Current Lab Members
Dr. Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva – principle investigator (they/them)
Biography: Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva is a Professor of Psychology with expertise on the cognitive neuroscience of human thought, from spontaneous thought phenomena such as mind-wandering, daydreaming, and creativity; to goal-directed thought, including deliberate reasoning and problem-solving; to clinical alterations in thought and their implications for human wellbeing. Their work also examines the neurocognitive mechanism of introspection, meta-cognition, meditation, and different forms of self-experience and self-regulation. Prof. Christoff’s research seeks to understand these mental phenomena through the dynamic interplay between large-scale brain systems, including the default, salience, and frontoparietal control networks.
Contact: kchristoff@psych.ubc.ca
Curriculum vitae: View Kalina’s CV
Artistic inspiration: ‘The Garden’, poem by Andrew Marvell. ” Click here to view.
Andre Zamani – PhD student (he/him)
Biography: Andre earned a BA in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Puget Sound in 2019 and an MA in Psychology from UBC in 2023. His research centers around studying the neural bases of spontaneous thought generation. His most recent study combined experienced meditators and fMRI to investigate the neural mechanisms supporting the generation of spontaneous thoughts prior to their conscious experiencing. Andre is now conducting a precision fMRI study with a similar design. Other topics of interest to Andre include fMRI methods (for which he co-teaches an annual course), precision neuroscience, neurophenomenology, and complexity science.
Contact: azamani@psych.ubc.ca
Curriculum vitae: View Andre’s CV
Artistic inspiration: ‘Seasonal Rains (a tribute to Louis Gluck)’ poem by Sarah Schaff, with slight personal edits. Click here to view.
Jen Burrell – MA student (she/her)
Biography: Jen Burrell completed her BSc at the University of Alberta, with a specialization in Psychological Research, in 2021. As an Undergrad, Jen researched a novel approach to diagnosing stroke using mobile electroencephalography (EEG), in hopes of generating a more efficient and accurate tools for pre-hospital diagnosis of stroke (Burrell et al., 2020). Currently, Jen is investigating how psychoactive substances, specifically cannabis, alters the way we think. Her research interests span thought generation, creativity, attention deficit hyperactivity, psychoactive substances, and more.
Contact: jenbur@psych.ubc.ca
Douglas Forrest – research assistant (he/him)
Biography: Douglas recently graduated from UBC’s neuroscience program, and now works with Dr. Christoff studying historical trends in the consciousness field as well as the neuroscience of meaning in life.
Contact: douglas.forrest@psych.ubc.ca
Artistic inspiration: ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’ by Albert Camus, “(…) how shall I negate this world whose power and strength I feel?”.
Kailey Baxstrome – research assistant (she/her)
Biography: Kailey is a fifth-year year cognitive systems student working on the cannabis and consciousness project, with a focus on how cannabis affects our ability to reproduce perceived time. Her other research interests include understanding psychological phenomena that can be amplified by psychedelics, such as experiential and thought looping, and how mindfulness affects the brain.
Artistic inspiration: the film ‘Waking Life”.
Shreya Nandini – research assistant (she/her)
Biography: Shreya is currently working on Jen’s masters thesis project investigating the phenomenology of cannabis.
Artistic inspiration: the poem ‘On Joy and Sorrow’ by Kahlil Gibran. Click here to view.
Nicolas Zhu – research assistant (he/him)
Biography: Nicolas is a 4th year BA student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Data Science. He is currently working with Andre on identifying brain networks using precision fMRI. He is interested in using cognitive neuroscience methods to better understand human experiences, from thinking and reasoning to social interactions.
Emma MacEntee – lab manager (she/her)
Biography: Emma has been supporting research at UBC for over 25 years. As the Manager at our lab, Emma oversees the daily operations, ensuring that the lab runs smoothly and providing support for the scientific activities of our team.
Contact: emma.macentee@psych.ubc.ca
Artistic inspiration: ‘On Getting Your Ducks in a Row’ poem by Matthew King. Click here to view.
Desmond Wood-Anderson – research assistant (he/him)
Biography: Desmond earned his Master’s degree in philosophy from UBC in 2022, focusing on abstract and social cognition, agency, and selfhood from an enactive and neurophenomenological perspective. He is currently exploring the link between thought dynamics, modality, and neural networks using precision fMRI and experience sampling. His research interests continue to center on the phenomenology and neural dynamics of human thought, particularly how individual differences influence their relationship. Desmond is a climbing enthusiast and often makes use of Vancouver’s proximity to Squamish.
Contact: dwoodanderson@psych.ubc.ca
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