Our Team
Catherine Connelly
Dr. Catherine Connelly is a Professor and Business Research Chair in Organizational Behaviour, in the Human Resources and Management department of the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. She is the acting director of the McMaster Centre for Research on Employment and Work (MCREW) and the director of the Connelly Laboratory for Organizational Behavior Research. Her research focuses on the attitudes, behaviors, and experiences of workers with non-traditional employment contracts (e.g., temporary agency workers, independent contractors, temporary foreign workers, part-time workers, gig workers), middle managers, workers with disabilities, and workers who engage in or experience knowledge hiding in their organizations. She is a former associate editor for Human Relations and currently serves on that editorial board as well as that of the Academy of Management Discoveries journal, Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Review, European Management Journal, and the Journal of Organizational Behavior. She is the author of over fifty journal articles and book chapters, as well as Enduring Work: Experiences with Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.
In addition to her research success, Catherine is a past winner and frequent teaching award nominee for her teaching in the MBA and PhD programs. She has made presentations about her research to industry and academic groups across Canada and the US, and in Australia, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Germany, Spain, Poland, and Portugal. Her research has been featured in the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the National Post, and on CTV and CBC radio and TV.
Contact Information
Dr. Catherine E. Connelly
Phone: 905-525-9140 ext. 23954
Email: connell@mcmaster.ca
Mailing Address
DSB-412
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West
Current PhD Students
Jennifer Ho
PhD Student
Jennifer Ho
Jennifer joined the PhD program in Management of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business in September 2018. Her research interests include workplace diversity, employee well-being, occupational stress, workplace discrimination, and positive organizational behaviour.
Email: hoj47@mcmaster.ca
Sarah Walker
PhD student
Sarah Walker
Sarah is a PhD Candidate at the DeGroote School of Business, supervised by Dr. Catherine Connelly. Sarah’s research focuses on minority workers, in particular, workers who speak a different language than their leaders, workers with disabilities and contract workers. Sarah has an interest in both qualitative and quantitative research methods and applies these approaches in her current projects.
Sarah is in the process of finalizing her dissertation topic, collecting data for a current project and revising a manuscript for resubmission to a journal. Sarah has presented her work at the EWOP conference in Poland, as well as attended two workshops over the summer further developing an experiment.
Email: walkes6@mcmaster.ca
Current Undergraduate Students
Aiesha Ahmad
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Aiesha Ahmad
Aiesha is an undergraduate student in her fourth year of the Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour program at McMaster University. She is interested in mental health and learning how psychosocial factors impact people’s lived experiences and behaviors. She is passionate about creating better workplaces and promoting the well-being of others, including minorities and individuals with disabilities. In the future, Aiesha wishes to pursue a career in psychology.
Email: ahmada89@mcmaster.ca
Giselle Awiada
Independent Research Student
Giselle Awiada
Giselle Awiada is an undergraduate student in her third year of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior program. Giselle is interested in learning about how positivity can impact individuals’ well-being and productivity in a workplace setting. She is also interested in children’s development and mental health. She hopes to pursue a career in psychotherapy.
Email: awiadag@mcmaster.ca
Vaidehi Bhatnagar
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Vaidehi Bhatnagar
Vaidehi is an undergraduate student in her fourth year of the Honours Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour program. She is interested in learning about how minorities, and individuals with disabilities are affected by discriminatory behaviour and treated differently in workplaces. In the future, she hopes to continue studying psychology, and pursue a career focused on helping improve the mental health of individuals, while also raising awareness for minorities, including individuals with disabilities.
Email: bhatnagv@mcmaster.ca
Anna Chisholm
Independent Research Student
Anna Chisholm
Anna conducted research during her third year as an Honours Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour student. She is interested in understanding the psychological factors that influence behavior, particularly in children, as well as how early experiences impact emotional and mental development. She is also interested in topics in forensic psychology, abnormal psychology and mental health. She hopes to complete a Master’s and Ph.D. in clinical psychology focusing on the intersection between psychology and the legal system.
Email: chisha4@mcmaster.ca
Jessica Fuh
Independent Research Student
Jessica Fuh
Jessica Fuh is an undergraduate student in her third year of the Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour Program. Jessica is interested in understanding where psychology overlaps with business to improve individuals’ experiences in societal institutions, including workplaces. Jessica is particularly interested in exploring interpersonal relationships and understanding how to improve workplace team dynamics.
Email: fuhj@mcmaster.ca
Gurdial Gill
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Gurdial Gill
Gurdial is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the “Applied Psychology in Human Behaviour” program pursuing a minor in biology. She is interested in combining her psychology knowledge to study organizational behaviour. In particular, she hopes to research workplace culture and ways to improve mental health and well-being in the workplace.
Email: gillg59@mcmaster.ca
Anna Noble Glube
Independent Research Student
Anna Noble Glube
Anna is in her third year of the Biology, Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Program. She is interested in the way biological factors affect human behaviours and motivations. In the future, she hopes to continue exploring various disciplines from a psychological perspective.
Email: noblegla@mcmaster.ca
Shashu Sathish Raj
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Shashu Sathish Raj
Shashu is an undergraduate student in her third year of the Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour program at McMaster University. She is also pursuing a minor in Business. Shashu is interested in exploring workplace well-being and mental health. More specifically, she hopes to understand the causes of burnout, lack of employee motivation, and effective interventions.
Email: sathiss@mcmaster.ca
Rebecca Yip
Independent Research Student
Rebecca Yip
Rebecca Yip is an undergraduate student in her third year of the Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour program. Rebecca is passionate about analyzing business behaviours from a psychological perspective. Particularly, she is interested in exploring the relationship between psychology and topics such as organizational behaviour and employee motivation.
Email: yipr2@mcmaster.ca
Current Staff
George Elchuk
Research Assistant
George Elchuk
George Elchuk is currently in his fourth year of studies in the Integrated Business and Humanities (IBH) program at the DeGroote School of Business, pursuing an Honours Commerce degree. George’s work with the lab centers around investigating the gig economy for professional musicians in Canada. Under the guidance of the lab, George conducts interviews, recruits study participants, and collects qualitative data for the project.
Email: elchukg@mcmaster.ca
Anne St-Amand
Research Coordinator
Anne St-Amand
Anne has a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Toronto and an MA in Linguistics from the University of Ottawa. She is research coordinator for Dr. Catherine Connelly.
Email: astamand@mcmaster.ca
Josh Zadik
Research Assistant
Josh Zadik
Josh is an undergraduate student in his fourth year of the Integrated Business and Humanities program at McMaster University. His interests include the study of leadership and its different manifestations in the workplace, including workplace feedback and misuse of authority, and he is currently researching the depiction of Adolf Hitler in leadership textbooks. Josh is pursuing a future education in law, where he seeks to learn about the intersection of law and the workplace.
Email: zadikj@mcmaster.ca
PhD Alumni
Ali Lefcoe
PhD Student
Ali Lefcoe
Ali works as an Assistant Professor at the Hill and Levene Schools of Business at the University of Regina. Her research focuses on barriers to work (i.e., major obstacles to quality employment) and barriers at work (i.e., difficulties experienced in carrying out work) and how workers cope with these barriers. Ali studies non-standard workers (e.g., gig workers, multiple jobholders) and workers with disabilities and employs both quantitative and qualitative methods in her research.
Email: lefcoea@mcmaster.ca
Dr. Christa Wilkin
PhD Student
Dr. Christa Wilkin
Drs. Connelly and Wilkin have published three articles in highly regarded journals and two book chapters on non-standard work arrangements (e.g., volunteers; contingent work) and employee well-being (e.g., wellness initiatives; justice). Dr. Wilkin was a professor at York University, with work published in journals such as the Journal of Organizational Behavior, International Journal of Human Resource Management, and Personality and Individual Differences in the areas of non-standard relationships and well-being.
Dr. Mona Zanhour
PhD student
Dr. Mona Zanhour
Dr. Mona Zanhour is currently an Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management at California State University, Long Beach. As a doctoral student, Dr. Zanhour worked under the supervision of Dr. Connelly. In her dissertation, she examined the relationship between organizational work-family resources and work-family conflict and enrichment, mediated by balance self-efficacy. She is currently working with Dr. Connelly to explore training interventions aimed to increase balance self-efficacy and decrease stress associated with work-family conflict.
Email: Mona.Zanhour@csulb.edu
Undergraduate Alumni
Aliza Ahmed
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Aliza Ahmed
Aliza Ahmed is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a BSc in Biology and Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour. She will be conducting research in Dr. Connelly’s lab to complete her undergraduate thesis. Her focus will be the relationship between empathy and performance appraisals.
Email: ahmea20@mcmaster.ca
Sayaka Akisyama
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Sayaka Akisyama
Sayaka worked with Dr. Connelly for her undergraduate thesis project in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour. Her research examined leadership development through different leadership coaching styles. She is interested in human behaviours in the workplace.
Email: akiyams@mcmaster.ca
Esther Arase
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Esther Arase
Esther studied in the lab as a fourth year student in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour with a minor in Mental Health, Addiction and Society. She is looking to pursue a career in the mental health sphere. Her research interests are centred around understanding what motivates people to behave in certain ways, make certain decisions and how psychology can be applied to many areas of our lives. More generally, she seeks to understand people and use that understanding to help people.
Email: arasee@mcmaster.ca
Nicole Badzioch
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Nicole Badzioch
Nicole studied in the lab as a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour Honours student, pursuing a minor in business. She is interested in how psychology can be applied to better understand the people and systems in an organization.
Email: nicolebadzioch15@gmail.com
Jasneet Bains
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Jasneet Bains
Jasneet studied in the lab as a fourth-year Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Honours student with a Specialization in Mental Health. Her research interests include behaviour analysis, stress, and human memory. She is also interested in research with special populations and vulnerable groups.
Email: bainsj1@mcmaster.ca
Laura Barbuzzi
Independent Research Student
Laura Barbuzzi
Laura studied in the lab as an undergraduate student in her fourth year of the Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour program at McMaster University. She is interested in topics related to forensic psychology, abnormal psychology and human memory. Under the supervision of Dr. Catherine Connelly, she explored the realm of psychology from a business perspective.
Email: barbuzzl@mcmaster.ca
Chanchal Bhandari
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Chanchal Bhandari
Chanchal joined the lab as a Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Honours student at McMaster University. She is highly interested in research revolving around human behaviour, especially in social contexts, allowing her to study it across various research areas.
Email: bhandac@mcmaster.ca
Noor Butt
Independent Research Student
Noor Butt
Noor studied in the lab as an undergraduate student in her fourth year of the Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour program at McMaster University. Although she chose to formally pursue an education in psychology, she has always been drawn to business and was excited to learn more about how the two disciplines interact.
Email: buttm23@mcmaster.ca
Jacqueline Chan
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Jacqueline Chan
Jacqueline worked with Dr. Connelly for her undergraduate thesis project in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour. Her thesis explored the effects of preparatory nonverbal behaviours on leadership effectiveness. She is interested in the social and cognitive perspectives of interpersonal relationships, and is particularly intrigued by the effects of implicit attitudes and cognitions on behaviours (and vice versa).
Email: chanj43@mcmaster.ca
Isabelle Choi
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Isabelle Choi
Isabelle studied in the lab as a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour Honours student. She is enthusiastic about research within the realm of organizational psychology and human behaviour. Isabelle is highly interested about what workplace behaviours are efficient to create an effective business and aspires to go into Human Resources.
Email: choii1@mcmaster.ca
Paige Entwistle
Individual Lab Student
Paige Entwistle
Paige joined the lab as a fourth-year Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour student interested in topics related to abnormal psychology, forensic psychology, clinical psychology and neuroscience. She hopes to complete a Master’s and Ph.D. in neuroscience, psychology, or a similar field.
Email: entwistp@mcmaster.ca
Sina Farid
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Sina Farid
Sina worked with Dr. Connelly to complete her honours thesis project as a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour student at McMaster University. Her thesis explored the effects of non-verbal behaviour on self-efficacy and leadership. Her interests include the effects of cognitive biases in the organizational setting and their related behavioural outcomes, specifically for managerial acquisition and promotion.
Email: farids@mcmaster.ca
Dylantha Fernando
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Dylantha Fernando
Dylantha studied in the lab in his fourth year of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour. He is interested in how we can implement organizational behaviour research into the workplace. His thesis focused on intersectionality and hiring biases during resume screening.
Email: fernad13@mcmaster.ca
Lia Fraleigh
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Lia Fraleigh
Lia Fraleigh {pronounced Leah Fray-lee} (she/her) joined the lab as a fourth year Arts & Science student at McMaster University. She has a minor in psychology and is interested in learning more about the intersection between business and psychology. Under the supervision of Dr. Catherine Connelly, Lia conducted research for her thesis project on the topic of musicians and social media. Specifically, she examined the effect of one’s social media presence on their musical career.
Email: fraleigl@mcmaster.ca
Mahyar Garmsiri
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Mahyar Garmsiri
Mahyar studied in Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Masters of Science in Management program with a specialization in Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources. His projects involved familiarity and psychological well-being in the workplace, cyber workplace-deviance, and disability biases and feedback quality. His previous research experience also included perceptual psychology and neuroscience. He currently works for Lisa Isaac HR Professional Services.
Sarah Hirst
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Sarah Hirst
Sarah joined the lab as a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Honours Student. She is especially interested in how psychology and behaviour affect social constructs and why people interact differently with individuals of different characteristics. Sarah is currently exploring the use of psychology and behavioural marketing to combat internal biases.
Email: shirst224@gmail.com
Jacob Im
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Jacob Im
Jacob Im is a fourth-year undergraduate student currently completing his BSc in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour. He will be completing his thesis in Dr. Connelly’s lab and will be focusing on if experience plays a role in performance feedback.
Email: imj5@mcmaster.ca
Ashley Jong
Independent Research Student
Ashley Jong
Ashley Jong studied in the lab as a second-year undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) program at McMaster University. She specializes in Child Health and works as an ophthalmology research volunteer at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). In her spare time, Ashley enjoys composing and playing the cello, having spearheaded a series of charity concerts to advocate for various causes. Coupled with her interest for the medical field and deepening her understanding of workplace leadership, Ashley undertook a research project through the guidance of Dr. Catherine Connelly, addressing performance assessment disparities between employees with and without disabilities.
Email: jonga1@mcmaster.ca
Marta Kaczmarczyk
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Marta Kaczmarczyk
Marta conducted research during her fourth year as an Honours Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour student. She is specifically interested in understanding the factors influencing human behaviour and abnormal psychology. More specifically, topics such as human emotion, personality, and mental health. Marta is additionally interested in exploring the impact of disability on individuals in the workplace. In the forthcoming years, Marta envisions acquiring her Master of Business Administration (MBA) and embarking on a professional journey in the realm of business. Her specific focus lies in Human Resources and Marketing.
Email: kaczmarm@mcmaster.ca
Hufriya Kateli
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Hufriya Kateli
Hufriya joined the lab as a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour Honours student at McMaster University. Her research interests involve learning about motivating operations in an organization, and how they affect employee productivity. Hufriya is also keen to understand the effects of negative feedback on employee morale and workplace satisfaction.
Email: katelih@mcmaster.ca
Kalyan Kay
Individual Lab Student
Kalyan Kay
Kalyan Kay (pronounced Kal-ian Kay) (he/him) joined the lab as a third-year Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour student at McMaster University. His passion lies in clinical psychology, and he is interested in learning how business intersects with mental health. Being supervised by Dr. Connelly, Kalyan helped as a lab student on a thesis project. The project studied the intersectionality of musicians’ personality traits, success in their chosen careers, and social media presence.
Email: krishk14@mcmaster.ca
Aleena Khan
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Aleena Khan
Aleena Khan studied in the lab as a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour: Mental Health Specialization program at McMaster University. Previously, Aleena had completed three research practicums including writing a literature review and two project semesters aiding thesis students. After this, she obtained the role of Research Assistant in her other lab, where she led participant interviews and updated administration manuals. She worked with Dr. Connelly to complete her undergraduate senior thesis project regarding managerial perceptions of employees with and without disabilities. Aleena wishes to pursue a career in industrial/organizational psychology; using applied methods as well as research to further her understanding and fuel her passion.
Email: khana321@mcmaster.ca
Sol Ji Kim
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Sol Ji Kim
Sol Ji worked with Dr. Connelly for her Senior Honours Thesisis as a fourth year undergraduate student in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour. Her research explored the effects of preparatory nonverbal behaviours, such as power posing, on leadership effectiveness.
Email: kimsj7@mcmaster.ca
Isabelle Koerber
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Isabelle Koerber
Isabelle is a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour student, completing her thesis with Dr. Connelly’s lab. Her research areas of interest include mental health, wellbeing, and disabilities in the workplace. She is planning to pursue a career in clinical psychology.
Email: koerberi@mcmaster.ca
Leah Kogan
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Leah Kogan
Leah Kogan joined the lab as a 4th year Biology and Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour Student. She completed her undergraduate thesis with Dr. Connelly’s lab. Her research interests include mental health and disabilities in the workplace, and in school settings.
Email: kogana@mcmaster.ca
Janice Li
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Janice Li
Janice Li studied in the lab as a fourth-year Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour student. Previously, Janice had completed two independent research studies at McMaster and a design research internship at TD Bank. Her research interests are understanding people’s needs and behaviours to improve product and service designs. Janice studied under Dr. Connelly to complete her senior thesis on the experiences of employees with disabilities in the workplace.
Email: li750@mcmaster.ca
Taya Linton
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Taya Linton
Taya joined the lab as a fourth-year student pursuing a degree in Biology and Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour. She is particularly interested in the intersection between psychological research and its applications in real-world settings, such as the workplace. Her thesis focused on musicians’ career success as it relates to their personality traits.
Email: lintont@mcmaster.ca
Samantha Luxmikanthan
Individual Lab Student
Samantha Luxmikanthan
Samantha studied in the lab as a fourth year Honours Human student specializing in Autism Behavioural Sciences. Her research interests involve disabilities and human behaviour and how they play as a factor through operations within an organization, allowing her to study this interest across various research fields.
Email: luxmikas@mcmaster.ca
Rory Macleod
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Rory Macleod
Rory studied in the lab as a fourth year Psychology Neurosciencs and Behavior student, pursuing a minor in business. He studies organizational behavior and is interested in the application of psychology principles to the workplace with the goal of creating more efficient and enjoyable work environments.
Email: roderickmacleod8@gmail.com
Max Manglal-Lan
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Max Manglal-Lan
Max studied in the lab in his 4th year of the Honours Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour program while also pursuing a minor in Commerce. He studies and has a strong passion for organizational behaviour in addition to marketing and finance. Max is very ambitious and enjoys research as well as entrepreneurial environments.
Email: manglalm@mcmaster.ca
Lily Martin
Individual Lab Student
Lily Martin
Lily studied in the lab as a third year Arts & Science student specializing in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour. Broadly speaking, her research interests are how and why individuals do things the way they do. She emphasizes interdisciplinary and dynamic thinking and hopes to pursue management and psychology.
Email: martil15@mcmaster.ca
Daniel McLean
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Daniel McLean
Daniel studied in the lab as a fifth year Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Honours student with a specialization in Mental Health. His research interests include disabilities as well as behavioural analysis.
Email: mcleandw@mcmaster.ca
Ryan Mussell
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Ryan Mussell
Ryan studied in the lab as a fourth year student in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour with a specialization in mental health. She is looking to pursue a career in counselling psychology, and she has a specific interest in studying individual differences in human behaviour within the field of mental health as well as organizational behaviour.
Email: mussellr@mcmaster.ca
Sumana Naidu
Undergraduate Senior Project Student
Sumana Naidu
Sumana Naidu is a medical student at the University of Toronto. She is interested in the patient and physician perspectives regarding continuity of care, and in research related to the eye. She is a member of the Student-Senior Isolation Prevention Partnership, and is helping facilitate advisory groups as well as their first national program evaluation. She enjoys baking, cooking, and watercolour painting in her downtime!
Vanessa Natareno
Individual Lab Student
Vanessa Natareno
Vanessa studied in the lab as a third year Arts & Science student combining in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour. She is particularly interested in how human behaviour and psychology principles can be applied to create efficient, diverse, and inclusive workplaces.
Email: natarenv@mcmaster.ca
Elaine Nguyen
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Elaine Nguyen
Elaine studied in the lab as a fourth year student in the Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour program, specializing in mental health. Her career/research interests are in clinical and counselling psychology, community development, and individuals with disabilities.
Email: nguyet19@mcmaster.ca
Meera Patel
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Meera Patel
Meera joined the lab as a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Honours student with a specialization in Mental Health. As a keen student, she is highly interested in learning how psychology can be applied in a variety of fields and daily life.
Email: patelm75@mcmaster.ca
Ami Patel
Senior Inquiry Student
Ami Patel
Ami is a 4th-year Applied Psychology in Human Behaviour student completing a senior inquiry project in Dr. Connelly’s lab. Ami is interested in combining educational and positive organizational psychology research to help improve societal well-being.
Email: linkedin.com/in/amipatel6
Tuneesh Ranota
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Tuneesh Ranota
Tuneesh studied in the lab as a fourth year Honours Life Sciences student. Her research interests include workplace discrimination, workplace diversity, workplace environments, and how organizational behaviour and psychology can be applied to real life!
Email: ranotat@mcmaster.ca
Diana Serban
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Diana Serban
Diana is a former Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour student. Her thesis investigated the relationship between leader well-being and transformational leadership behaviours. She is interested in Occupational Health & Safety, and specifically the impact of leadership, stress, and well-being on organizations. She is now a Masters student in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Saint Mary’s University. Her current work includes investigating the relationship between virtual leadership and stress, mental health framework development, and safety-specific transformational leadership.
Rasesh Shah
Individual Lab Student
Rasesh Shah
Rasesh is an Ivey HBA Student and was previously a Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour student at McMaster. His research interest includes behavioural finance, leadership, and employee productivity. He also has an interest in financial markets and is looking to pursue a career in investment banking.
Yiyu Shi
Individual Lab Student
Yiyu Shi
Yiyu studied in the lab as a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Honours student at McMaster University and was working with Dr. Connelly for her Independent Lab Study. She is enthusiastic about all research projects, especially nonverbal behaviors and interpersonal relationships.
Email: shiy15@mcmaster.ca
Grant Sweeny
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Grant Sweeny
Grant Sweeny graduated from McMaster with a Bachelor of Arts & Science and Business in 2020. His undergraduate thesis examined the effect of the baseline psychological stress of followers on their perceptions of transformational leadership performance. Grant is a medical student at Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, and a certified nutrition coach.
Samson Yeung
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Samson Yeung
Email: yeungs3@mcmaster.ca
Christina Yin
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Christina Yin
Email: yinc6@mcmaster.ca
Zhuoli Zheng
Individual Lab Student
Zhuoli Zheng
Zhuoli studied in the lab as a third year student in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour (Mental Health Specialization). Her research interests involve how to help people with disabilities and mental illnesses better adapt in society and promote people’s awareness of mental health. She wants to pursue a career in clinical psychology or counselling psychology.
Email: zhengz14@mcmaster.ca
Staff Alumni
Nicole Badzioch
Research Assistant
Nicole Badzioch
Nicole worked as a research assistant for the project ‘Is everyone equal in the COVID recovery? Labour market opportunities and exclusion during the job application process’.
Email: nicolebadzioch15@gmail.com
Chanchal Bhandari
Research Assistant
Chanchal Bhandari
Chanchal joined the lab as a Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Honours student at McMaster University. She is highly interested in research revolving around human behaviour, especially in social contexts, allowing her to study it across various research areas.
Email: bhandac@mcmaster.ca
Adam Buffett
Research Assistant
Adam Buffett
Adam is a Commerce student in the Degroote School of Business at McMaster University, with a planned specialization in Finance and Accounting. Adam’s role as a research assistant included transcribing interview recordings as well as conducting online research about employment in Canada.
Email: buffetac@mcmaster.ca
Ani Chénier
Interim Research Coordinator
Ani Chénier
Ani holds an MA in Anthropology from McMaster University. She worked as a research coordinator for Dr. Catherine Connelly from August, 2015 to March, 2016.
Email: chenieae@mcmaster.ca
Sina Farid
Research Assistant
Sina Farid
Sina worked with Dr. Connelly to complete her honours thesis project as a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour student at McMaster University. Her thesis explored the effects of non-verbal behaviour on self-efficacy and leadership. Her interests include the effects of cognitive biases in the organizational setting and their related behavioural outcomes, specifically for managerial acquisition and promotion.
Email: farids@mcmaster.ca
Mahyar Garmsiri
Research Manager
Mahyar Garmsiri
Mahyar studied in Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Masters of Science in Management program with a specialization in Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources. His projects involved familiarity and psychological well-being in the workplace, cyber workplace-deviance, and disability biases and feedback quality. His previous research experience also included perceptual psychology and neuroscience. He currently works for Lisa Isaac HR Professional Services.
Hufriya Kateli
Research Assistant
Hufriya Kateli
Hufriya joined the lab as a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour Honours student at McMaster University. Her research interests involve learning about motivating operations in an organization, and how they affect employee productivity. Hufriya is also keen to understand the effects of negative feedback on employee morale and workplace satisfaction.
Email: katelih@mcmaster.ca
Sol Ji Kim
Research Assistant
Sol Ji Kim
Sol Ji worked with Dr. Connelly for her Senior Honours Thesisis as a fourth year undergraduate student in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour. Her research explored the effects of preparatory nonverbal behaviours, such as power posing, on leadership effectiveness.
Email: kimsj7@mcmaster.ca
Joey Legere
Research Assistant
Joey Legere
Joey researched the effects of stress in business settings and created custom software to process and interpret physiological stress data measured using EKG, GSR, and respiration effort sensor. His other research interests are diverse, and include web-based communication and collaboration, scalp electrophysiology, and performance / error monitoring. For more information about other projects he is involved in, visit http://brain.mcmaster.ca/.
Email: joeylegere@gmail.com
Kyuson Lim
Research Assistant
Kyuson Lim
Kyuson studied at McMaster University in the M.Sc. Program in Statistics. Previously, he completed his B.Sc. in applied statistics at the University of Toronto. His research involved various methods of hypothesis testing for measuring the data association between covariates and outcomes, in-depth statistical modeling and categorical data analysis. His current and previous research experience also includes Bayesian statistics and Genome-wide association studies (GWAS).
Email: limk15@mcmaster.ca
Ryan Lovitt
Research Assistant
Ryan Lovitt
Ryan Lovitt is pursuing an Honours Commerce Degree at the DeGroote School of Business and is entering his fourth year. Ryan’s role as a research assistant focused on data analysis, data visualization, transcribing interview recordings, and data entry.
Email: lovittr@mcmaster.ca
Daniel McLean
Research Assistant
Daniel McLean
Daniel studied in the lab as a fifth year Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Honours student with a specialization in Mental Health. His research interests include disabilities as well as behavioural analysis.
Email: mcleandw@mcmaster.ca
Sumana Naidu
Research Assistant
Sumana Naidu
Sumana Naidu is a medical student at the University of Toronto. She is interested in the patient and physician perspectives regarding continuity of care, and in research related to the eye. She is a member of the Student-Senior Isolation Prevention Partnership, and is helping facilitate advisory groups as well as their first national program evaluation. She enjoys baking, cooking, and watercolour painting in her downtime!
Gina Nguyen
Research Assistant
Gina Nguyen
Gina studied in the lab as a fourth year Life sciences student at McMaster University, specializing in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour. She is fascinated with all fields of research and especially appreciate interdisciplinary approaches!
Email: nguyengt@mcmaster.ca
Meera Patel
Research Assistant
Meera Patel
Meera joined the lab as a fourth year Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Honours student with a specialization in Mental Health. As a keen student, she is highly interested in learning how psychology can be applied in a variety of fields and daily life.
Email: patelm75@mcmaster.ca
Monika Pobiedzinski
Research Assistant
Monika Pobiedzinski
Monika is an Honours Commerce student at the DeGroote School of Business, focusing her degree towards finance and management. She began working for Professor Connelly in her first year as a data research clerk, and also worked as a research assistant. Working from audio and video recordings of interviews and experiments, and using standardized assessment tools like the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, she prepared data for analysis.
Email: pobiedm@mcmaster.ca
Rasesh Shah
Research Assistant
Rasesh Shah
Rasesh is an Ivey HBA Student and was previously a Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour student at McMaster. His research interest includes behavioural finance, leadership, and employee productivity. He also has an interest in financial markets and is looking to pursue a career in investment banking.
Samson Yeung
Research Assistant
Samson Yeung
Email: yeungs3@mcmaster.ca