People

Jordan Axt is an Associate Professor of Psychology at McGill as well as Head of Data and Methodology for Project Implicit. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Duke University, his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Duke’s Center for Advanced Hindsight. In his spare time, he enjoys updating lists of Montreal restaurants, thinking about Duke basketball, and doing a little bit of yoga.

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Suraiya Allidina is a postdoc who received her PhD from the University of Toronto before completing a postdoctoral position at The Ohio State University. Her research takes a social-cognitive approach to studying stereotyping, prejudice, and social categorization. She examines how low-level processes like learning and categorization function to maintain prejudice, inequality, and group hierarchies. Her goal is to bridge levels of analysis to discover how individual cognitions and social structures mutually reinforce one another. In her spare time, she enjoys board games, soccer, and fantasy novels. Click here for her personal website.

Jeffrey To is a fourth-year PhD student who received his Bachelors of Science in Psychology in 2021 from the University of Toronto. After graduating, he spent a year working as an associate in a behavioral science consulting firm, consulting on projects related to education, smoking cessation, and mental health. Broadly, he's interested in biased perceptions across multiple group categories, the consequences of these perceptions for stigmatized groups (e.g., in hiring or leadership), and how we can leverage behavioral science to correct these biases individually and systemically. Beyond academia, he enjoys reading literary texts, working out, and going on long walks. Click here for Jeffrey’s personal website.

Valentina Palacio Posada is a third-year PhD student who received her BSc in Psychology and Sociology in 2022 at the University of Toronto. She’s broadly interested in how people think about and perceive others (especially within the domains of gender, social class, and race), bias within these processes, and intersectionality in research. Outside of the lab, she likes watching movies, bouldering, cycling, and hiking.

Imane Farah is a first-year experimental psychology PhD student who received her BSc in Psychology in 2025 at Carleton University. Broadly, she’s interested in how social group identity affects judgement and belief formation, influences conformity to group norms, and contributes to out-group prejudice and biases—as well as strategies to reduce these effects. Outside of research, she enjoys reading, watching TV shows, writing, drawing, and sometimes making bagels.

Vladislav Covnatchii is a second-year student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology. He is broadly interested in political polarization, and in how attitudes are linked to public policy. His research project explores whether there was change over time in transgender-based prejudice. Outside of research, he enjoys watching movies, reading books, playing video games, and going out with friends.

Paula Potenza Fontes is a fourth-year student majoring in Psychology, with minors in Behavioural Science and Anthropology. She is particularly interested in studying the ways in which group discrimination impacts mental health and what measures can help reduce its impact in psychological treatments. In her free time, she loves playing the guitar, reading, and finding new movies.

Mary Kamami is a U2 student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Political Science. She is interested in research that examines the perceptions of different groups towards one another. In her free time, she likes to knit, crochet, and spend time with her cat.

Anastasia Kulinich is a third-year McGill student majoring in Psychology. She is interested in the psychological roots of bias, prejudice and dehumanization and in how to reduce their impact and promote more empathy and inclusion. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, watching shows and movies, and participating in her college’s theater troupe.

Maeva Chidiac is an undergraduate McGill student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice and Behavioural Science. One of her main areas of interest is the intersection of social justice and psychology, particularly its potential to transform clinical practice into a more inclusive form of care. She believes studying the underlying mechanisms behind intergroup bias formation is a crucial step to seeing change come about, both in the field of psychology and in everyday life. In her free time, she loves reading, cooking, traveling, and spending time out with friends.

Iulia Daria Drogeanu is a second-year student majoring in Psychology with a minor in Behavioural Science and nother in Statistics. One of her main research interests centres on the neuroscience of stress and how it can affect cognitive processes like memory and the neuroplasticity of the brain. In her free time, she enjoys reading about astrology, shopping, and practicing tarot card readings.

Kobe Litman is a third-year undergraduate student at McGill University majoring in Cognitive Science and minoring in Philosophy. He is interested in using cognitive science to understand how class relations and material conditions shape individual biases and implicit social attitudes. In his free time, Kobe enjoys playing guitar, watching hockey, and spending time with animals.

Camille Paradis is a second-year McGill undergraduate student, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Behavioural Science. She is interested in how political ideologies, systems of inequality, and the process of socialization influence people's attitudes and behaviors toward different groups, particularly concerning gender and sexuality. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, listening to music, and painting.

Dakota Richard is a recent graduate from McGill with a B.A. in Psychology. Her research interests focus on how intersecting identities – such as race, gender, and sexuality – shape psychological wellbeing and treatment, and how these insights can inform public policy to reduce inequality. In her free time, Dakota enjoys dancing, spending time with friends, and exploring the city of Montreal!

Owen Woo is a second-year student at McGill University from Boston, majoring in Psychology. He is interested in social psychology and its influence on human development. Additionally, he is fascinated by history and cultural studies. In his free time, he enjoys music, photography, motor sports, and cooking.