Faculty & Staff
DIRECTOR
Dr. Sarah Dermody
(she/her)
Lab Manager
Theo Quinn
(he/they)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Erin Courtice
(she/her)
Dr. Dermody is the Director of the Clinical Addictions Research and Equity (CARE) Lab and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly) Ryerson University. She is trained in the fields of clinical and health psychology, and her research specializes in addiction and social justice. She has received grants from the National Institutes of Health and Canadian Institute of Health Research. She is also a member of the Society for Research in Nicotine and Tobacco and Research Society on Alcoholism.
Theo is a white, able-bodied, transmasculine, queer, and neurodivergent person. In 2022, he graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) with distinction, earning a BA in Psychology and a minor in both Disability Studies and Criminology. They are passionate about community connections and care, and their research interests are heavily centered around trans healthcare, gender minority stress, intersectionality, and community-based practices.
Dr. Courtice is a postdoctoral research associate working with the CARE Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University. She received her PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Ottawa in 2023, where she also worked as a Part-Time Professor. Broadly, Dr. Courtice’s research examines how people’s interpersonal experiences shape and are shaped by technology. Driven by her commitment to social justice, Dr. Courtice also conducts research that centres 2SLGBTQ+ experiences in various contexts.
Students & Research Assistants
PhD Student
Alexandra Uhrig
(she/her)
PhD Student
Stephanie Penta
(she/her)
Masters Student
Anurada Amarasekera
(she/they)
Alexandra Uhrig is a third year PhD student in Clinical Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), where she also completed her MA. For her master’s thesis, Alexandra examined heavy drinking, alcohol-related consequences, and peer norms regarding alcohol use in transgender young adults. Her research interests include substance use in marginalized individuals, community-based research, and examining factors that buffer the risk of experiencing substance-use related harms in youth and young adults.
Stephanie Penta is a first-year PhD student in Clinical Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). In 2019, Stephanie completed her BSc in Honours Psychology at the University of Waterloo. In 2024, she completed her MA in Clinical Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University. Stephanie’s research interests include exploring risk and protective factors for substance use and addiction and evaluating related treatments.
Anurada Amarasekera is in the first year of her Master’s in Clinical Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University. She completed her BA in Honours Psychology at Simon Fraser University. Anurada’s research interests include using community-based participatory research (CBPR) to better understand substance use disparities endured by multiple minoritized populations, in particular, 2SLGBTQ+ South Asian young adults.
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Spencer Kinchlea
(they/them)
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Victoria Doan
(she/her)
Undergraduate Thesis Student
Dorsa Tafakori
(she/her)
Spencer Kinchlea is an undergraduate Psychology student at Toronto Metropolitan University and Honours Thesis student at the CARE Lab. Spencer is interested in research involving addiction, mental health, and LGBTQ+ populations. In the future, Spencer hopes to complete graduate studies in Clinical Psychology and work with LGBTQ+ youth.
Victoria Doan (she/her) is an undergraduate student at Toronto Metropolitan University in her final year of the BA in Psychology program. Her research interests include mental health disparities in sexual and gender minority populations and barriers to equitable access of support services. Victoria is currently completing an undergraduate honours thesis and has joined the CARE lab in order to gain research experience. She aspires to pursue postgraduate studies in Clinical Psychology.
Dorsa Tafakori is a fourth-year undergraduate psychology student from Toronto Metropolitan University. She is currently undergoing her thesis project in the CARE Lab, using a stimulus control intervention to study cigarette cessation. Dorsa has an interest in pursuing graduate studies in Clinical Psychology.
Honors Thesis Student
Mojdeh Jankouk
(she/her)
Honors Thesis Student
Allison Gorczyk
(she/her)
Honors Thesis Student
Lily Werner
(she/her)
Mojdeh Jankouk is a fourth-year undergraduate psychology student at Toronto Metropolitan University. For her URO project, Mojdeh examined the healthcare experiences of transgender and gender-diverse adults, with a focus on intersectionality. She is currently working on her thesis project in the CARE Lab, examining how sleep relates to mental health outcomes among LGBTQIA+ people relative to non-LGBTQIA+ people. She intends to pursue a graduate degree in Clinical Psychology.
Lilly Werner is an undergraduate psychology student from Toronto Metropolitan University, pursuing her Honors Thesis at the CARE Lab. She is particularly interested in research focusing on the mental health of LGBTQ+ individuals. In the long term, Lilly aspires to complete her graduate studies to provide greater support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Allison Gorczyk is completing her final semester of undergraduate studies at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) with a BA in Psychology. Allison has experience working with young children with varying behavioural and developmental disabilities. She is interested in child psychology, focusing on environmental and socioeconomic factors contributing to mental health challenges among children and youth. Allison has joined the CARE Lab to gain research experience working with minority and disadvantaged populations. She plans to pursue graduate studies in Clinical Psychology