Christopher Bowie, PhD, C.Psych.

Dr. Bowie is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the departments of psychology and psychiatry at Queen’s University.  He primarily studies neurocognition and functional disability in psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder. Neurocognition refers to the functions of the brain that allow us to perceive and process information and guide our actions. When we talk about attention, memory and problem solving, we are referring to neurocognitive functions. Functional disability refers to difficulties performing in areas of life such as academics, working, living independently, and socializing with others.

Maya Gupta, Second Year PhD student

Maya graduated with a B.Sc. (hon.) in the department of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour at McMaster University. Her undergraduate thesis involved conducting program evaluation for a psychiatric rehabilitation service. For her Master's thesis at Queen's University, Maya examined the relationships among neurocognition, clinical symptoms, and functional outcomes in treatment-resistant depression. Currently, Maya is interested in examining rate limiters of social functioning in schizophrenia. Specifically, she is interested in examining fear mechanisms in social anxiety and paranoia and their role in everyday social behaviour.

Katherine Holshausen, First Year PhD Student

Katherine is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program. She graduated from McMaster University with a BA (hons) in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour. During her undergraduate studies, she worked in a Mood Disorders Clinic examining the relationship between neurocognitive abilities and functional disability. For her Master’s thesis, Katherine and Dr. Bowie developed and evaluated a treatment for thought disorder entitled Structured Therapy for the Enhancement of Purposeful Speech (STEPS). At present, Katherine is interested in social cognition and how it is related to communication and social functioning in individuals with schizophrenia.

Mike Best, Second Year MSc Student

Mike graduated with a B.Sc. (Hon.) in the department of Psychology at Queen’s University. During his undergraduate studies he was involved in research examining outcomes to neurocognitive enhancement in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as well as the effect of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) treatment of co-morbid MDD and Sleep Apnoea. Mike’s current research focuses on stigma towards individuals with schizophrenia and how stigma is associated with real-world functional disabilities for these individuals. Specifically, Mike is interested in discovering the neural basis of such stigma in an effort to improve the efficacy of programs to educate the public, and to better prepare individuals with schizophrenia for the situations they may be faced with in the community.

Michael Grossman, Second Year PhD Student

Michael graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a B.A. (Honours, Specialization in Psychology) and, more recently, the University of Toronto with an M.A. in Developmental Psychology and Education. His Master’s thesis focused on implementing a computer-based intervention to foster perspective-taking in the written compositions of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Through working with ASD youth to improve their communicative clarity, Michael developed an interest in studying social cognition and the neural correlates of theory of mind in clinical populations. Michael is eager to begin his doctoral studies in clinical psychology and gain greater insight into the origins of social dysfunction in psychiatric disorders, with an emphasis on schizophrenia and first episode psychosis.