleks Bukal
MSc student
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory
(iDAPT, Toronto Rehab-UHN)
Engineering at University of Toronto
a.bukal@mail.utoronto.ca
(416) 597-3422 x
Outside Project Students
Farrah Kudus
MA student
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory
(iDAPT, Toronto Rehab-UHN)
Psychology at Ryerson University
farrah.kudus@psych.ryerson.ca
In 2016, I completed my B.Sc (Hons) at McMaster University. Currently, I am a 1st year Master's student in Psychological Science at Ryerson University. Broadly, I am interested in cognitive changes over the lifespan, specifically in the areas of attention and memory. As part of a practicum placement, I will be working on a project investigating the sensation of illusory self-motion under the supervision of Dr. Behrang Keshavarz.
Raheleh Saryazdi
PhD student
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory
(iDAPT, Toronto Rehab-UHN)
Psychology at University of Toronto
raheleh.saryazdi@mail.utoronto.ca
I am a PhD student at the University of Toronto, supervised by Dr. Craig Chambers. My main research interest is identifying psycholinguistic parameters that aid on-line language comprehension in the older population with the goal to improve communication technologies. Recently, I have started an outside project with Dr. Jennifer Campos exploring the effect of perceptual load on driving.
Research Assistants
Niroshica Mohanathas
Volunteer research assistant
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory
(iDAPT, Toronto Rehab-UHN)
I have been volunteering in Dr. Campos’ Lab since April 2017. I am interested in the cognitive abilities of the aging population. The study that I am currently assisting in investigates the impact of age-related changes in sensory and cognitive functioning on safe mobility in older adults. My interests cover a wide scope of topics from multisensory integration in the context of aging to rehabilitation and abnormal psychology, as I am a research assistant in Dr. Konstantine’s Clinical Psychology Lab at UTSC. As an undergraduate student I hope to apply the academic knowledge and research experience I have gained to teaching and researching in the field of psychology.
George Chan
Volunteer research assistant
Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory
(iDAPT, Toronto Rehab-UHN)
Undergraduate degree (Honor Psychology) at University of Scarborough followed by graduate work (Ph.D) at McMaster University. Thesis focused on spatial frameworks and representations. Currently working as volunteer research assistant with the MIVE lab at Toronto Rehab. Assisting in the project "Visual-Auditory Integration and Aging".
Alumni
Kara Hawkins (post doctoral fellow)
Grace El-Khechen Richandi (undergraduate)
Saba Shahab (undergraduate)
Joshua Gnanasegaram (volunteer)
Aaron Philip-Muller (volunteer)