LAB DIRECTOR: Jason M. Harley, PhD
Prof. Harley specializes in conducting research to support emotions and training using biometrics, AI, VR, and simulation to advance healthcare. Please see Prof. Harley’s faculty profile page for more information about them. Academic roles summarized below.
- Associate Professor of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University
- Scientist, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC)
- Director of Research, Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning, McGill University
- Associate Member, Institute for Health Sciences Education, McGill University
Contact Information:
jason.harley [at] mcgill.ca
Telephone Number:
(514) 934-1934 ext. 47233
SUPERVISEES
Postdoctoral Researcher: Matthew Moreno, PhD
Matthew Moreno, PhD received his doctoral degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto where he studied under Prof. Earl Woodruff in the Department of Applied Psychology & Human Development. In addition, he has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music) and Bachelor of Education from York University, a Masters of Education from OISE, and is an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT). His research focuses on using multi-channel, multi-modal data collection tools to understand cognitive decision making, motivation, and emotion regulation in learning, including simulation environments in medical education.
Postgraduate Fellow: Nadja Benmohamed, M.D.
Nadja Benmohamed is a postgraduate fellow in surgical simulation at McGill University. She completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency in University of Geneva, Switzerland. In Switzerland, she was a tutor at the Swiss Foundation for Innovation and Training in Surgery for training of laparoscopy in gynecology. Her research interests are in surgical education and simulation.
Doctoral Candidate: Byunghoon “Tony” Ahn
Byunghoon “Tony” Ahn is a PhD candidate in the Experimental Surgery program in the Department of Surgery at McGill University. He holds a BSc in Psychology and MEd in Educational Technology and Educational Psychology from the University of Alberta. Tony’s interests include surgical education, applied psychology, and design for medical education product development.
*2022 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral award winner
Doctoral Student: Sayed Azher
Sayed Azher is a Doctoral student in Experimental Surgery. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from McMaster University, Canada. His interests are centralized around artificial intelligence and virtual simulation technology. In particular, how these technologies can be integrated into medical education and their potential to enhance the educational success of health care providers. He hopes to utilize psychological and educational theories in adjunct with virtual simulation to train and support health care workers, ultimately resulting in enhanced patient care.”
*2023 Fiera Capital Prize winner in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, RI-MUHC Studentship $15,000.
*2023 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Canada Graduates Scholarship (CGS) award winner
Doctoral Student: Fabio Botelho, M.D.
Dr. Fabio Botelho is a Brazilian pediatric surgeon who graduated from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. He holds a MSc in Surgical Sciences from Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo. In Brazil, in addition to his clinical activities, he was a trauma instructor and a volunteer supervisor of undergraduate students and medical residents in clinical rotations and basic research. Dr. Botelho believes that education is the cornerstone for improving quality in health; a belief that motivated him to come to McGill to learn more about surgical education and global health. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD in Experimental Surgery, co-supervised with Dr. Dan Poenaru.
*2023 Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) Doctoral Award winner
Doctoral Student: Keerat Grewal
Keerat Grewal is a PhD student in the Experimental Surgery program in the Department of Surgery at McGill University. She completed her BSc in biochemistry at McMaster University where she initially developed her interest in education after being an undergraduate TA. Her other interests include psychology and clinical practice. She hopes to advance educational analyses by analyzing individual and group emotion regulation strategies in medical settings.
*2023 RI-MUHC Studentship award winner ($10,000 for one year).
*2023 Fonds de recherche du Québec–Société et culture (FRQSC) Doctoral Award winner
Doctoral Student: Osamu Nomura, PhD
Dr. Osamu Nomura is a PhD student in Health Sciences Education in the Institute of Health Sciences Education at McGill university. He earned an MD from Hirosaki University in Japan and worked as a pediatric emergency physician in Tokyo and Hirosaki. He completed a Master’s of Arts in Educational Psychology, Health Professions Education Concentration in McGill University in 2019. After completing the master’s program, he was appointed as the assistant professor of the Emergency Medicine, and currently as the research associate professor in the Centre for Medical Education at Hirosaki University. In his PhD project at McGill, he will examine medical students’ and health professionals’ use of emotion regulation strategies.
*Canadian Association of Medical Education (CAME) Rising Star Certificate of Excellence Award
Master’s Student: Trisha Tee
Trisha Tee is a master’s student in the Experimental Surgery program in the Department of Surgery at McGill University. She completed her BSc in physiology at McGill University where she developed her interest in education through her involvement with the educational branch of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. Her other research interests include learning and memory, stress in clinical practice and training, and simulation. In her MSc project, co-supervised with Dr. Rolando Del Maestro, she will be evaluating emotional and cognitive load with a spine simulator.
Master’s Student: Negar Matin
Negar Matin is a master’s student in Experimental Surgery. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Physiology and Math from McGill University. Her interests include multidisciplinary analyses of surgical education and psychosocial constructs, and how they could ultimately be utilized to improve patient outcomes. Negar is currently working on the analysis of psychophysiological data in correlation to anti-harassment studies.
Master’s Student: Lizianne Zini
Dr. Zini is a master’s student in Experimental Surgery (Surgical Education). She holds a bachelor's degree in medicine from the Federal University of Ceara, Brazil. Lizianne also completed a specialization in trauma surgery and critical care medicine from the State University of Campinas, Brazil. Her research interests include novel techniques and approaches to medical education with a focus on emotional regulation.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
Julia Baran-Polansky is a third-year student pursuing a B.Sc in Psychology. Her research interests include stress coping, emotion regulation, and developmental psychology.
Sarah Lily Buhr is a fourth-year undergraduate student at McGill, majoring in Psychology with double minors in Behavioural Science and Linguistics. Her research interests include language acquisition and learning, specifically computational modelling of different phenomena.
Annika Delport is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in psychology and double minoring in behavioral sciences and environment. Annika’s research interests include the physiological and psychological effects of the climate crisis, and how they impact behavior. She is currently working on a Policy Analysis project with the lab's Anti-Harassment Team.
Iris Dong is majoring in Psychology and minoring in behavioral neuroscience and computer science. She is interested in clinical psychology and behavioral neuroscience and assisting the Anti-Harassment Project, learning about policy analysis.
Elias German (called Eli by friends) is a U2 majoring in psychology with minors in behavioral science and linguistics at McGill. He is a hopeful future clinical psychologist who is passionate about the healing powers of therapy and LGBT rights. His favorite activity is cuddling with his sphynx cat while watching the gay Olympics (RuPaul's Drag Race).
Calista Harper is a U3 student at McGill University pursuing a BA in psychology with a double minor in behavioural science and political science. Calista’s interests pertain to the etiology and treatment of eating disorders. She is currently an RA for projects that focus on anti-harassment training in medical schools at the SAILS Lab.
Jinzhi He is a U1 student at McGill university who is pursuing a major in psychology and computer science with a minor in behavioral science. Jinzhi’s interests are concentrated around behavioural neuroscience and child development. Jinzhi is currently examining the role of haptics in virtual reality in the context of surgical education.
Kristie Hui is in her second year of undergraduate studies at McGill, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience. She enjoys learning about surgery and related medical advancements.
Camille Humphrey is a fourth-year undergraduate student at McGill University. She is majoring in psychology, with a minor in behavioural science and sociology. Camille’s research interests include developmental psychology, affective neuroscience, psychopharmacology and addiction, and improving the accessibility and equity of mental health resources. She is currently involved in the Anti-Harassment Project at the SAILS Lab.
Taliah Hyjazie is a first-year medical student at McGill University. She completed a BSc in Neuroscience and Biology at Carleton University, conducting research in chronic pain. She is currently participating in conducting research focused on optimizing the quality of medical and surgical education using virtual reality and haptics. She is interested about the potential of using technology to support the training of medical in a safe and controlled environment.
Ella Klein is a second-year student at McGill pursuing a BA in Psychology with minors in Behavioral Science and Hispanic Studies. Ella’s main research interests are clinical psychology and developmental psychology.
Anh Le is a first-year undergraduate student at McGill University pursuing a major in psychology with a double minor in behavioral and political sciences. Her research interests are behavioral neuroscience and abnormal psychology. She is currently involved in a policy analysis project about anti-harassment across medical programs.
Emma Macleay is a U1 student at McGill University, currently working towards a major in Psychology, complemented by a double minor in Behavioural Science and East Asian Language and Literature. Her research interests include mental and behavioural health as well as developmental psychology.
Aralia Mills is a U1 student at McGill University who is pursuing a major in psychology with a minor in behavioral science and sociology. Aralia’s research interests are concentrated around developmental and child psychology. Aralia is currently a volunteer at the SAILS lab to assist with a project examining the role of haptics in virtual reality in the context of surgical education.
Maria Sabrina Di Meglio is a second-year student pursing a B.A. majoring in Psychology and double minoring in Behavioural science and Sociology. Her research interests are in counseling psychology and child development.
Paige Saros is a U3 undergraduate student at McGill pursuing a B.A. in psychology with minors in behavioural science and sociology. Her research interests include cognitive and developmental psychology.
Jaden Seligman is completing her undergraduate degree in Psychology with minors in behaviour science and gender studies at McGill. Her research interests include the relationship between psychological stress and health outcomes.
Ririka Saito is an undergraduate student at McGill pursuing a double major in B.Sc. in Food Science and Nutritional Sciences.
Grace Shuyi Yang is a U2 undergraduate student at McGill pursuing a B.A in psychology and a double minor in behavioral neuroscience and sociology. Her main research interests are industrial/organizational psychology and child development.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECT STUDENTS
Cassandra Dutil is a third-year student pursuing a B.SC in Psychology. Her interests include clinical psychology, most specifically developing more unbiased assessment tools, and organizational psychology and improving the well-being and efficiency of employees.
Melina Tsiolis is a third-year student pursuing a double major in Psychology and Sociology, with a minor in Behavioral Science. Her research interests include psychopathology and social psychology, specifically as it pertains to deviance.
Tippie Zhang is doing her undergraduate degree in psychology at McGill, alongside minors in behavioural science and gender studies. Her research interest revolves around studying emotions, particularly in the developmental and abnormal psychology areas.
ALUMNI:
Postdoctoral Fellows
- Elif Bilgic, Ph.D. (former postdoctoral fellow: September 2020-January 2022, McGill University and The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre), Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and McMaster Education Research, Innovation & Theory (MERIT) Program, McMaster University.
- Clarissa Hin-Hei Lau, Ph.D. (former postdoctoral fellow: September 2020-December 2021, McGill University), Data Analyst (Teaching, Learning and Evaluation), University of Toronto.
- Nigel Mantou Lou, Ph.D. (former postdoctoral fellow: Spring 2020-Spring 2021, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre), Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Victoria
- Yang Liu, PhD (former postdoctoral fellow supervisee: July 2017-July 2019), Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Neuroscience, University of Alberta and Chokka Centre for Integrated Health
MSc Thesis Students
- Arunee Tipwong, M.D. (former Health Professions Education MEd supervisee [co-supervised with Dr. Nathan Hall and Dr. Linda Snell]: January 2020- Physician in Thailand.
- Ali Fazlollahi (former Surgical Education MSc-thesis supervisee [co-supervised with Dr. Rolando Del Maestro]: September 2020-August 2021 McGill University), Medical Student, McGill University
- Hannah Peters (former Surgical Education MSc-thesis supervisee: September 2020-August 2021 McGill University), Physical and Occupational Therapy Student, Dalhousie University
- Ricky Muller Moran, M.D. (former Surgical Education MSc-thesis supervisee [co-supervised with Dr. Kevin Lachapelle]: September 2019-April 2021 McGill University), Cardiac Surgery Resident, University of Manitoba
- Meagane Maurice-Ventouris (former Surgical Education MSc-thesis supervisee [co-supervised with Dr. Kevin Lachapelle]: September 2019-August 2021. BAdmin at John Molson School of Business, Concordia University.
- Chayse Haldane (former MEd supervisee: August 2017-July 2019), doctoral student, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta
- Tony Ahn (former Med supervisee: September 2017-July 2019), see above for current status.
- Lucia Patino, M.D. (former Surgical Education MSc-thesis supervisee): September 2020- June 2023 Family Medicine Resident, McGill University.
- Myriam Johnson, MSc. (former Surgical Education MSc-thesis supervisee): September 2022- June 2023.
MSc-Non-Thesis Students (completed projects)
- Mostafa Siddiqui (former Surgical Education MSc-non-thesis supervisee: Fall 2021)
- Michelle Cwintal (former Surgical Education MSc-non-thesis supervisee: Fall 2020-Winter 2021),
- Hamed Ranjbar (former Surgical Education MSc-non-thesis supervisee: Fall 2020-Winter 2021)
- Dheeksha Reddy (former Surgical Education MSc-non-thesis supervisee: Fall 2020-Winter 2021)
- Kalin Kahla (former Surgical Education MSc-non-thesis supervisee: Fall 2020-Winter 2021)
- Semsi Kocabas (former Surgical Education MSc-non-thesis supervisee: Fall 2020)
Research Assistants
- Deuscies Chang-Ou (former undergraduate volunteer): January 2020-August 2022. MI (Master of Information), User Experience Design, University of Toronto
- Kexin Li (former undergraduate volunteer): January 2020-August 2022. MPH (Master of Public Health) student at Johns Hopkins University
- Brea McLaughlin (former graduate research assistant: (January 2017-July 2019), doctoral student, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta
- Andrea Whittaker (former undergraduate research assistant: September 2017-July 2019), MSc student, Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta
- Alison Yang (former research coordinator and undergraduate volunteer): January 2020-August 2021. MSc in Child Development at UCL, London, UK
CURRENT & RECENT RESEARCH COLLABORATORS:
- Ryan Brydges, PhD, Wilson Centre and Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Rolando F. Del Maestro, M.D., Ph.D., FRCS(C), FACS, DBNS, DABPNS, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Maria Di Stasio, PhD, Department of Human Services and Early Learning, MacEwan University, Alberta
- Liane Feldman, MDCM, FACS, FRCS, Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Gerald Fried, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- James Gross, PhD, Department of Psychology, Stanford University, California, USA
- Allyson Hadwin, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies, University of Victoria
- Nathan C. Hall, PhD, Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Quebec, Canada
- Eunice E. Jang, PhD, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Kevin Lachapelle, MDCM, FACS, FRCPSC, Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Susanne P. Lajoie, PhD, CRC Tier 1, Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Quebec, Canada
- Mélanie Lavoie-Tremblay, RN, PhD, Faculty of Nursing, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Hugo Marchand, RN, BNI, CCNE, Ingram School of Nursing, McGill, Montreal, Canada
- Tina C. Montreuil, PhD, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill, Montreal, Canada
- Dan Poenaru, MD, PhD, FRCSC, FACS, FAAP, Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Reinhard Pekrun, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Munich, Germany and Department of Psychology, University of Essex, UK.
- Shaheen Shariff, PhD, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Jeffrey Wiseman, MD, MEd, FRCPC, Institute for Health Sciences Education, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
