I am interested in the plasticity of human consciousness. My research investigates practices that aim to
transform subjective experience—from meditation and hypnosis to placebos, prayer, and contemplative
therapies. I work from an interdisciplinary perspective, combining cognitive, neurobiological, and
phenomenological approaches to shed light on mechanisms of self-regulation in both health and
pathology.
I completed my PhD in neuroscience at McGill University and am currently working with Tanya M.
Luhrmann as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford. My work has been supported by the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
of Canada (SSHRC), the Bial Foundation, and the Mind & Life Institute. Before my doctorate, I completed
a master’s in neuroscience and an undergraduate with honours in psychology and minors in philosophy
and world religions, all at McGill.
