NeuroFog

Meet Our Team

Dr. Jonathan Fawcett

Jon is a Cognitive Psychologist by training who has studied a great deal of topics throughout his career. From early on his primary interests have been in understanding the neurocognitive mechanisms through which we control unwanted memories. He has approached this and related topics using tools borrowed from Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychophysiology, and Clinical Epidemiology. In addition to understanding the basic mechanisms through which memory control functions, he is also interested in understanding how these processes relate to mental disorders characterized by an inability to control unwanted thoughts (e.g., OCD, PTSD). In addition to being the principal investigator of the NeuroFog Laboratory, Jon is also an avid reader, musician, and gamer.

Lab Managers

Madi LaSaga

Madi is a lab manager and Master of Science student in Experimental Psychology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, supervised by Dr. Jonathan Fawcett. Her work is focused on bridging memory control research with the study of recreational fear to understand how individuals control unwanted thoughts and memories through the lens of horror. She collaborates with Dr. Christopher Quinn-Nilas of the LOVE Lab and Drs. Marc Malmdorf Andersen and Mathias Clasen of the Recreational Fear Lab, developing and validating the Severity of Horror Media-induced Intrusive Memories (SHMIM) scale.

Kaitlyn Miller

(2024-Present | Lab Manager)

Kait is a PhD candidate, supervised by Drs. Emily and Jonathan Fawcett, and co-lab manager of the NeuroFog Lab. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology and a Master of Clinical Psychology (with Distinction) from the University of Newcastle. Kait is passionate about women’s mental health, having practiced in child and family health clinics, sexual assault services and perinatal mental health as a registered psychologist in Australia. Kait’s PhD research is focused on anxiety in the menopausal transition. She is deeply committed to developing research that will inform evidence-based practice and positively impact individuals, families and communities. Outside the lab, Kait loves running, reading fiction and sharing good food with good friends.

Grad Students

Nathaniel Wells

(2024 – Present)

Nathaniel is a Master of Science Student in Experimental Psychology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, supervised by Dr. Jonathan Fawcett. His research explores the mechanisms of memory control—specifically investigating how individuals regulate unwanted thoughts or memories. Before this, he completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Psychology at Memorial University, where he studied the environmental factors influencing colony attendance in Atlantic Puffins. Outside of academia, Nathaniel enjoys hiking, reading, and convincing himself that buying “just one more book” is totally reasonable.

Jed Whitridge

(2021 – Present | Hon. Thesis | M.Sc. | Ph.D)

Jed is a PhD student in Experimental Psychology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, supervised by Dr. Jonathan Fawcett. His research explores effective encoding strategies in human memory, using the production task. Jed’s secondary interest is in advanced methods, including expertise with Bayesian Statistics, Meta-analysis and Multinomial Processing Trees, to name a few. Outside academia, he enjoys hiking, baking and fine wines.

Chelsea Lahey

(2020 – Present | Hon. Thesis | Lab Manager | M.Sc. | Psy.D.)

Chelsea has completed her BA (Hons.) Psychology degree (supervised by Dr. Jonathan Fawcett) and MSc in Experimental Psychology (co-supervised by Drs. Emily and Jonathan Fawcett) at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her research has primarily focused on the identification of and stigmatization against lesser-known symptom presentations of OCD, specially Harm OCD. She is currently a PsyD student at MUN, completing her thesis research project under the co-supervision of Drs. Emily and Jonathan Fawcett. For this project, she intends to conduct a systematic review considering world-wide prevalence of illy-defined “miscellaneous” OCD symptoms in clinical samples. She has been a member of the Neurofog lab since Spring 2019, having proudly held the position of lab manager until Fall 2023.

Ashlee Coles

Ashlee completed her BA (Hons.) in Psychology under the supervision of Drs. Jonathan and Emily Fawcett. Her thesis examined the lay public’s ability to identify lesser-known subtypes of OCD and how stigma differs depending on OCD presentation. She completed her MSc under the co-supervision of Drs. Jonathan Fawcett and Nick Harris examining the prevalence of comorbid cannabis use disorder in individuals with anxiety or related disorders. Presently, Ashlee is a PsyD student (co-supervised by Drs. Jonathan and Emily Fawcett) researching family accommodation in lesser-known symptom presentations of OCD and ARFID.

Gillian Foley

(2024 – Present | Ph. D)

Gillian is a PhD student in Health and Wellness Psychology under the supervision of Drs. Jonathan Fawcett and Rosemary Ricciardelli. She completed both her Bachelor of Science (Hons) and Master of Applied Psychological Science at Memorial University. Her research mainly focuses on the mental health of correctional officers and other public safety personnel.

Mikayla Tat

(2025 – Present | M.Sc.)

Mikayla is a Master of Science student in Experimental Psychology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she is co-supervised by Dr. Jonathan Fawcett and Dr. Chris Lively. Her research examines the Weapon Focus Effect, which is understanding how the presence of a weapon disrupts eyewitness memory. Before beginning her graduate studies, she completed her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology from Mount Royal University. Outside of academia, she enjoys playing piano, going to cafes, and occasionally enjoying the outdoors.

Honours Students

Maya Fifield

(2025 – Present | Hon. Thesis)

Maya is a fourth-year BAs (Hon.) Student in Psychology. She joined the NeuroFog lab as a volunteer in the spring of 2025 and is now completing her Honours thesis investigating memory control of pseudo-profound content under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Fawcett. Outside of academia, Maya enjoys running, traveling, and good coffee.

Mickayla Culleton

(2025 – Present | Hon. Thesis)

Mickayla is a 4^th year undergraduate BSc (Hons.) student in Neuroscience and Biology at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is currently working on her honours’ thesis in Cognitive Neuroscience under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Fawcett, co-supervision of Dr. Ben Zendel, and mentorship of Nathaniel Wells. Her project examines brain lateralization of the production effect by exploring how inhibitory tDCS stimulation influences memory when words are spoken or sung aloud. In her future, Mickayla wishes to become a Medical Doctor. Outside of academia, Mickayla enjoys volunteering with Girl Guides, Ronald McDonald House, Eastern Health, and playing volleyball.

Megan Rose

(2025 – Present | Hon. Thesis)

Megan is in her last year of her B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in Psychology. She is completing her Honours under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Fawcett, investigating the production effect for complex and simple singing.

NeuroFog Alumni and Collaborators

Alumni

2023 – 2025: Matt Wheeler (Hon. Thesis)
2023 – 2025: Siyue Hu (MUCEP | Hon. Thesis)
2024 – 2025: Lauryn Eagles (MUCEP | Hon. Thesis)
2021 – 2025: Kyla Malayang (Ph.D.)
2020 – 2025: Quinn Morrison (Psy.D.)
2022 – 2025: Brooke Hiscock (Hon. Thesis | M.Sc.)
2022 – 2023: Kera McGrath (Hon. Thesis)
2021 – 2023: Ahida Shahrier (Hon. Thesis | SURA)
2021 – 2022: Chad Synyard (Hon. Thesis)
2021 – 2022: Anna Froude (Hon. Thesis)
2020 – 2022: Noah Pevie (SURA/Co-op | Directed Studies | Hon. Thesis)
2021: Harsha Ajith (Directed Studies)
2020 – 2021: Laura Pittman (Hon. Thesis)
2020 – 2021: Bethany Seim (Hon. Thesis)
2020 – 2021: Jennifer Bent (Hon. Thesis)
2020 – 2021: Aimee Hirwa (Hon. Thesis)
2019 – 2021: Chris Clark (M.Sc.)
2019 – 2021: Delainey Drakes (M.Sc.)
2019 – 2021: Ryan Lee (Hon. Thesis)
2020: Suhail Hassan (SURA | Summer Co-op)
2019 – 2020: Alicia Stewart (Hon. Thesis)
2018 – 2020: Hannah Willoughby (M.Sc.)
2017 – 2020: Kelsi Hall (Hon. Thesis | M.Sc.)
2019 – 2020: Janaya Toope (Hon. Thesis | Directed Studies)
2019: Zahin Prangon (MUCEP)
2017 – 2019: Vanessa Strong (Psy.D.)
2018 – 2019: Rachelle Wakeham-Lewis (Hon. Thesis | MUCEP | NSERC Summer | Lab Manager)
2018 – 2019: Iain Gamba (Hon. Thesis | MUCEP | NSERC Summer)
2018 – 2019: Liam Foley (Hon. Thesis)
2017 – 2019: Julia Rose (Hon. Thesis | SURA | NSERC Summer)
2017 – 2018: Landon Churchill (Ph.D. Student)
2017 – 2018: Jillian Penney (Hon. Thesis)
2017 – 2018: Rabia Farmahan (Hon. Thesis | Directed Studies)
2017 – 2018: Brittany Flood (Hon. Thesis)
2017 – 2018: Jenny Tiller (x2 Directed Studies)
2017 – 2018: Marcus Alves (FAPESP Visiting Doctoral Scholar (Brazil)
2017 – 2018: Julia Greenham (NSERC Summer Student | MUCEP Student | Lab Manager)
2017: Rachel Hewitt (Directed Studies)

Collaborators

Dr. Ada Vaziri
Dr. Nicholas Harris
Dr. Emily Fawcett
Dr. Josh Rash
Dr. Chris Quinn-Nilas
Dr. Brent Snook
Dr. Chris Lively
Dr. Jason Ozubko
Dr. Mark Huff
Dr. Kathleen Hourihan
Dr. Oscar Meuriva-Pastor

Volunteers

2023 – Present: Robyn Cumben
2024 – Present: Campbell Trask
2021 – Present: Justine Yick (Hon. Thesis)
2022 – Present: Brooke Hiscock (Honours Student)
2023 – Present: Matt Wheeler
2024 – Present: Claudia Walsh
2024 – Present: Kaden Nivens
2024 – Present: Kyra Williams
2024 – Present: Lauryn Eagles
2024 – Present: Nathaniel Wells
2024 – Present: Sydney Knapman