Graduate Students
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Leena Anand, MA
PhD7, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Interpersonal mindfulness; Mindfulness in parenting relationships and long-distance relationships
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Brandon Benchimol-Elkaim, MA
PhD5, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Mindfulness and Virtual Reality interventions to reduce preoperative anxiety
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Karl Broch (he/him), MEd
MA1, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Conceptualisation of Mindfulness; Mechanisms of Mindfulness; Informal and Formal Mindfulness; Buddhist Psychology; Top-Down and Bottom-up Processes
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Karin Cinalioglu (she/her), MSc
MA2, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Mindfulness, VR mindfulness, Perfectionism, Motivation
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Claudia Dias Martins (she/her), MA
PhD3, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Interpersonal mindfulness in romantic relationships; Mindfulness and compassion-based interventions
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Agata Kasprzyk, MA
PhD3, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Transgender and gender diverse mental health; Minority stress; Substance use; Mindfulness and compassion-based interventions
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Akua Kwarko-Fosu, MA, MA
PhD3, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Mindfulness and self-compassion among refugees and asylum claimants
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Myriam Lesage, MA
PhD2, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Interpersonal mindfulness; Virtual Reality (VR) mindfulness
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Viktoriya Manova, MA
PhD6, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Interpersonal mindfulness in supportive interactions
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Kevin Prada (he/him), MA
PhD2, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: 2S/LGBTQI+ and other minority/marginalized communities; The intersection between faith, religiosity, spirituality, and 2S/LGBTQI+ identities and experiences; Mindfulness-based interventions; Substance use and misuse
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Christina Rigas, MSc, MA
PhD2, Counselling Psychology (starting in September 2026)
Research Interests: Mindfulness; Self-compassion; Perinatal mental health; Mental health interventions
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Aglaia Ruffino Jalles
MA1, Educational Psychology (Human Development concentration)
Research Interests: Mindfulness and wellbeing; Interpersonal Mindfulness; Self-Compassion and Compassion for Others; Mental Health Interventions
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Isabel Sadowski (she/her), MA
PhD7, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Mindfulness-based interventions; Nature connection; Virtual Reality; Mental health; Aging; Implementation science; Translational science
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Neha Verma, MA
PhD3, School/Applied Child Psychology
Research Interests: Mind-body interventions, Body-based interventions, Trauma
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Melanie Wisener, MA
PhD8, Counselling Psychology
Research Interests: Mindfulness and Self-Compassion; Addictive Behaviours; Coping
Alumni
Matthew Fleischmann, PhD Counselling Psychology, 2025
Megan Per, PhD Counselling Psychology, 2025
Emma Schmelefske, PhD Counselling Psychology, 2025
Christina Spinelli, PhD Counselling Psychology, 2023
Volunteers and Research Assistants
We are grateful to the volunteers and research assistants who contribute to the MMRL. A special thanks to the following individuals for their work in the 2024-2025 academic calendar:
Keana Chacon-James, Melanie Freifeld, Kyla Janhevich, Andrew Lawless, Naomie Lemyre, An Leng, Jenna Mackenzie, Marianne Meilleur-Bedard, Jamie Mongeon, Joelle Moses, Fiona Nguyen, Cyra Pantaleon, Noémie Setlakwe, Michelle Seto, Malia Silver, Mariame Taoufik, Kabisan Vilvaratnam