Research Laboratory
What We Do
We are a psychology lab at St. Thomas University focusing on multisensory perception and cognition. Under the direction of Dr. Doris Chow, undergraduate students conduct experimental research to understand how human participants respond to, interpret, and remember information from the different senses. Such an understanding has the potential to improve health and education-related outcomes. Furthermore, students in the lab develop important skills for research-oriented careers and beyond.
Current Members
Serena Bunin (BA' 24)
Major: Psychology; Minors: Anthropology and Sociology
Role: Honours thesis student (2023-24), NSERC USRA holder (2024-25)
Skills developed: Academic writing and reading, experiment design, participant communications and outreach, project management
Gavin Woodward (expected graduation in 2025)
Major: Psychology; Minor: Philosophy
Role: HMSRI Research Assistant (2023-24), NSERC USRA holder (2024-25), Honours thesis student (2024-25)
Skills developed: Academic writing and reading, experiment design, participant communications and outreach, computer programming
Sid d’Entremont (expected graduation in 2026)
Major: Psychology; double Minor in English and Gerontology
Role: Honours thesis student (2024-25)
Skills developed: Academic reading and writing, experiment design
Beatrix Culligan (expected graduation in 2026)
Major: Psychology; Minor: English
Role: Research Assistant
Skills Developed: Academic reading, participant communication, and problem-solving
Lab Updates and Achievements
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Honours students completed their theses:
- Sid d'Entremont 'Testing the Link Between Visual Imagery and the Tactile Bouba-Kiki Effect'
- Gavin Woodward 'Does the Auditory Blanking Effect Require Multisensory Integration?'
- Lab members presented at various conferences:
- Flavia Orellana, Gavin Woodward and Sid d’Entremont presented at STU’s Student Research Ideas Fair in March.
- Beatrix Culligan, Gavin Woodward and Sid d’Entremont presented at the Science Atlantic Psychology Undergraduate Conference in May.
- Sid d’Entremont, Gavin Woodward, and Dr. Chow presented at the Annual Meeting of Vision Sciences Society in May.
- Lab members have been accepted into graduate programs (2025 Fall):
- Gavin Woodward: The Max Planck School of Cognition, Doctoral Program
- Serena Bunin: University of Guelph, MA in Applied Social Psychology
- Serena Bunin and Gavin Woodward (USRA recipients from last summer) drafted two stage-1 registered reports. These have been peer-reviewed and accepted in principle, and we can now begin collecting data. We also published a research study on infant rule learning in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
- Finally, Dr. Chow was awarded an NSERC Discovery Grant in the summer of 2024. We look forward to continuing our work in the next few years!
We are often looking for research assistants and participants! If you are interested in learning more about what we work on, feel free to check out:
Dr. Chow's mentoring philosophy for current, prospective, and past students
Want to get involved? Contact Dr. Chow at hchow@stu.ca to ask about research opportunities.