CURRENT LAB MEMBERS
MARCIE PENNER, PHD
Lab Director
Marcie Penner, Ph.D.is an associate professor of psychology at King’s University College at Western University, where she is the director of the Cognitive Science & Numeracy Lab. Dr. Penner has over fifteen years of experience studying cognition using an interdisciplinary approach, employing methodologies spanning behavioral experiments with children and adults, neural imaging, and computational modeling. Her work appears in journals such as Memory & Cognition, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Child Development, and Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Prior to becoming an academic, Dr. Penner was the Chief Scientist of an educational software company. She earned her Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Carleton University.
AARON CECALA, PHD
Researcher
Dr. Aaron Cecala is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Western University studying the neural control of primate gaze and reaching movements. Prior to his current position, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Psychology from Allegheny College and his PhD in Neurobiology & Anatomy from the University of Rochester. In the Cognitive Science & Numeracy lab, Dr. Cecala’s work is focused on determining: 1) the appropriate indices for assessing performance on numerical cognition tasks in children and adults; and 2) the neural substrate (using fMRI data) underlying the correlation in human performance across several sensory, motor, and cognitive tasks (e.g. finger gnosis and number comparison). When not in the laboratory or lecturing, Dr. Cecala enjoys reading history and science fiction publications, visiting museums, running, hiking, and improving his modest cooking skillset.
RYLAN WARING, MSC
Researcher
Rylan is a longtime member of the Cognitive Science and Numeracy Lab. A former thesis student of Marice Penner, he has a MSc in Cogntive Psychology from the University of Guelph, and is currently involved in various lab projects.
MICHAEL MOES
Lab Manager
Michael Moes is the lab’s manager and an undergraduate student attending King’s University College at Western University. He is currently completing his Honours Specialization in Psychology degree with a minor in Philosophy. Michael’s work has involved meta-analytic approaches to brain imaging, men’s mental health, and the identification of and interventions for children struggling with mathematics.
HAILLEY WHITE
Research Assistant
Bio under construction :)
HANNAH HUNTER
Research Assistant
Hannah Hunter is in her 4th year of the Honours Specialization in Psychology program at King’s. Hannah has a passion for mental health research, particularly research focused on male depression and suicide prevention. Hannah and her colleagues hold the most recent Agnes Penner Prize, an institutional research award for their project focused on the accurate assessment and diagnosis of male depression. Hannah is currently a Wellness Commissioner for the King’s University College Student’s Council where she advocates for, and supports all aspects of student wellness across the King’s campus.
NATHALY RODRIGUEZ
Lab Intern
Hello, my name is Nathaly Rodriguez, and I am a 4th year Honours Psychology student at King's. I am new to Cognitive Science and Numeracy team, and am excited to be involved in lab discussions and research! I am interested in the relationships between map representation and reading ability and disability, and how this impacts education programs and curricula. Apart from my academic interests, I am the Vice President of the Spanish and Latin Student Association (S.A.L.S.A.), and I love writing poetry and singing karaoke!
AURA POP
Research Assistant
Bio under construction :)
BRANDON VECHOLLIA
Research Assistnat
Bio under construction :)