Michele Morningstar, Ph.D.
Lab DIRECTOR
(she / her)
Michele is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University and the director of the DSEC Lab. She is interested in how we learn to communicate emotional states and social attitudes nonverbally—that is, using nonverbal cues like facial expressions and tone of voice. In other words, how do we learn to read a room? Her research focuses on the biological, cognitive, and social mechanisms supporting the maturation of these skills in adolescence. Outside of the lab, Michele enjoys cooking, all forms of narratives (books, movies, TV!), yoga, and Academy Award prognosticating.
[CV]
Staff
Sean Koh
Lab coordinator
(he / him)
Sean is the joint coordinator for the DSEC Lab and the Early Experience Lab (EEL) here at Queen's. He graduated with a Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) in 2025. Sean completed his honours thesis in the EMBody Lab under the supervision of Dr. Vera Vine on the impact of adverse childhood experiences on facial emotion recognition and cardiac orienting. Outside of the lab, Sean can be found watching movies and hiking!
graduate Students
Daniel nault
PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology
(he / him)
Daniel is a SSHRC CGS-D fellow and PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology. His doctoral research program seeks to understand how adolescents learn to communicate emotional information to others using nonverbal cues, including facial expressions and tone of voice. Daniel is particularly interested in how adolescents may shift their use of nonverbal cues depending on the social context (e.g., who they are speaking to). In his free time away from the lab or clinic, Daniel can often be found either watching sports or playing hockey.
RILEY Bonar
PHD Student in Developmental Psychology
(he / him)
Riley is a first-year PhD student in Developmental Psychology at Queen’s university. He completed both his Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Master of Science in Psychology at Queen’s University. His research interests are on adolescent social development, specifically how adolescents’ neural response is predictive of relational and social outcomes. His master’s thesis focused on whether adolescents’ neural response to their parent and friend was associated with their pubertal status. Outside of academia, Riley is a Type-1 Diabetic that loves to run and watch any live sporting event.
501 Thesis Students
Emily Schreiner
MASTER’S STUDENT IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
(she / her)
Emily is a first year Master’s student in the Clinical Psychology program. She completed a Bachelor of a Science in Psychology at Queen’s University, and did her Honours thesis in the DSEC lab! Emily’s research interests involve examining how individual differences in the expressive skills of adolescents may contribute to interpersonal challenges. She is also curious about how important relationships, such as peers and caregivers, may influence the development of these skills. Outside of her studies, Emily can be found jogging by the lake, or experimenting (sometimes successfully) with a new recipe in the kitchen.
EMMA CANNING
MASTER’S STUDENT IN DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(she / her)
Emma is a first-year M.Sc. student in Developmental Psychology at Queen’s university. She completed her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology at Carleton University with a concentration in Forensic Psychology. Her undergraduate thesis focused on increasing information elicitation in investigative interviewing. This year, she is excited to look at the neural bases of nonverbal communication in adolescents. In her free time, Emma loves hiking with her dog and Muay Thai!
Victoria Cassel
QU ‘26 Honours B.A, Psychology
(she / her)
Victoria is a psychology major entering her 4th year of the BAH program. She is excited to join the DSEC team this academic year as an undergraduate student summer research fellow. Victoria will be working alongside the DETECT team as she is interested in exploring differences in teen and adult raters’ judgement of emotion. Outside of the lab Victoria loves to take care of her plants and try new tea flavours!
Katrina Mascherin
QU’26 HONOURS B.Sc, Psychology
(she / her)
Katrina is a fourth-year psychology major in the BScH program at Queen’s University. This year, Katrina is eager to join the DETECT-AF team as an honours thesis student. Her undergraduate thesis will explore how adolescents’ ability to recognize emotions in others is related to how well they express their own emotions. In her free time, Katrina enjoys painting, attending workout classes, and trying coffees at different cafés.
Research Assistants
Navid Shabani Barzegar
(he / him)
QU ‘27 B.HSc.
Health Sciences
Juliana Ricciuti
(she / her)
QU ‘27 Honours B.Sc.
Psychology
Mackenzie Romijn
(she / her)
QU’27 Honours B.A.
Psychology and Sociology
Alessia Cataudella
(she / her)
QU ‘26 Honours B.Sc.
Psychology
Julia Guo
(she / her / they / them)
QU ‘26 Honours B.Sc.
Psychology
Rushmeet Singh
(she / her)
QU' ‘26 Honours B.Sc.
Kinesiology
Tessa Patton
(she / her)
QU’26 B.A.
Psychology and English
Reyna Okumura
(she / her)
QU’27 Honours B.A.
Psychology and Sociology
Kate Bridge
(she / her)
QU’26 Honours B.Sc.
Biology and Psychology
Lab alumni
Polly Clayton (Research Intern in Summer 2025, from Durham University, UK)
Maria Fernanda Trigo Adami (MITACS Globalink Research Intern in Summer 2025, from the Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil)
Keren Katz (Thesis Student in 2024/25, Research Assistant in 2023/24)
Zoe Halpern (Thesis Student in 2024/25, Research Assistant in 2023/24)
Sach Grewal (Directed Lab Student in 2024/25)
Sarah Wong (Directed Lab Student in Winter 2025, Research Assistant in Fall 2024, USSRF Research Fellow in Summer 2024)
Sophie Ye (Directed Lab Student in 2024/25, Research Assistant from Summer 2023 - Summer 2024)
Diana Romano (Research Assistant in 2024/25)
Selena Gabrielli (Research Assistant from Summer 2024 - Winter 2025)
Jacqueline Satok (Directed Lab Student in Fall 2023, Research Assistant from Winter 2024 - Winter 2025)
Kieran Bodnar (Research Assistant in Fall 2024)
Mia Quillopa Schubert (Research Assistant from Summer 2023 - Fall 2024)
Ada Cheung (MITACS Globalink Research Intern in Summer 2024, from the University of Hong Kong)
Emma Hickey (Research Assistant in Summer 2024)
Jason Song (Research Assistant in Summer 2024)
Madeline Mayers (Research Assistant in Summer 2024)
Emily Schreiner (Thesis Student in 2023/24 and Directed Lab Student in 2022/23)
Laura Edelstein (Thesis Student in 2023/24)
Kate Cullen (Research Assistant from 2022-2024)
Natasha Manuel (Research Assistant and Directed Lab Student in 2023/24)
Jake Hartwig-MacDonald (Research Assistant from Summer 2023 - Winter 2024)
Sierra McNulty (Lab Coordinator in 2022/23, currently a Graduate student at the University of Toronto)
Jay Burns (Directed Lab Student and Research Assistant from 2021-2023)
Logan Goldring (Directed Lab Student and Research Assistant in 2021/22)
Maya Morcos (Research Assistant from 2021-2023)
Bingyi Lin (Research Assistant in 2022/23)
Dove Gadkar (Research Assistant in 2022)
Reem Atallah (NSERC Summer Student in 2022, currently a Law student at Queen’s University)
Emma Ilyaz (Honours Thesis Student in 2020/21, Lab Coordinator in 2021/22, currently a Graduate student at Queen’s University)
Rafaela Platkin (Directed Lab Student in Winter/Fall 2021, Research Assistant in Winter 2022)
Silvia Shiwei Zhou (Directed Lab Student in 2021/22)
Rachel Himmel (Honours Thesis Student in 2021/22)
Julia Stratton (Honours Thesis Student in 2021/22)
Jayden Downing (Research Assistant in Summer 2021)
Sarah Cvetkovski (Honours Thesis Student in 2020/21, currently a Law student at Western University)
Maddie Gravelle (Directed Lab Student and ASURF student in 2020/21, currently a Graduate student at Queen’s University)
Gabby Craddock (Directed Lab Student in Winter 2021)
Madeleine Helesic (Research Assistant in Winter 2021)
Bruno Carusi (Research Assistant in Winter and Summer 2021)
Olivia Murray
(she / her)
QU ‘27 Honours B.A.
Psychology and Sociology
Linoy Stepanov
(she / her)
QU’26 Honours B.A.
Psychology
Emma Pigeon
(she / her)
QU’26 Honours B.Sc.
Psychology
Maya Joseph
(she / her)
QU ‘28 Honours B.Ed. & B.A.
Concurrent Education & Psychology
Natalie Yang
(she / her)
QU ‘26 Honours B.Sc.
Psychology
Léa Francoeur
(she / her)
QU ‘26 Honours B.Sc.
Biology and Psychology
Madhureema Balasubramani Rupa
(she / her)
QU' ‘27 Honours B.Sc.
Health Sciences
Alana Tran
(she / they)
QU '27 Honours B.A
Psychology and Sociology
Catherine Shevelevich
(she / her)
QU’27 Honours B.Sc.
Psychology
Shira Klein
(she / her)
QU’27 Honours B.A.
Psychology and Linguistics
Former Graduate students
Peyton Nault (Developmental Psychology M.Sc. Student from 2022-2024)