People

Florence Pomares is a research associate studying brain anatomical and functional alterations in sleep disorders, such as idiopathic hypersomnia, insomnia and in sleep deprivation with brain imaging methods. In addition, Florence coordinates the study on the impact of insomnia treatment on mood, brain functioning, and cardiovascular health.
Florence has a background in Neuroscience and studied pain perception with functional neuroimaging methods during her Ph.D. at Université de Lyon in France. She then performed postdoctoral studies at McGill University, focusing on brain alterations in chronic pain conditions.

Sasha is a PhD Student in the Clinical Psychology Program. Her research interests include understanding the interaction between physiological risk factors and social stress in the development of psychopathology and suicidality. Current research projects include an investigation of heart rate variability and daily social stressors in the maintenance of suicidality among adolescents and undergraduate students and piloting a brief cognitive-behavioral intervention focused on improving social functioning to reduce suicidality.

Kayla obtained a Master of Science in experimental psychology from Memorial University of Newfoundland before joining the Stress, Interpersonal Relationships, and Health Laboratory in 2020. She is interested in researching eating and exercise behaviours and is currently working on projects to explore social processes that influence health behaviour change in romantic partners.

Sara obtained her BSc (’15) and MSc (’17) in Neuroscience at the University of Western Ontario. During her MSc she worked under the supervision of Dr. Wataru Inoue, examining the neurobiological changes in response to chronic stress. Sara joined the Stress, Interpersonal Relationships, and Health Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Jean-Philippe Gouin in 2020. Here, her research interests include understanding the relationships between stress, physical and psychological health, interpersonal relationships and health behaviour change. 

Emily received a B.A. in Psychology from Concordia University in 2019. Her undergraduate thesis, under the supervision of Dr. Sydney Miller, focused on the effects of coping strategies and optimism on resilience in disadvantaged youth. In 2019, she coordinated a study led by Drs. Jean-Philippe Gouin and Veronique Pepin on the effects of exercise training and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia on sleep apnea and insomnia. Emily is currently a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program at Concordia University. Her research interests include understanding how couples’ behaviors influence change in health behaviors, specifically eating and physical activity habits.

James joined the Stress, Interpersonal Relationships, and Health Laboratory in 2021 as a Master’s Student in Clinical Psychology after completing his Bachelor of Science degree in the Honours Psychology program at McGill University. His research interests broadly focus on the effect of individual differences in stress on psychotherapeutic outcomes and sleep. His current research involves exploring the link between heart-rate variability and response to cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in cancer patients. He is also working on a project investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep quality in older adults.