Current Members
Daniel Ansari
Principal Investigator
I have the great privilege to work with all the brilliant people in this laboratory on questions such as: "How are number represented in our brains?", "How does the brain change with learning and development?" and "How can we use what we are learning about the basic mechanisms underlying our numerical abilities to inform education?". I have been working on these problems together with amazing students (at both the undergraduate and graduate levels) as well as post-docs for the past decade. We adopt a 'Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience' approach in our research program. By doing so, our lab seeks to understand more about how children learn about numbers using both behavioural and brain-imaging methods. We are committed to making contributions to basic knowledge as well as finding ways to translate what we learn in the laboratory into the classroom. In this way, we are committed to the emerging fields of 'Mind, Brain and Education' and 'Educational Neuroscience'.
Bea Goffin
Lab Manager
I have been extremely fortunate to have spent the last 13 years working behind the scenes with an amazing research team that keeps me young(er) and on-my-toes! I have been involved in the development of study procedures, particularly the preparation of child participants for neuroimaging experiments, preparation of research ethics applications, data management, teaching of standardized testing procedures, administration of laboratory finances and proofreading of manuscripts and grant applications. On occasion, I have been known to step in when needed for recruitment and testing of participants. Every day brings something different and one of the highlights of my time spent in the lab is watching the students develop into strong, accomplished researchers.
Chuyan Qu
Postdoctoral Associate
I am currently a Postdoctoral Associate in the Numerical Cognition Lab at the Centre for Brain and Mind. I received my Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania under the mentorship of Dr. Elizabeth Brannon. My research centers on the origins and development of mathematical cognition and learning. One line of my work investigates the mechanisms that give rise to our non-symbolic visual number sense using a combination of approaches (e.g., psychophysics, eye-tracking, modeling, developmental approaches). Another strand of my research examines how young children acquire an understanding of the compositional structure of symbolic number systems over the course of development. By integrating experimental psychology, developmental psychology, and educational neuroscience, my work seeks to understand how numerical information is perceived, represented, and manipulated across the lifespan. Ultimately, I aim to inform effective educational practices and interventions that support the development of numeracy skills.
Aymee Alvarez
Graduate Student
I am a graduate student interested in exploring the neural mechanisms supporting numerical cognition, using multivariate methods for fMRI data analysis with a special focus on representational similarity analysis. I did my undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Psychology in the University of Havana, Cuba. During my Masters’ degree, I explored the neural representation of number symbols in the Intraparietal Sulcus. Currently, I am a PhD student in the lab and my research focuses on exploring the shared neural resources between arithmetic and reading and whether the overlap between both skills at the neural level is explained by domain general or domain specific processes. I am also interested on investigating the neurobiological correlations of academic skills among children and their parents and revealing whether the family influences in reading and mathematical abilities that has been described in behavioral studies can also be observed at the level of the brain.
Rebekka Lagace-Cusiac
Graduate Student
As a PhD student, I am interested in how we perceive proportions across different types of magnitude, whether they are spatial, temporal or numerical. More specifically, I am interested in the domain general aspect of this ability, how this ability may be improved through training and whether this type of training can transfer to other skills in which knowledge of proportions is essential. Prior to coming to Western, I completed collegial studies in music and natural sciences as well as a BSc in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Montreal.
Nadir Díaz-Simón
Graduate Student
I’m a Ph.D. student in Psychology. I completed a master's degree in Cognitive Science from the Universidad de la Republica and a bachelor’s in psychology from Universidad de la Habana. I have had the opportunity to work at the Cuban Neuroscience Center and the Interdisciplinary Center in Cognition for Teaching and Learning in Uruguay, conducting research on the behavioural and brain bases of school learning processes. As a graduate student, I would like to contribute to understanding early numerical skills underlying academic performance. I'm especially interested in translating basic research in Cognitive Neuroscience into evidence-based intervention in math skills in school settings.
Antonius (Siu Kwan) Tam
Graduate Student
I am a graduate student in the MSc Psychology program (Cognitive, Developmental, Brain Sciences). I am originally from Hong Kong and completed my BSocSc degree at the University of Hong Kong with a major in Psychology. My broad research interest mainly lies in math education and numerical cognition. Specific topics that I am working on and plan to work on include: using visual-aids to facilitate fraction learning in school-aged children, the relationship between human statistical learning and numerosity processing, computerized applications to assist math educators and students, and cross-cultural differences in math education.
Nichola Jenkins
Research Assistant
I am currently a Research Assistant in the Numerical Cognition Laboratory and a graduate from Brescia University College in Psychology and Human Development with additional experience as a Child and Youth Care Practitioner. I have the great privilege of being involved with the Learning Variability Network Exchange (LEVANTE) project, where I lead a team of Research Assistants to complete child and parent assessments in schools and the community. My time working in the Numerical Cognition Lab has contributed to my wish to pursue post-graduate education in Educational Psychology with a focus on behaviour.
