People in the Lab
Top Row (Left to Right): Jeremy Stewart, Raegan Mazurka, Mateya Dimnik, Chloe Hudson, Juilan Chiarella
Middle Row (Left to Right): Hailey Ventola, Jennifer Gillies, Arielle Zahavi
Bottom Row (Left to Right): Dustin Washburn, Kate Harkness, Kathryn Barton, Nicole Pun, Sarah Saperia
Not Shown: Cherie La Rocque, Alex Reis, Kathleen Xu
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Kate Harkness, PhD
Associate Professor
B.Sc., (Hon.) Toronto, 1993
M.S., Oregon, 1995
Ph.D., Oregon, 1998
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Kate Harkness, Ph.D. Principal Investigator
Area of research: My primary research focus is the role of stress and early trauma in the etiology and ongoing pathology of major depression in adolescence and adulthood.
My current work focuses on gene-environment interactions that increase the biological and psychosocial sensitivity to stress in major depression.
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ch110@queensu.ca
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Chloe Hudson, B.A.H.
Lab Coordinator
I am responsible for the organization and maintenance of ongoing projects in the lab. I recently graduated from the University of Guelph with a BAH in Psychology. This year, I will be applying to graduate schools to pursue a degree in Clinical Psychology.
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Graduate Students
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8rcl2@queensu.ca
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Cherie La Rocque, M.Sc. Area of research: I am interested in the role of early child maltreatment, and specifically physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, in heightening the sensitization to stress in adolescence and adulthood. In my Master's thesis I tested the hypothesis that depressed individuals with a history of maltreatment require a lower level of stress to trigger their onset of major depression than those without. I am further interested in whether this relation depends on when the maltreatment was experienced (childhood versus adolescence), what type of maltreatment it was (physical vs. sexual vs. emotional abuse), and whether the depressive episode is a first-onset or a recurrence. |
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rmazurka@gmail.com
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Raegan Mazurka, B.Sc.H.
Area of Research: I am interested in dysregulation of the biological stress response in depression and how this system may be affected by gene-environment interactions. My master’s thesis will be looking at how polymorphisms of the FKBP5 gene in combination with childhood maltreatment may predict the cortisol response to a psychosocial stress task in depressed versus non-depressed adolescents.
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2js4@queensu.ca
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Jeremy Stewart, Ph.D. Candidate
Area of research: I am interested in the interpersonal factors involved in the development and maintenance of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Specifically, I am examining the interplay between underlying personality vulnerability (i.e., Rejection Sensitivity), maladaptive interpersonal behaviors (e.g., excessive reassurance-seeking) and symptoms of depression in predicting experiences of rejection in romantic relationships. Secondary to this work, I am examining the developmental trajectories that lead to problematic or dysfunctional dating relationships. |
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dustin.washburn
@queensu.ca
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Dustin Washburn, M.Sc.
Area of Research: My research interests lie in understanding the underpinnings of social dysfunction in people with depression and social phobia. Theory of mind refers to one’s ability to understand and interpret other people’s intentions and beliefs, and my Master’s thesis seeks to understand the varying theory of mind ability of individuals with major depression, social phobia, and, comorbid theory of mind. What I would like to know how level of theory of mind ability differs between these groups of people, and if so, how it affects their ability to function optimally in their interpersonal relationships.
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Honours Students
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 j.gillies@queensu.ca
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Jennifer Gillies
Area of research: I am interested in the etiology of depressive and anxiety disorders, as well as the relationship between them. My Honours thesis will focus on differences in the clinical profiles of adolescents and young adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) across parental depression history groups, and also the way in which these differences may be moderated by the sex of the individuals with MDD.
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ariellezahavi@gmail.com
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Arielle Zahavi
Area of research: Currently-depressed individuals exhibit a deficit in theory of mind, while those at risk for depression (such as exposure to maternal depression), but without current symptoms, display superior theory of mind abilities relative to healthy controls. For my honour’s thesis, I will be examining whether a polymorphism in the serotonin-transporter gene, commonly implicated in depression, may moderate this relation between maternal depression and enhanced theory of mind.
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Research Assistants
Kathryn Barton
9ksb5@queensu.ca
Juilan Chiarella
9jc53@queensu.ca
Mateya Dimnik
6mild@queensu.ca
Nicole Pun
9nlkp1@queensu.ca
Alex Reis
8avr1@queensu.ca
Sarah Saperia
9sas8@queensu.ca
Kathleen Xu
8kx1@queensu.ca
Hailey Ventola
h.ventola@queensu.ca
