Our Team

Dr. Jennifer Khoury (she/her) – Lab Director & Principal Investigator

In 2021, Dr. Khoury began her position as an Associate Professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Studies in Neuroscience, in the Department of Psychology at Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU). She also holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University.

Dr. Khoury’s research program adopts an interdisciplinary and multi-method approach to understand how early life stress impacts the brain and behaviour of parents and children. She is particularly interested in studying the impact of neurobiological stress and emotion regulation on child development, including child mental health outcomes, beginning in pregnancy and spanning to later childhood.

Dr. Khoury’s research program is funded by the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Research Nova Scotia (RNS), the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and MSVU internal grants.

Email: Jennifer.khoury@msvu.ca

MSVU Faculty Profile

Leah Gaetz (she/her)- Research Manager

Leah brings over 14 years of clinical research experience and extensive expertise in research operations, project coordination, grant administration, and team leadership to her role as Lab Manager at the Developmental Psychobiology Research Centre (DPRC). Previously, she served as a Clinical Research Program Manager at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. With an academic background in Psychology and Social Work from McMaster University and Wilfrid Laurier University, Leah has a strong interest in child development, mental health, and health disparities. She is passionate about supporting collaborative research that advances understanding of child development and family well-being.

Shireen Gill (she/her)- Research Coordinator

Shireen holds a Bachelor of Medical Sciences from Western University and a Master of Science in Global Health from McMaster University. In the lab, she coordinates the Child Emotion Regulation study, Stress in Adolescence study and Stress in Young Adults Study. Her interest in developmental research stems from its critical impact on lifelong physical and mental health, with the potential to inform future treatments and improve quality of life. Outside of work, she’s an avid BTS fan (ARMY) and loves to workout and read!

Rahne Forbes (she/her) - Research Coordinator

Rahne graduated from Dalhousie University, holding a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience (Honours), minoring in Biology. She completed her Honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Khoury where she examined prenatal and postpartum maternal stress and its impact on child sleep as well as marital conflict as a potential moderator of this relationship.

Rahne started medical school at Queen’s University, where she aspires to mitigate the long-term health impacts of various social determinants and continue her work with young children and families. She is currently coordinating the COVID-19 Family Wellbeing study. In her spare time, you can find Rahne volunteering, running, baking, and playing with her puppy Kirby!

Email: rahne.forbes4@msvu.ca

Graduate Students

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Lauren Giles (she/her)-PhD Student & Research Coordinator

Lauren is a PhD student in the Experimental Psychology program at Dalhousie University. Her dissertation projects aim to explore resilience-related predictors of postpartum depression. Lauren’s primary role at the DPRC is the coordination of the Maternal Childhood Experiences and Perinatal Health study.

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Mackenna Pattison (she/her)-MA/PhD Student

Mackenna is a clinical psychology MA/PhD student at Dalhousie University under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Khoury and Dr. Tara Perrot. She completed her Honours BA in psychology at the University of Ottawa. In her spare time, Mackenna enjoys reading, spending time outside, and doing yoga! Mackenna is really looking forward to getting started as a new grad student in the lab this year and learning more about developmental research!

Lauren West (She/Her) - Masters Student

Lauren is a new MSc in Natural Sciences student working under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Khoury. She recently completed a BSc with honours in psychology from Mount Allison University and is looking forward to continuing her education and conducting research in the DPRC Lab. Lauren is looking to pursue a MA/PhD in clinical psychology after her MSc. Outside of research she enjoys reading a book, spending time with her family and going on outdoor adventures.

Isaac Cormier (he/him)- Research Assistant

Isaac completed his BSc (Honours) in Psychology at Saint Mary’s University (2019) and works as a Research Psychometrist in the Neuropsychology Department at Nova Scotia Health. He began volunteering with the DPRC in Spring 2025, where he is assisting with the Emotional Regulation and Stress in Adolescence studies. Isaac also contributes to projects in other research labs focused on forensic psychology and neuropsychology and plans to pursue graduate training in clinical psychology. Outside of research, he coaches the debate team at Citadel High School and enjoys curling during the winter months

Research Assistants

Bronwyn Inness (she/her)-Research Assistant

Bronwyn is a second year MSc. Psychiatry Research student at Dalhousie University. She completed her BSc Honours in Psychology at Mount Allison University. Bronwyn volunteers in the DPRC lab, working mainly on the Maternal Childhood Experiences and Perinatal Health study. She loves working with kids and is interested in learning about development. At Dalhousie, Bronwyn is investigating the effects of parental smartphone use on childhood socioemotional wellbeing.

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Olivia Patterson-Research Assistant

Olivia is an honours student at Mount Saint Vincent University supervised by Dr. Daniel Séguin and a research assistant at the DPRC. Her thesis is examining whether experiences of parentification and aspects of personality such as conscientiousness can predict resilience in adulthood. Her research interests include clinical psychology, the impact of early life experiences on development, intergenerational trauma, addiction and risk-taking behaviours, and typical versus atypical development. In her spare time, Olivia enjoys painting, spending time outdoors, and helping others in need (whether human or animal)!

Ethan Kelloway (He/Him) -Research Assistant

Ethan is a fourth-year undergraduate at Mount Saint Vincent University. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) majoring in Psychology and minoring in Family Studies. His thesis examines whether our sense of community when we are adults can be predicted by our levels of empathy and compassion towards others when we are children. Ethan is hoping to pursue a Psy.D in child clinical psychology or school psychology, in which he can focus his work with family and children at a community-based level. In his spare time, Ethan loves to go for walks and explore nature, as well as play and listen to music.

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Jansyn Fraser-Research Assistant

Jansyn is a 4th year Bachelor of Arts student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology at Mount Saint Vincent University. Jansyn plans to complete her honours certificate after graduation. Jansyn is interested in developmental psychology and hopes to work with children one day. In her free time Jansyn enjoys reading, writing, and film.

Michelle - Research Assistant

Michelle is a recent Mount Saint Vincent University alum. Supervised by Dr. Jennifer Khoury, she explored relationships between perinatal perceived stress, biological stress markers, and maternal-infant behaviour in the postpartum period for her honours thesis. After graduating, she now works as a research assistant in the DPRC to facilitate study sessions, as well as process hair and saliva samples in the wet lab. Outside of the lab, she enjoys dancing on the MSVU dance team and spending time with friends.

Mollie (she/her) - Research Assistant

Mollie is in her final year at MSVU, completing her BA Honours Psychology (under the Co-supervision of Dr. Jennifer Khoury and Lauren Giles) and minoring in French. She was an assistant marker for various psychology courses (including Intro Psychology, Developmental Psychology & Research Methods) and was a supplemental instruction leader for Introductory Psychology. As a research assistant, Mollie has been with the DPRC since May 2025 and is involved with all five ongoing research studies. She is pleased to share that the lab’s paper titled “Relations between pregnancy insomnia, relationship conflict, and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: From pregnancy through early parenthood” (on which she is first author) was recently published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, and she presented findings at CPA in June. She also completed a Directed Study with Dr. Angie Birt, was a virtual research assistant for Dr. Roy-Charland at l’Université de Moncton, and was awarded a Humanities and Social Sciences Research Assistantship in French, with Dr. Alexandra Tsedryk, developing didactic teaching modules for the Atlantic OER Liberté Textbook. In also building early applied experiences, Mollie co-facilitates therapy/skills groups for children with anxiety/neurodevelopmental disorders, and has worked as a peer mentor for a student with ASD and as a classroom resource assistant in the French Immersion elementary school system. After graduation, she is hoping to pursue doctoral psychology, with child/youth focus. In her spare time, Mollie works as a yoga/pilates/fitness instructor and loves to bake and knit. She also has extensive professional training in classical ballet, having graduated from both Alberta Ballet’s Professional Division and Post-Graduate Programs.

Natalie (she/her)- Summer Internship & Research Assistant

Natalie has been a research assistant with the lab for nearly two years, contributing to both observational study sessions and the lab’s knowledge translation and social media initiatives. Over the past year, she completed an Honours research project and summer research award under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Khoury, the latter of which resulted in a published research article.

Natalie has experience leading several of the lab’s observational study sessions and, during the summer term, further developed her technical competencies through hands-on work in the wet lab.

Outside of the lab, Natalie serves as an academic mentor, has recently worked on another research award, and continues to advance her experiential learning working with women and children in preparation for graduate studies. She is also deeply passionate about her professional role as a client support worker with Shelter Nova Scotia.

Lab Alumni