UBC Psychology “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) on Reddit

Faculty

• Andrew Baron, Professor, UBC Psychology
• Kiley Hamlin, Professor, UBC Psychology
• Jay Hosking, Lecturer and BSc. Behavioural Neuroscience Program Advisor, UBC Psychology
• Lillian May, Lecturer, UBC Psychology
• Catherine Rawn, Professor of Teaching and the Associate Head, Undergraduate Affairs, UBC Psychology
• Eva Zysk, Lecturer, UBC Psychology

Students

• Maria Clara Brandao, Developmental Psychology MA Student
• Jimmy Chokmeesuk, 4th year BA Honours Psychology Student and Interpersonal Development minor; President, Psychology Students’ Association
• Marta Kolbuszewska, 2nd year Clinical Psychology MA student
• Charul Maheshka, Psychology Honours Student
• Kateryna Voznyuk, 4th-year BSc Behavioural Neuroscience student, Co-President, UBC Psi Chi Undergraduate Honor Society
• Kelly Yu, 2nd year MA student in Health Psychology
• Sneha, Undergraduate Student, Psychology Students’ Association
• Miriam Tang, Vice-President of Marketing, Psychology Students’ Association

Staff & Alumni

• Gian Hermosura, BA Psychology and Family Studies (2022), Lab Manager, UBC Depression, Anxiety, & Stress Lab
• Joyce Lai, Undergraduate Program Coordinator, UBC Psychology
• Tara Martin, Director, Administration, UBC Psychology
• Sarvenaz Oloomi, BA Psychology (Hons.) (2022), Research Coordinator, UBC Early Development Research Group

Andrew Baron (he/him)

Dr. Baron is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UBC. His work intersects social, cognitive and developmental psychology to explore the origins and development of social group bias. His lab conducts research both on UBC’s Vancouver Campus and in the Living Lab at Science World. Some current research explores the development of gender bias in STEM, children’s understanding of structural inequality and reasoning about social status and social hierarchies. He regularly teaches PSYC 315 and PSYC 413 (Distance learning course). He also consults with marketing research companies to apply methods from psychology to help businesses improve their product and brand advertising.

Ask me about:

• Research opportunities in psychology
• Developmental psychology area/courses
• Pursuing a graduate a degree in psychology
• The New England Patriots (and/or Tom Brady)
• State secrets and other classified information

Kiley Hamlin (she/her)

Dr. Hamlin is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UBC and Canada Research Chair in Developmental Psychology. Her work explores the earliest developmental origins of the human moral sense, by examining precursors to moral cognition and action in preverbal infants.

Ask me about:

• Psychology Honours program
• Research opportunities in psychology
• Developmental psychology area/courses

Lily May (she/her)

Dr. May is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology. Prior to becoming faculty at UBC, Lily completed her PhD in UBC’s Psychology department studying language development in infants. Now as a lecturer, Lily spends most of her time teaching– primarily in courses all about developmental psychology. Lily also has three young kids at home, meaning that when not ~teaching~ about cute kids and babies, she can typically be found ~parenting~ cute kids and babies!

Ask me about:

• Undergrad classes
• Approaching and talking to professors
• Equity, diversity, and inclusion in Psychology
• Life as a UBC Psychology grad student
• Kids and babies (and developmental psychology)
• Reality TV

Catherine Rawn (she/her)

Dr. Rawn is a Professor of Teaching and Associate Head for Undergraduate Affairs in the Department of Psychology, as well as the Chair of the Curriculum Committee for the Faculty of Arts as a whole. She regularly teaches students in the required research methods and statistics sequence (PSYC 217 and 218). She is a co-author on the textbook used in PSYC 217, and has published scholarly work on two-stage exams, student engagement in large classrooms, student evaluations of teaching, and the role of teaching-focused faculty at large research-intensive universities in Canada. Catherine was raised primarily by her grandmother, and was the first person in her family to attend university.

Ask me about:

• First generation student experience
• Evidence-based study and test-taking strategies
• Making the most of office hours
• Preparing for PSYC 218
• Strategies for choosing electives
• The best and worst parts of my job
• BC wine

Eva Zysk (she/her)

Dr. Zysk is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology. Her research interests include contamination fears in OCD, virtual reality therapy for Social Anxiety, and student presentation anxiety. She has received awards for her teaching, including the Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Award. She is passionate about helping students settle into and enjoy university.

Ask me about:

• Student transitions into university
• Student presentation anxiety
• University motivation, time-management & hacks
• How to succeed at university
• Mental health and wellbeing
• First Year Psych classes
• My own experiences as a UBC undergraduate
• Post-graduate programs in the UK

Jay Hosking (he/him)

Dr. Hosking is a lecturer in UBC's Department of Psychology where he teaches a number of courses related to neuroscience and psychology. He is also the advisor for the BSc Behavioural Neuroscience program.

Ask me about:

• The Behavioural Neuroscience program
• Courses related to neuroscience (e.g. PSYC101, 207, 301, 304, 370/371)
• The intersection between neuroscience and psychology
• How psychology is underselling itself as a rigorous scientific discipline
• How to maximize your time during undergraduate
• What grad school is like
• Careers inside and outside of academia
• Balancing your academic career against your many other interests

Jimmy Chokmeesuk (he/they)

Jimmy is a 4th-year BA Psychology student who is also minoring in Interpersonal Development under the faculty of education at UBC and the president and former vice president of academics of the PSA. With the PSA, Jimmy hopes to create events that allow people to meet, connect, socialize and learn each other's stories, with a hope to ease their stress and make their university journey more enjoyable. Additionally, in their recent President position as the Thai genderqueer, disabled person on the PSA executive team, they commit to continuing my passion for building a more equitable and inclusive environment by introducing new committee: Equity committee, which will be launched in early September. Jimmy is currently working as an undergraduate academic assistant at Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Center (SARAVYC) and was the former volunteer at UBC Social Health Lab and Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DAS) lab. They are passionate about psychopathology and its psychotherapy, in which he hopes to better the health care system and psychotherapy that overlook transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people’s diverse lived experiences. Jimmy also takes inclusion and diversity very seriously to ensure that he does not leave anyone on this journey alone. In his spare time, they love reading a good book, cooking Thai food and volunteering at a non-profit organization.

Ask me about:

• Psychology Students' Association Details, events and membership
• Life in Psychology, BA major, Honours and Minoring in Interpersonal Development (Counselling Psychology)
• Balancing Class Work, Volunteering, Work, and a Social Life in University
• Working at SARAVYC as an undergraduate student
• Volunteering in labs (Social Health Lab and DAS lab) Life at UBC as a transgender, queer person of colour

Kateryna Voznyuk (she/her)

Kateryna is the Co-President of UBC Psi Chi Undergraduate Honor Society. She is also a 4th-year BSc Behavioural Neuroscience student, IMES and OIS recipient, and former Vice President External for UBC Psi Chi. She is also a clinical recruiter, research assistant, and EDI committee member for the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (DAS) Lab and a program volunteer on behalf of the BC Brain Wellness Program. Kateryna has diversified her academic experience as a research assistant for UBC labs (Ciernia, DAS), research mentee for UBC clubs (URO/REX, Indicium STEM Competition), volunteer for external organizations (VBIA, BC BWP, Be My Eyes), and UBC conference presenter (MURC, PURC, and PATHS to a Cure: Neuroscience Research Conference). She is very passionate about drawing from these experiences to offer advice for students exploring research and volunteering, wherever they are in their academic journeys. She is also eager to help international students in managing homesickness and balancing life in a new country. Outside of academics, Kateryna loves hiking and exploring local fauna/flora, reading non-fiction, alpine skiing, and looking for the best waffles in Vancouver!

Ask me about:

• Undergraduate research positions: applications/interviews, resumes/CVs/transcripts
• Outreach and networking: conferences, LinkedIn, cold emailing, building connections
• Volunteering outside of UBC for local Vancouver organizations
• International student living, networking, managing homesickness, balancing commitments
• Details about UBC Psi Chi and membership
• Any of my undergrad or high school experiences!

Marta Kolbuszewska (she/her)

Marta is a second-year MA student in clinical psychology in the Department of Psychology at UBC. She is a member of the Sexuality and Well-Being Lab where her research interests centre around understanding individual and relational processes that contribute to sexual dysfunction and sexual well-being. She is particularly interested in using quantitative methods to better understand how these processes unfold over time for individuals and couples. She is also a research assistant in the Coping with Neurological Symptoms Lab at UBC. Marta came to UBC after two undergraduate degrees - one in psychology and statistics, and one in history. She values interdisciplinary collaboration.

Ask me about:

• Seeking out research opportunities in psychology
• Applying to graduate school in clinical psychology
• Finding work-life balance
• Quantitative methods
• Learning to code!
• Learning statistics!

Miriam Tang (she/her)

Miriam is a third-year Psychology student, serving as the VP Marketing in Psychology Students’ Association (PSA). In the summer she participated in the UBC Work Learn Program, where she worked as a Marketing/Communications assistant for the Branch of Global Surgical Care at UBC Faculty of Medicine. Additionally, she also works as an administrative assistant at an agriculture business part-time. 

Ask me about:

• PSA experience 
• Resume writing
• How to prepare for interviews
• UBC Work Learn Program
• Balancing school work, job

Charul Maheshka (she/her)

Charul is a fourth-year undergraduate student completing a BA in Psychology (Honors) with a minor in French Language. She is currently a senior research assistant at the Social Cognition and Emotion lab, and at the Culture and Self lab, where she is working closely with professors. Previously, she worked at the MAGIC Lab, and volunteered at the Center for Cognitive Development.

She has held the Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Award, a paid full-time lab position, this summer and last. Over the years, she has presented her research at multiple conferences, and was awarded 2nd place in Oral Presentations at MURC and at LSURC in 2020, and 1st place in the UBC 3MT competition in 2022. She is very passionate about research in social psychology, and aims to go to graduate school and become a professor in the future. 

Charul is an international student, and has received scholarships including the IMES, Student Scholarship in Arts, and the International Community Achievement Award. She has previously served as an Academic Committee Member for the Psychology Students Association, and as an Executive External Coordinator for UBC Psi Chi. 

Ask me about: 

• The Psychology Honors program and what it entails! 
• The experience of volunteering in research labs
• How to apply to labs as a volunteer, and how to avail paid positions
• Presenting at conferences
• Working in the PSA or Psi Chi
• Any of my other experiences at UBC

Kelly Yu (she/her)

Kelly is a second-year MA student in health psychology in the Department of Psychology at UBC. She completed her B.S. in Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. She is a member of the Social Health Lab, where her research interests are focused on cultural differences in the link between social support and health outcomes. She is currently exploring MIDUS (Midlife in the United States) and MIDJA (Midlife in Japan) data to investigate support seeking and physiological and psychological outcomes.

Ask me about:

• Seeking out research opportunities in psychology
• Process (and tips) of applying for graduate school
• Social Health Lab
• Learning statistics and computer coding
• My own experience as a UBC graduate student

Maria Clara Brandao (she/her)

Maria is a second-year MA student in developmental psychology in the Department of Psychology at UBC. She completed her B.S. in Psychology at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is a member of the Centre for Cognitive Development, where her research interests are focused on the development of math abilities in children and learning disabilities. She explores how our intuitive number sense may predict our future abilities in formal math and how this relationship may be mediated by our ability to detect mistakes.

Ask me about:

• Seeking out research opportunities in psychology
• The process of applying for graduate school
• The experience of being a foreign student in Canada
• How to find a supervisor that will be a good fit for you
• Finding work-life balance 
• My experience as a graduate student at UBC
• Mental health in graduate school

Gian Hermosura (he/him), Lab Manager at the DAS Lab

Gian  received his B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Family Studies in May 2022. He is the lab manager of the Depression, Anxiety, & Stress Lab where he delegates tasks to research assistants, has administrative duties such as organizing meetings and workshops, and manages the lab’s grants and finances. As a staff member, he is familiar with applying for paid research assistant and lab manager positions. Additionally, he has been a part of 7 research labs over his 5 years as an undergraduate student including the Peer Relationships in Childhood Lab (clinical psychology), the Motivated Cognition Lab (cognitive psychology), and Culture and Self Lab (social psychology). He has completed one 6-credit Directed Studies and two 3-credit Directed Studies in psychology. He is very familiar with a variety of research assistant tasks and the process of applying to a lab. As someone who changed his degree in the middle of his undergrad, he knows what it is like to be uncertain of the future and how to find resources to ensure success as an undergrad. As a student, he lived on campus for 3 years and commuted for 2 years.

Ask me about:

• Being a research assistant and how to apply to a lab
• General lab experience and what to expect
• Applying for paid research assistantships and lab manager positions
• Directed Studies in Psychology and how to make the most of it
• Changing degrees/programs
• Minoring in Family Studies
• Courses in Psychology, Family Studies, and Sociology
• Life living in Residence and as a commuter, and balancing academics and social life

Tara Martin (she/her), Director, Administration

Tara has been the Director, Administration for UBC Psychology since 2011. Starting way back in 2000, she was a transfer student to UBC, and completed her BA in Psychology and International Relations while holding jobs off campus, taking on WorkLearn assignments, and volunteering with the PSA. After graduating, she started a CUPE 116 Research Assistant position with UBC Psychology, and later moved into a lab manager role. In 2018 she completed UBC’s Master of Education program, focusing on Higher Education. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, all winter sports, and spending time with her family & pets.

Ask me about:

• My own experiences as a UBC undergraduate (WorkLearn, volunteer RA, PSA)
• My own experiences as a transfer student to UBC, and later as a mature student
• Applying for student jobs and paid research opportunities (NSERC, URSA)
• Study spaces on campus & being a commuting student

Sarvenaz Oloomi (she/her), Research and Recruitment Coordinator at the EDRG

Sarvenaz is a recent graduate from UBC’s Psychology Honours program (2022), who currently works as the research and recruitment coordinator at the Early Development Research Group (EDRG) where she coordinates between the seven developmental labs in the department. She is also currently a research assistant in the Anxiety, Stress, Autism Program (ASAP), Depression, Anxiety, Stress Lab (DAS), and research lead at the Infant Studies Center. During her time at UBC, she had worked as a TA in the Asian Studies and Psychology departments, worked as a Peer Academic Advisor at the UBC Arts Advising Office and as a president and executive in many student clubs. She also completed one of her honours thesis in a UBC psychiatry lab (PAR lab) and has worked as an NSERC USRA research student. In her free time, she loves to make music, read books, play basketball, and she has a pet parrot.

Ask me about:

• Balancing school, work, and research (including WorkLearn and extracurriculars)
• Getting involved in research and finding your research passion
• Being a commuter student and living on campus
• How to navigate job/volunteer applications and interviews
• How to prepare for graduate school (i.e. honours, volunteering, how to stand out)
• How to excel in academica (e.g., Test taking/essay writing/assignment)
• Mental health as a university students
• Extracurricular at UBC (student clubs, sports, music, etc.) and anything else you are curious about!

Joyce Lai (she/her), Undergraduate Program Assistant, UBC Psychology

Joyce completed her BA in Psychology and Minor in Commerce in May 2021 and has been working with the Department of Psychology since November of the same year. During her time at UBC, she was involved with the UBC Food Society and worked as a Research Assistant with the Social Identity Lab. Joyce also completed her work terms with the Arts Co-op program with the UBC’s Vancouver Summer Program in Hong Kong. In her free time she enjoys going to concerts, petting cats, and trying new restaurants. 

Ask me about: 

• The Psychology Undergraduate Program and Honours Program
• My own experiences as a UBC undergraduate
• My work term experience with the Arts Co-op program
• Being a commuter students and living on campus in first-year