Meet the lab!

Adiel is a postdoctoral fellow at the SMART lab. He obtained his doctoral degree in neuroscience from McGill University in 2019. His doctoral thesis focused on both examining the role of endogenous opioids in emotional responses to music and exploring the impact of music on social cognition. Adiel’s broad research interests include investigating how music impacts mental health and cognition and exploring the neurochemical effects of music. In his spare time, he enjoys playing and composing music on the piano.

Articles:

Mallik, A., Chanda, M. L., & Levitin, D. J. (2017). Anhedonia to music and mu-opioids: Evidence from the administration of naltrexone. Scientific Reports, 7, 41952.
Jia, B., Wee, T., Boudreau, C., Berard, D., Mallik, A., Juncker, D., . . . Leslie, S. (2016). Parallelized cytoindentation using convex micropatterned surfaces. BioTechniques, 61(2), 73.
Mallik, A., Bryan, S., Puukila, S., Chen, A., & Khaper, N. (2011). Efficacy of Pt-modified TiO2 nanoparticles in cardiac cells. Experimental & Clinical Cardiology, 16(1), 6.
Xu, C., Hamilton, S., Mallik, A., & Ghosh, M. (2007). Upgrading of athabasca vacuum tower bottoms (VTB) in supercritical hydrocarbon solvents with activated carbon-supported metallic catalysts. Energy & Fuels, 21(6), 3490-3498.

Alberto is a Professional Engineer, Certified Industrial Hygienist and Certified Member of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering. He holds a Diploma in Acoustics from the Imperial College, London (UK) and has been the recipient of several Fellowships, including one from the Fulbright Commission (USA) and the Hugh Nelson Award of Excellence in Industrial Hygiene (OHAO, Canada).

As an acoustician, his interest is centered in the field of hearing conservation, especially in hearing protection. He has over 50 papers published in peer-reviewed journals and has several books as an author or collaborator. Alberto is a chairman and member of CSA and ANSI committees and working groups and is also the Canadian representative at two ISO Working Groups.

Relevant articles:

Alberto Behar, Fran Copelli and Frank Russo: FIELD ATTENUATION OF FOAM EARPLUGS. Paper 759. 26th International Conference on Sound and Vibration, Montreal, July 2019

Travis McLennon, Shivangi Patel, Alberto Behar and Mohammad Abdoli-Eramaki: Evaluation of smartphone sound level meter applications as a reliable tool for noise monitoring. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/IC8WQUKQ9T7MXPP4WMY5/full?target=10.1080/15459624.2019.1639718

A. Behar and F. Russo: NOISE, VIBRATIONS, AND HEARING LOSS IN THE WORKPLACE, Canadian Acoustics, Vol 47, No4 (2019)

Alex (B.Eng, M.Sc., Queen’s) was the SMART Lab’s research engineer between 2009 and 2012. His most long-lasting contribution was the development of Feature Finder, a widely used free MATLAB tool that helps researchers organize and analyze physiological signals. Alex continues to contribute to the Feature Finder community as he can.

Alex is currently working as a musician, educator, and software developer.

Andrew joined the SMART Lab in October of 2009 as an undergraduate student in the psychology program. He has been playing the guitar since he was 13 which has sparked his interest in music and sound perception. Andrew’s work in the lab involved reverb perception in singers and the Toronto Sound Map project.

I am currently a second year student at Toronto Metropolitan University where I am completing my psychology degree. My long term goals involve pursuing a career in clinical psychology. I started volunteering for SMART Lab in 2024 and hope to keep helping throughout my undergraduate career.

Anne recently graduated from the psychology program at Ryerson University with a minor in music studies. She joined the SMART Lab to explore her passion for cognitive psychology and music. Currently, she is assisting with a listening effort project using fNIRS.

Bryan graduated with a BA in Music Therapy from Capitano University in 2017. Prior to moving to Vancouver, Bryan studied jazz performance at Mohawk College in Hamilton, ON, where he was a member of the Mohawk College jazz choir. In addition, he has worked as a professional musician performing original compositions and various genres of music in venues across Canada. Bryan has been a regular part of lab meetings since 2015, and he was instrumental in the first iteration of our “music and acting camp for children with autism.

Claudia joined the SMART Lab in the fall 2020 as a masters student after completing her BSc. in Psychology: Brain & Cognition from the University of Guelph. Her masters thesis focused on inducing anxiety with the use of anxious music. Her broad research interests include music cognition, and music and drug interactions in applied and therapeutical settings.

Outside of research, Claudia spends her time volunteering in the event and music industry and enjoys live music.

Dmitri worked in the lab as a research assistant between 2006-07. He is a graduate from the University of Toronto (Psychology and CCIT) and has completed post-graduate training in Digital Communication at Sheridan College. Dmitri is a digital artist, educator and entrepreneur. He self-describes as a “digital nomad” having lived and worked around the world.

Dominique Vuvan received her Ph.D. in Psychology with a certificate from the Program in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto in 2012. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the International Laboratory of Brain, Music, and Sound Research from 2012 to 2016. Currently, she is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Skidmore College. Professor Vuvan’s research focuses on the neurocognition of music, with particular interests in expectancy processing, language-music interaction, and individual differences.

Ella Dubinsky began her graduate work at SMART lab in 2015, and is combining her passions for neuroscience and music in her research pursuits. Ella received a BSc with honours in both neuroscience and mathematics from Dalhousie University, where her honours thesis focused on EEG indices of language processing. A lifelong musician, Ella decided to focus her graduate studies on how music can change the brain. She is currently examining the effects of choir participation and musical training on perception and cognition, particularly in aging individuals. Ella is excited to be a member of the SMART Lab community, and continues to play and write music in her spare time.

Emily Wood is a undergraduate thesis student in the SMART lab. Her interest in music cognition and neuroscience has stemmed from her life-long musical endeavours—she has been playing piano since the age of 5. After obtaining a BMus in Jazz Piano Performance at McGill, Emily joined the lab as a research assistant in 2016. Initially Emily worked on a project examining the benefits of choir training on auditory perception abilities in older adults. Later she extended this work by tracking individuals who stayed in the choir for additional sessions. In the summer of 2018, Emily completed an NSERC USRA, during which time she helped design an experiment investigating the role of the motor system in memory for vocal vs. instrumental timbre melodies.

For her thesis project, Emily is investigating whether the amount of music training one has can predict auditory outcomes, such as the ability to perceive speech in noise and the bottom-up neural representation of sound. In the future, she is interested in using physiological methods to investigate musicians’ speech perception advantages in difficult listening situations. Emily is also interested in how music training shapes new neural connections, and how pitch and beat perception develop. She hopes to combine her love for music, psychology, and computer programming in these pursuits.

When Emily is not studying, she likes to play tunes, teach piano, knit, and write MATLAB programs.

PS – The cat ears in the photo are part of an EEG headset that measures changes in electrical activity in the brain. They start to wiggle when they pick up electrical activity associated with focus or interest!

Emma Bortolon-Vettor completed a B.A. in Psychology at Ryerson University (2014). While completing her BA she made important contributions to projects concerning music and autism as well as the Toronto Sound Map Project. She also participated in a directed readings course on EEG rhythms directed by Dr. Russo.

Emma is an undergraduate student in Psychology from the University of Surrey, England, joining the SMART lab in 2017 as a visiting research assistant. She is currently investigating emotion perception in older adults with hearing loss and hearing aids when listening to music, and the physiological responses associated with this. Emma’s research interests are in auditory neuroscience, and in the long run she hopes to understand how machine intelligence and auditory perception interacts.

Esztella joined the lab in 2012 during her undergraduate career, during which time she completed an honours thesis with Dr. Russo on emotional facial expressiveness in Parkinson’s disease. Esztella is now a PhD student in the Clinical Psychology program and, alongside her clinical training, set up a choir for people with Parkinson’s disease for her previous Master’s thesis that has since become a highly valued independent program in the Parkinson’s community. She intends to continue research in the area of emotional communication for her doctoral dissertation. Outside of university life, Esztella works as a rehabilitation support worker for people with traumatic brain injury, conducts psychological assessments, and enjoys spending time with her husband, young daughter, friends and two spoiled cats.

Gabe has been a member of the SMART Lab since 2007 and began his graduate studies in 2012. His main research interest is investigating aspects of music that drive the periodic synchronization of neural activity. For example, a song with an obvious and regular beat will entrain neural firing more than a song with an irregular beat. Using EEG methods, this neural entrainment can be localized to certain regions of the brain, and it is predicted that the motor system is heavily involved in beat detection, synchronization, and prediction. His other projects involve investigating the relationship between physiological responses to emotional speech and the use of hearing aids, as well as developing PHZLAB, a MATLAB Toolbox for the analysis of physiological data (https://github.com/gabenespoli/phzlab).

Gillian completed her MA in the SMART lab (2007-09) after a BSc in Math and Computer Science (Waterloo) and working in industry as a database programmer. Her master’s thesis examined the effects of musical valence and arousal on recovery following an acute stressor (Sandstrom & Russo, 2010). She also helped to develop the Absorption in Music scale (Sandstrom & Russo, 2011), and contributed to work on direction of gaze during observation of song (Russo, Sandstrom & Maksimowski, 2011) and the prediction of felt emotion from physiological signals (Russo, Vempala & Sandstrom, 2013). She completed a Ph.D. with Elizabeth Dunn at UBC followed by post-doctoral studies with Jason Rentfrow at Cambridge. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Psychology of Kindness at the University of Sussex.

Hala is currently entering her second year at Toronto Metropolitan University majoring in Psychology while getting a certificate in Human Resources Management. Hala is planning to attend graduate school to pursue a career in Clinical Psychology. Currently, she’s immersed in the Bridging Divides Underrepresented Undergraduate Internship at the SMART lab working and collaborating on the Singwell project! Hala’s interests lie in both traditional clinical approaches and innovative, interdisciplinary methods to promote mental well-being.

Hannah joined the SMART Lab in Fall 2020 as a postdoctoral fellow after completing my PhD in cognitive psychology at Ohio State University. Her work at OSU focused on investigating how the brain processes audiovisual speech in deaf adults with cochlear implants compared to adults with normal hearing. Hannah is excited to join projects studying listening effort and perception of emotional speech in adults with hearing loss, particularly using fNIRS.

Hi everyone! My name is Hannah, and I completed my undergraduate degree at Memorial University of Newfoundland where I became interested in the potential health benefits of group singing. I started at the SMART Lab in Fall 2022, and I am also involved with the SingWell project. I hope to explore how group singing can impact those with communication disorders and I am interested in how the resulting social connections can improve mental health.

Hillary is an undergraduate student completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. Her interests include clinical psychology and cognitive neuroscience related to attention and academic achievement. She joined the SMART Lab as a research assistant in 2023.

Imaan is a third-year undergraduate student at TMU, began volunteering with the SMART Lab in November 2024 as a research assistant under Dr. Chi Lo. Her interest in the lab’s exploration of music, mind, and action aligns with her broader academic curiosity in psychology. Imaan is excited to continue building her research skills and plans to pursue postgraduate studies.

Irene Valentiner graduated from the University of Toronto with an honours BSc. in Psychology with high distinction. She is passionate about neuropsychology and joined the SMART lab to expand her research interests and learn more about the relationship between music and science. Currently, she is assisting with a study examining the effects of choir singing and musical training in older adults’ perception and cognition. In her spare time, Irene enjoys learning new languages, exploring the city and traveling.

Jessica Mitchell completed her B.A. in Psychology at Ryerson University. She completed an independent study in the lab and contributed to work on the Toronto Sound Map Project.

Joseph Rovetti is an undergraduate thesis student working toward a B.A. in psychology. He has been in the SMART lab since the start of 2017, with his research topics including listening effort, working memory, and the action-observation network. His main line of research involves the use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure cognitive effort during auditory tasks, including listening effort in older adults with hearing aids. For this work, he was awarded two NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (2017 and 2018) and the Irene Gammel & Jean-Paul Boudreau Undergraduate Research Award (2018). In the coming year, Joseph hopes to outgrow his self-imposed title of the lab’s “resident non-musician” by learning to sing and play piano. In the fall of 2020, he also plans to begin a graduate degree in psychology after gaining a year of work experience.

Joseph recently graduated from the psychology program at Toronto Metropolitan University with a minor in philosophy. He joined the SMART Lab to explore his passion for music and psychology. Currently, he is a research assistant at the SMART lab and at the LUCID project. His work focuses on examining music preference and optimizing music-based interventions that can contribute to psychological well being. In his spare time Joseph enjoys listening to Jazz and practicing the double bass.

Karla is the lab manager at the SMARRT Lab. She graduated from BA Psychology at Ryerson University in 2021. She has been a part of the SMART Lab team since 2019 as a research assistant, thesis student and NSERC USRA recipient, working on various projects exploring emotion and speech perception, and listening effort.

Katlyn completed an MA in the SMART lab in 2013 on the the influence of facial averaging on facial mimicry responses. Katlyn continues to be affiliated with the lab but as of 2013, her primary affiliation is the Stress & Healthy Aging Research (StAR) Lab under the supervision of Dr. Fiocco. Her dissertation will investigate the efficacy of music in mitigating stress-related responses in older adults.

I am currently an undergraduate student at Toronto Metropolitan University, where I am pursuing a degree in Psychology. My goal is to complete my undergraduate studies and then pursue a master’s degree in clinical psychology. I started my position as a research assistant at SMART Lab in 2023.

Laura studied classical piano and music education in her undergraduate at Western University. During 2013-2014 she studied psychology at Ryerson where she became involved with the SMART lab. Laura worked primarily on a pilot study involving a novel singing therapy to promote the rehabilitation of facial movement and vocal projection in people with Parkinson’s disease. She also assisted in conducting a study on how group singing can be used to promote positive social relations within and across cultures. Laura is currently completing her Masters of Music Therapy at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her research primarily focuses on the health and well-being benefits of using improvisation and adaptive music technology to create inclusive and accessible community music experiences.

Lena is an NSERC USRA recipient, research assistant, and undergraduate thesis student at the SMART Lab. She is currently completing her final year of studies in the psychology program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her profound interest in music cognition and perception led her to join the lab in 2022. She will be exploring the effects of cannabis on the auditory experience for her honours thesis project, under the supervision of Dr. Lo and Dr. Russo.

Lena Quinto was a visiting researcher in the lab in 2007 and 2010 while completing graduate studies with Bill Thompson at (University of Toronto and Macquarie University). She is currently a medical student at the University of Sydney.

Lisa joined the lab in 2008 as a research assistant and later completed an MA in the lab in 2010 on automatic facial mimicry in perception of vocal music (Chan, Livingstone, Russo, 2013).

Lisa is now working as a research assistance with Dr. Fergus Craik at the Rotman Research Institute.

Lucy completed her PhD in the lab in 2014. Using a range of methods (EEG, EMG, fMRI) her dissertation explored the role of the mirror neuron system in understanding music and biological movement. Her other research interests include memory and the use of arts-based training to support emotional communication. She is currently working as a post-doctoral fellow with Jessica Grahn at Western’s Brain and Mind Institute.

SMART Lab Publications

McGarry, L. M., Pineda, J., Russo, F. A. (2015). The role of the extended MNS in emotional and non-emotional judgments of human song. Cognitive, Behavioral and Affective Neuroscience, 15, 32-44.

McGarry, L., Pineda, J.A, & Russo, F.A. (2014). The role of the extended MNS in emotional and nonemotional judgments of human song. Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience, doi: 10.3758/s13415-014-0311-x.

McGarry, L., Russo, F., Schalles, M., and Pineda, J. (2012). Audiovisual integration of the mu wave. Experimental Brain Research, 218(4), 527-538.

McGarry, L., and Russo, F. (2011). Mirroring in Dance/Movement Therapy: Potential mechanisms behind empathy enhancement. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 38(3), 178-184.

Lucy is an undergraduate student at Toronto Metropolitan University working toward a degree in psychology. She began working as a research assistant at the Smart Lab in February 2022.

Mahnoor Javed began her graduate journey at the SMART lab in 2021. Prior to joining Ryerson University, Mahnoor graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelors of Science, with a background in both Biology and Neuropsychology. Her research interests include looking at the cognitive mechanisms associated with processing auditory perceptual stimuli. Outside of school, Mahnoor likes to spend her free time horseback riding, gardening, and cuddling with her kitten.

Maria is a Postdoctoral Fellow working with Ryerson University and Sonova. She completed her Ph.D. and Master’s degrees in psychology at the University of Toronto, where she conducted research in the area of social psychology, focusing primarily on research related to stigma. Currently, Maria is focusing on the social psychology of hearing loss and hearing rehabilitation. In particular, Maria plans to examine factors relevant for patient-client trust and its effects on hearing aid uptake. Maria is also investigating psychological predictors of changes in help-seeking behaviours in audiology.

Mia Saadon graduated from Ryerson University with a B.A. in Psychology. Since joining the SMART lab in 2012, she has assisted on various projects involving mimicry of emotional content to promote empathy and emotional understanding. Specifically, Mia worked on a pilot study involving a novel singing therapy to promote the rehabilitation of facial movement and vocal projection in people with Parkinson’s disease. Her personal research interests involve the effects of music as a therapeutic intervention on mental health. Mia’s passion and involvement in music extends outside of the research setting. She has been musically trained in vocal performance and acoustic guitar and can be seen performing at local coffee shops and charity events.

Mia is an undergraduate student at Toronto Metropolitan University, she graduated in 2019 with a degree in Psychology and has returned to pursue a second degree in Nutrition and Food. She originally began working as a research assistant at the Smart Lab in Fall 2018.

Visiting Professor in the department from July 2015-July 2016

Michael Shutz is known for his innovative blend of performance, teaching and research. He is currently Assistant Professor of Music Cognition/Percussion at McMaster University. He is the founding director of the MAPLE Lab – researching Music, Acoustics, Perception and LEarning (www.maplelab.net), and a core member of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind. His research is supported by grants from Canadian agencies such as NSERC and Ontario’s Early Researcher Award, as well as international agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Academy of Audiology. Previously, Michael served as Director of Percussion Studies at Longwood University in Virginia, where he performed regularly with the Roanoke Symphony and Opera on the James. Michael’s interdisciplinary training includes bachelor’s degrees in both Computer Science (BS) and Music Performance (BMA) from Penn State University as well as a MM in Music Performance and Music Technology from Northwestern, where he studied with marimba virtuoso Michael Burritt. Michael also earned a MA and PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Virginia under the tutelage of Michael Kubovy.

Michael is a Research Scientist/Engineer here in the SMART Lab. He loves getting his hands on and playing with new technology. He is also fascinated by the way our mind and body work. Here in the SMART Lab, Michael gets to bring these two passions together. Michael plays an instrumental role in the lab’s fNIRS-related projects, where we are using “brain-sensing” technology to see how the brain reacts to different listening conditions.

Dr. Henry received her PhD in Experimental Psychology from Bowling Green State University. She then completed postdocs at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Western University. In 2019, she started the Max Planck Research Group “Neural and Environmental Rhythms” at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. The Neural and Environmental Rhythms lab makes its debut at Ryerson University in July 2021.

Her research in the Neural and Environmental Rhythms lab explores how synchrony between brain rhythms and environmental rhythms shapes our perception of the world. This research takes a dynamical-systems approach to understanding brain–environment synchrony, conceptualizing and modeling brain rhythms as being generated by neural oscillators (and testing that assumption along the way). The work combines individual-differences, experimental, and cross-sectional lifespan approaches, and makes use of psychophysics, electrophysiology (M/EEG), and modeling to move towards a more wholistic, mechanistic understanding of brain–environment synchrony and its role in auditory perception.

Monique graduated from McMaster University with an honours BSc. in Psychology, Neuroscience, and behaviour specializing in music cognition. She was co-president of the McMaster Music Cognition Society and a member of the McMaster University Percussion ensemble. Her thesis work dealt with tapping production in different effectors and its influence on timing perception. Thus extending the research she completed as part of a USRA project in the summer of 2013 on inter-limb coordination and timing.
She is now taking on her role as Lab Manager for the SMART Lab.

Presentations

May 2015. Ontario Psychology Undergraduate Thesis conference, London, ON.
Tardif, M.C., Manning, F., & Schutz, M., The influence of motor effector’s tapping rate on timing judgments. (Poster)

March 2015. Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour Undergraduate thesis poster session, Hamilton, ON.
Tardif, M.C., Manning, F., & Schutz, M., The influence of motor effector’s tapping rate on timing judgments. (Poster)

February 2015. Lake Ontario Visionary Establishment Conference, Niagara Falls, ON.
Tardif, M.C., Manning, F., & Schutz, M., Motor effector’s tapping rate influences movement’s effect on timing perception. (Poster)

September 2014. Neuromusic conference, McMaster Institute for Music and The Mind, Hamilton, ON.
Tardif, M. C, Manning, F., Harris, J., & Schutz, M., Timing judgments improve with tapping consistency across effectors in percussionists. (Poster)

February 2014. Lake Ontario Visionary Establishment Conference, Niagara Falls, ON.
Tardif, M. C, Manning, F., & Schutz, M., Better together? Simultaneous & alternating stick tapping in a continuation paradigm. (Poster)

November 2013. Neuromusic conference, McMaster Institute for Music and The Mind, Hamilton, ON.
Tardif, M. C, Manning, F., & Schutz, M., Tapping into synchrony: Synchronization & continuation tapping with different effectors. (Poster)

November 2013. Undergraduate Student Research Award Poster Presentation, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON.
Tardif, M. C, Manning, F., & Schutz, M., Tapping into synchrony: A study looking into synchronization and continuation tapping with different effectors. (Poster)

I graduated with a BA from York University where I studied Psychology and Music. I’m currently doing post-degree studies at the University of Guelph. I work as a live/studio sound engineer and a mental health counsellor. I’m really excited to work with the SMART Lab! My hobbies include running data science projects, listening to live music, or attempting to bond with my cats—who’ve made it clear they’d prefer I didn’t.

Naresh Vempala is an Industrial research associate at the SMART Lab, with over 15 years of combined experience in industry and academia. He works on industry-academia collaborative projects. His work involves conducting applied research in the lab and translating that into innovative product development for WaveDNA, a music software company. He has been developing experimental protocols and algorithms to cognitively inform and improve WaveDNA’s framework. His research involves computational modelling and behavioural approaches, and includes music emotion prediction, melodic similarity perception, melody recognition, and musical creativity. Naresh is also the co-founder and chief organizer of CogMIR, a society with annual seminars on cognitively based music informatics. Naresh completed his Ph.D in Cognitive Science from the Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

For more information about Naresh and his research, please visit his personal website here.

List of Publications:

Russo, F. A., Vempala, N. N., & Sandstrom, G. M. (2013). Predicting musically induced emotions from physiological inputs: linear and neural network models. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 468.

Vempala, N. N., & Russo, F. A. (2013). Exploring cognitivist and emotivist positions of musical emotion using neural network models. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Cognitive Modeling (ICCM), Ottawa, ON, Canada, July 11-14.

Vempala, N. N., & Russo, F. A. (2012). Predicting emotion from music audio features using neural networks. Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Computer Music Modeling and Retrieval (CMMR), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, London, UK, June 19-22.

Vempala, N. N., & Maida, A. S. (2011). Effects of memory size on melody recognition in a simulation of cohort theory. Cognitive Systems Research, 12, 66-78.

Vempala, N. N., & Maida, A. S. (2009). Modeling melody recognition using a sequence recognition neural network with meta-level processes. Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN), Atlanta, GA, June 14-19, 3204-3211.

Vempala, N., & Dasgupta, S. (2007). A computational model of the music of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Proceedings of the Sixth ACM SIGCHI conference on Creativity and Cognition, 203-212.

Negar graduated with a BSc in Life Sciences from U of t, doing a double major in psychology and HPST (history and philosophy of science and technology). She was a research assistant at the SMART lab and she is continuing her studies at the graduate level with the Cognitive Hearing Lab starting in fall of 2024. During her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, reading, and wildlife photography!

Nikita Yang is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Toronto, pursuing a Psychology Specialist and Neuroscience Major. She has a published research paper on the fundamental aesthetic responses to musical excerpts in the Journal of Emerging Investigators, leading to her interest in TMU’s SMART lab. Her research interests are in neuroimaging, cognitive psychology, neurodegenerative diseases, and psychiatric disorders. In her spare time, Nikita enjoys dancing in a variety of styles, volunteering, and cooking.

Paolo Ammirante was a post-doctoral fellow at the SMART lab. He completed his Master’s degree in music performance at the University of Toronto and his PhD in psychology with Bill Thompson at Macquarie University. His dissertation investigated the influence of pitch on timing and motor skill. His research interests include synchronization (at behavioural and neural levels), vibrotactile perception of sound, and melodic universals.

List of publications:

Book chapters

Ammirante, P. (in press). Timing [encyclopedia entry]. In Music in the Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Braun Janzen, T., Ammirante, P., & Thompson, W. F. (in press). Development of timing skills. In G. McPherson (Ed.), Musical Prodigies: Interpetations from Psychology, Musicology and Ethnomusicology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Quinto, L., Ammirante, P., & Connors, M. H., & Thompson, W. F. (in press). Prodigies and music composition: Cognitive skills and developmental antecedents. In G. McPherson (Ed.), Musical Prodigies: Interpetations from Psychology, Musicology and Ethnomusicology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Thompson, W. F., & Ammirante, P. (2012). Musical thought. In K. J. Holyoak & R. G. Morrison (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning (pp. 684-698). New York: Oxford University Press.

Book reviews

Ammirante, P. (2013). Review of Mark Changizi’s Harnessed. Canadian Acoustics, 41(1).

Papers

Ammirante, P., & Russo, F. A. (in press). Low-skip bias: The distribution of skips and leaps across

the pitch ranges of vocal and instrumental melodies is vocally constrained. Music Perception.

Ammirante, P., Russo, F. A., Good, A., & Fels, D. (2013). Feeling voices. PLoS ONE 8(1), e53585.

Russo, F. A., Ammirante, P., & Fels, D. (2012). Vibrotactile discrimination of musical timbre. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 38(4), 822-826.

Ammirante, P. & Thompson, W. F. (2012). Continuation tapping to triggered melodies: Motor resonance effects of melodic motion. Experimental Brain Research, 64(2), 381-393.

Ammirante, P., Thompson, W. F., & Russo, F. A. (2011). Ideomotor effects of pitch on continuation tapping. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64(2), 381-393. [pdf]

Ammirante, P. & Thompson, W. F. (2010). Melodic accent as an emergent property of tonal motion. Empirical Musicology Review, 5(3), 94-107

Phuong-Nghi Pham attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, USA, and graduated with honors in Psychology, Music, and English. She is drawn to the resonances between the humanities and the sciences.

Phuong-Nghi joins the SMART Lab as a 2018-2019 Fulbright Fellow. She will be expanding on the lab’s work on the neural entrainment of beat perception by focusing on the Deaf community. She is also assisting with the HA Choir project. In addition to training with electrophysiological equipment, Phuong-Nghi looks forward to learning the intricacies of crafting, executing, and presenting a music cognition project. Her other goals include familiarizing herself with American Sign Language, improving her coding skills, and understanding the many facets outside of the science that a good scientist must be able to navigate. She feels privileged for this opportunity to work with and learn from the brilliant and supportive people in the lab.

Piano performance has also been a major part of her life. Phuong-Nghi has performed on National Public Radio’s From the Top and appeared as a soloist with orchestras at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall and Boston Symphony Hall. In her free time, she loves to explore Toronto’s eclectic neighborhoods, take advantage of her library card, as well as train in karate.

Rebecca Nurgitz is an undergraduate student pursuing her Psychology BA at Ryerson University. Rebecca started at SMART lab in the beginning of 2016. Music has been a necessity for Rebecca from an early age. She is self-taught in guitar, ukulele, bass, and the cajon. She is interested in pursuing graduate studies in Clinical Neuropsychology.

Renee is currently an undergraduate student at McMaster University, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Life Sciences and a concurrent certificate in medical language and health. In 2024, she started volunteering at the SMART Lab, a role that allows her to seamlessly blend her passions for science and music. Outside the lab, Renee can often be found nestled with a book, going on runs, or experimenting with new baking recipes.

Salma is a graduate student from the University of Western Ontario with an Honors B.Sc. degree in Biology. Salma worked as a research assistant in 2012 on research concerning music and mood.

I am an undergraduate student at Toronto Metropolitan University, completing my degree in Psychology with a minor in Professional Communication. I am particularly interested in conducting research at the intersection of cognitive and behavioral neuroscience. I am currently a research assistant for SMART lab.

I’m an undergraduate student at the University of Guelph, studying a BSc in Biomedical Sciences with a minor in Neuroscience. My research interests are in behavioural neuroscience and neurodegenerative diseases. I began volunteering at the SMART lab in 2024.

Sarah Gates is currently completing a PhD in Music Theory and Cognition at Northwestern University under the direction of Professor Richard Ashley. She was a visiting scholar at the SMART lab in 2012-2013 while completing a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance at the University of Toronto. She recently finished a Master of Arts in Music Theory at McGill University where she studied under Stephen McAdams and Robert Hasegawa. Her thesis project, which was awarded the Joseph Armand Bombardier Award (CGS-M) by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, investigated perceptual interactions of pitch and timbre by exploring the effect of timbre change on musicians’ ability to categorically identify melodic intervals. Empirical findings from her research projects have recently been presented the International Conference on Music and Emotion in Geneva, Switzerland (October, 2015) at, and the International Conference for Music Cognition and Perception in San Francisco (July, 2016). Her primary academic research interests include pitch perception, auditory imagery, aural skills acquisition, multimodal interactions, music literacy, and musical performance. Her current doctoral studies at Northwestern University are supported by a doctoral fellowship awarded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Saul is an undergraduate student in his 4th year in the psychology program at Ryerson, and is currently undergoing his thesis with the SMART Lab. Saul began as a volunteer in the SMART Lab back in the summer of 2013, and has since been involved in numerous projects. In 2014, he received the NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Award, where he undertook research on the ‘Frequency Following Response (FFR)’, a neural measure of sound encoding in the brain. For his thesis, he is currently investigating the effects of choir lessons on speech-in-noise perception in older adults with hearing loss, as a function of improved pitch discrimination and increased precision in neural timing (FFR). Though he is moving on to law school next year, Saul has thoroughly enjoyed his time in the SMART Lab, and is thankful to have been involved in such meaningful research.

I am an undergraduate student at Toronto Metropolitan University, attaining my degree in Psychology, with a minor in Sociology. I began working in the SMART Lab as a research assistant in 2023.

Stephanie Peixoto is a Corporate Security Professional and a compassionate Youth Facilitator, with an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice. She is currently assisting in various areas of the SMART lab to expand her knowledge on neuropsychology and healing modalities. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys volunteering, yoga, dancing (e.g. contemporary, swing, jazz) and reading.

Tara Raessi (she/they) is an honours thesis student for the 2023/2024 academic year. They previously graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. Tara hopes to pursue graduate school to study cognitive neuroscience.

Thomas was a Visiting Scholar with the SMART Lab from November 2015 – March 2015.

Tristan’s BA thesis investigated the effect of the urban soundscape on visual attention and self-reported stress response (Loria & Russo, 2012). He was a major contributor to the Toronto Sound Map project and worked as the Lab Manager for 1-year following graduation (2012-13). During that year he was influential in helping to organize two successful conferences (SMPC and CogMIR). Afterwards he completed a MS.c in Kinesiology at the University of Toronto and is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology at Washington State University.

Vinnie Rodenburgh is a fourth-year undergraduate psychology student at Toronto Metropolitan University. They have a main interest in clinical and developmental psychology, pursuing a career in child therapy using creative outlets such as musical instruments and visual arts. Vinnie joined the Smartlab in October 2024.

Vishu is a fourth year student at University of Toronto, double majoring in neuroscience and psychology. With a strong passion for neuropsychology, her main research interests are neuroplasticity and neurological disorders. Music has always been an important part of her life, whether it was through playing instruments or writing songs. She is currently assisting with a study examining facial deficits in individuals with Parkinson’s Disease.

Ye Wang is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He established and continues to direct the Sound and Music Computing (SMC) Lab within the NUS School of Computing. Before joining NUS, he was a Member of the Technical Staff at Nokia Research Center in Tampere, Finland for 9 years. His most recent sabbatical leave was spent at the School of Computer Science, Fudan University (October 2011 to January 2012), and at Harvard Medical School (February to July 2012).

His research interests are in the area of Mobile Computing and Sound and Music Computing (SMC); in particular, Sound Analysis and Music Information Retrieval (MIR), with an emphasis on applications in edutainment and e-Health. Special emphasis is placed on determining the effectiveness of computer supported assistive technology in music education and music therapy via subjective and objective evaluations. Two active projects focus on the design and evaluation of systems to support (1) therapeutic gait training using rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS); and (2) ear training and singing practice via clinically relevant feedback.

Affiliations

• School of Computing, National University of Singapore (Primary Appointment, Associate Professor)
• NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore (Secondary Appointment, PhD Supervisor)
• School of Computer Science and Technology, Fudan University (Visiting Professor)
• Harvard Medical School (Visiting Associate Professor)