Meet the Team
Spike W. S. Lee
Lab Director (CV)
Spike is a social psychologist. He is an associate professor cross-appointed in the Rotman School of Management (Marketing Area) and Department of Psychology (Social/Personality Area) at the University of Toronto.
Broadly speaking, his research interests revolve around politics, morality, social class, culture, language, unconscious processes, judgment and decision making, technology, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind. For details, check out the Home and Research tabs of this website.
Spike received the 2017 Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science, the 2016 Rising Star designation by the Association for Psychological Science, and the 2010 Early Graduate Student Researcher Award from the American Psychological Association.
Something you probably don't care about but he is particularly proud of: He was the lyricist of the 1st Runner-Up in the Canadian Chinese Song-Writers Quest 2021, the first song contest he has ever participated in. The song is in Cantonese, a language with 9 tones that create endless linguistic opportunities for puns, innuendos, and other awesome quirks.
Mentorship Statement
I love mentoring students. I find tremendous meaning and fulfillment in it. I had great mentors throughout my own undergraduate and graduate training. Being able to cultivate students as they explore their goals and interests and experience doing scientific thinking and work is a big part of why I love my job. I’ve mentored a large number of students from diverse backgrounds–ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic. I’m proud of their successes in numerous areas of work and life (https://mindandbodylab.wixsite.com/mindandbodylab/news).
If you join our lab, the first thing we’ll discuss is what your fundamental values and long-term aspirations are. From there, we’ll identify specific goals and concrete tasks we want to accomplish within a feasible timeframe. I was lucky to have benefited from similar opportunities when I was a student. I look forward to supporting you as a budding scholar and scientist.
Current Lab Members
Graduate Students
Noah Michael Laskey
Noah is a first year PhD student in social and personality psychology. He is interested in how group memberships, personal identity, and extremism interact within the political landscape, how cognitive styles and uncertainty intolerance give rise to rigid partisanship, as well as how authoritarianism manifests across dynamic contexts, both within and beyond the political sphere. In his free time, he enjoys spending quality time with his fiancé, and volunteering at his church.
Cecilia Ma
Cecilia is a third year PhD social psychology student, and graduate from Queen’s University with a BScH in Psychology and a minor in Film and Media. She is also the Mind and Body Lab Manager. She is interested in how social and physical states affect judgements, intuitions, and unconscious processes related to morality and empathy, especially through the lens of politics and culture. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her dog, hiking, photography, and watching movies.
Joe Hoang
Joe is a fourth year PhD social psychology student. He graduated from UofT, earning an Honours Bachelor of Science Degree with High Distinction, where he double majored in Psychology and Sociology. He is interested in areas of Social Psychology relating to topics about social class, interpersonal relationships, prejudice and cross-cultural research.
Lorenzo Cecutti
Lorenzo is a consumer behavior PhD student at the Rotman School of Management. He previously worked for Nielsen HK as a marketing analyst and obtained a master of philosophy also in consumer behavior at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His main research focus is sensory marketing and how imagined or real sensory experiences affect feelings, thoughts and judgments. Has recently decided to embark on a quest to find new tiramisu recipes over the internet.
Louisa You
Louisa is a third year PhD student in social psychology and holds a BA in Peace, Conflict, and Justice studies from the University of Toronto. She primarily works with Dr. Elizabeth Page-Gould. Her research program is on intergroup contact and outgroup perceptions. Louisa’s current work examines how we interact with people who are ideologically different to ourselves and how these interactions affect our group attitudes and emotions. Louisa is an aspiring connoisseur of Toronto bakeries.
Borna Atrchian
Borna is an M.A. graduate of the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, where his research focused on the rise of the contemporary science-skeptic movement. Having previously completed a Behavioural Neuroscience degree at the University of British Columbia, he is passionate about issues where politics and power intersect with psychology and human behaviour. He is currently leading a project investigating the cognitive complexity of American media outlets, alongside working at UBC’s Department of Psychiatry. In his free time, Borna enjoys film photography and playing music.
Norman Zeng
Norman is a first year PhD student in social psychology. He is interested in studying morality as the root of many social phenomena. In his free time, Norman loves to read, play guitar, and cook.
Undergraduate Research Student Leaders
James Jiang
James is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a political science specialist. He is interested in the intersections between psychology and political science, including how politics shape the way we think. In his spare time, James can be found at home watching anime or out somewhere in the city with friends.
Daisy Liu
Daisy is a fourth year undergraduate student pursuing a Global Health specialist and an Anthropology (Society, Culture, and Language) major. She is interested in women’s health and how social media discourse can influence related health outcomes. In her free time, she enjoys reading, spending time with her pet rabbit, and trying to learn new languages.
Ziqi Shu
Ziqi is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Cognitive Science and Computer Science, with a minor in Mathematics. She is passionate about using computational models to explore human cognition, the brain, and various aspects of Computational Linguistics. Beyond her studies, Ziqi enjoys music, spending time with cats (although she doesn't have one), and getting a good night’s sleep.
Jiessie Tie
Jiessie is in her final year as an undergraduate student, studying computational cognitive science, computer science and psychology. Her academic interests revolve around exploring the intricacies of human and computer interactions through the application of natural language processing techniques. Apart from her academic pursuits, Jiessie finds joy in painting, going to thrift stores, and spending time exploring the city.
Sophia Wan
Sophia is a fourth year undergraduate student who intends on completing a double major in Economics and Cognitive Science, and a minor in Computer Science. She is interested in how social, economic, and political systems affect beliefs and behaviour. In what free time she has, she enjoys playing the clarinet, reading, and playing story-based games.
Joy (Xi) Wang
Xi/Joy is in her third year, pursuing a BSc in Cognitive Science, Psychology, and (hopefully!) Computer Science. She is keen to explore the social-cognitive forces that drive decision-making, whether in people's daily lives or political environments. Xi/Joy loves nature and is a major tree-hugger. Sometimes literally.
Undergraduate Research Students
Frankline George
Summer Research Opportunities Programme
Frankline is a recent graduate from UofT who completed an Honours Bachelor of Science Degree with High Distinction, where he double majored in Human Biology and Neuroscience. He is interested in the intersection of politics and social class. In his free time, Frankline enjoys reading the latest thriller novels, playing chess and watching movies.
Janice Jianqi Hou
Research Opportunity Student
Janice is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a Psychology Specialist and a Statistics Major. She is eager to explore how culture and moral intuition restrain empathy expression. In her spare time, she loves going on city walks, listening to K-pop songs, and making plans. She is also picky about her choice of crime novels and movies.
Serena Honekin
University of Toronto Excellence Award
Serena is a second year undergraduate student pursuing Psychology Specialist and Sociology major. She is interested in how socially constructed identities impact people’s evaluative judgement. In her free time, she enjoys horse-back riding, taking photographs, and reading the latest books trending.
Akil Huang
Summer Undergraduate Data Science Opportunities Program
Akil is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a double major in Finance & Economics and Statistics. He is interested in the study of behavioural finance and computational linguistics. In his free time, Akil is a varsity debater at the Hart House Debating Club.
Alex Kim
Volunteer
Alex is a second-year undergraduate student pursuing a psychology specialist degree. His research interests include exploring the psychological roots of political ideology and studying strategies to decrease political polarization. Outside of school, Alex enjoys drinking lots of coffee, listening to music, and playing video games.
Martin Pham
Volunteer
Martin is a recent graduate of the University of Waterloo having studied applied and computational mathematics. His previous research experiences were in parallel computing and machine learning. His current research focus is in critical theory and public policy for artificial intelligence. To these ends he is working at the Mind and Body Lab to gain insight on the ways in which individuals think of and view themselves. He is currently also working on a short film to capture our technologically mediated milieu.
Zoha Sojoudi
Research Opportunity Student
Zoha is a third-year student in the Rotman Commerce program, specializing in management and majoring in psychology. Her research interests include exploring the environmental factors and individual decisions that shape cognition, as well as the ways in which cognition influences wellbeing. In her spare time, Zoha loves to take spontaneous trips to Indigo and Starbucks.
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Nicole Velev
Research Opportunity Student
Nicole is in her third year of undergraduate studies pursuing a double major in Psychology and Sociology. She's passionate about studying how people's social identities and experiences intersect to shape who they are throughout their lives. Outside of her studies, Nicole is an avid campus explorer and enjoys writing reviews of new UofT "spots" she discovers for her friends. She also loves cooking foods from across cultures, flying her kite, and can sometimes be found binge-watching Psych2Go videos in her spare time.
Catherine Wang
Research Opportunity Student
Catherine is a 2nd year undergraduate student pursuing a double major in Neuroscience and Cell and Molecular Biology and a Chemistry Minor. Other than enjoying pastimes like gymming, cooking, and Just Dancing (the game), you can find her studying (she actually fancies it). Catherine is delighted to be a part of the ROP program or the 2023-2024 school year and is very excited to be working with the Mind and Body Lab team!