Ana Bojcun completed her Bachelor of Administrative Studies with Honours degree at York University specialized in Marketing.  She has over 12 years of experience in the Business Management and Marketing field.  She also holds a Professional Certificate in Management. 

Her work focuses on the day to day operational and financial activities of MEHRI under the direction of Prof. Shanker, whom she also provides with administrative support.  She is the proud mother of two young children, Michelle and Matthew and enjoys the outdoors, travelling and reading. 

Jeremy Burman is the Norman S. Endler Research Fellow in Psychology and Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellow at York University. He is also a senior doctoral student in the graduate program in the history and theory of psychology. He was educated at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Employment Relations (with honours) in 2004; and at York, where he received his Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2009.

He has authored essays published in several peer-reviewed journals: the Journal of Consciousness Studies (2006), Theory & Psychology (2007 & 2011), Perspectives on Science (2008 & 2012), History of Psychology (2012a, 2012b, & 2013), the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology (2013), the Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences (2013 & in press), and New Ideas in Psychology (in press). He also has a chapter in a forthcoming book from Cambridge University Press.

Burman received the Pufall Award from the Jean Piaget Society in 2009, the International Emerging Scholars Award from the Jacobs Foundation in 2010, and the Ambassador Gary J. Smith Award for international research from York University in 2013. He has also been recognized for his teaching, receiving certificates of teaching excellence from the Council of Canadian Departments of Psychology in 2010, 2012, and 2013, as well as York University's prestigious President's University-Wide Teaching Award in 2012.

At MEHRI, Burman serves as Prof. Shanker's deputy and provides leadership on special projects and grants. Prior to this, he was an Associate Producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and—during the dot-com era—he founded and ran several entrepreneurial ventures. (For more, visit Jeremy's personal page.)

Dr. Lisa Bayrami completed her Ph.D. in Psychology at York University in the area of Developmental and Cognitive Processes. She has conducted research on the early identification of autistic spectrum disorders and is also currently involved in several studies investigating the outcomes of social-emotional learning programs in children and young adolescents. Dr. Bayrami is also involved in research exploring the nature of maternal-fetal attachment.

Dr. Devin Casenhiser completed his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois specializing in Psycholinguistics and comes to us from Princeton University where he had been conducting post-doctoral research in the department of psychology. Dr. Casenhiser's research explores the roles of function, pragmatics, and semantics in language learning and child development. This has most recently led him to investigate learning in children with autism spectrum disorders since they often have constrictions in these same areas. Dr. Casenhiser is in charge of the behavioral and cogntiive research at MEHRI, oversees the research staff, and works closely with the treatment team members. (For more details, visit Dr. Casenhiser's Home Page.)

Luis Garcia Dominguez, PhD, works in the field of signal processing with a focus on functional connectivity measures of brain activity derived from electroencephalographic (EEG) and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recordings. He has collaborated with several groups and participated in many research programs from heart rate variability, autism, epilepsy, coma, brain injury to normal cognitive functions.

Sam Gardner completed his MA in philosophy at McMaster University and is currently working on his doctorate at York University in the Faculty of Education.  Sam was previously a research associate at the Offord Centre for Child Studies and worked closely with Dr. Dan Offord for many years on a variety of social reporting projects.  He also worked as a research consultant for several years before starting his doctoral studies, helping to inform the efforts of many organizations working to support the healthy development of children and youth.  His professional interests are in the areas of professional learning and development, the epistemology of practice, knowledge mobilization, and in human development.

John Hoffman is a National Magazine Award-winning communications and research professional who has written hundreds of articles on parenting and child development for Today’s Parent magazine over the past 20 years. John’s work has also appeared in Reader’s Digest, Chatelaine, More, Moneysense and Zoomer.

As a journalist, John built a solid reputation for debunking bad parenting advice and exposing inaccurate media reporting of research findings. Those interests sparked a gradual career shift into the realm of research communications.

John currently serves as web writer for the Father Involvement Research Alliance and the Centre for Families Work and Well-being. His academic writing includes Father Factors: What social science research tells us about fathers and how to work with them, a research report that has been distributed to family professionals across Canada and is now used as a text in a child development course at the University of Victoria. John has also co-authored a peer-reviewed journal article on parents’ experiences of night waking and sleep training, and a chapter in the recently released academic volume Father Involvement in Canada (UBC Press, Dec. 2012).

Jessica completed her HBSc in Psychology from the University of Toronto. Her interests focus on the nature of play in children with autism, specifically examining the dynamics of parent-child interactions during play.

Olga Morderer has been fortunate to work in different positions in MEHRI over the past 3 years. She started as a volunteer, filming therapy sessions; then helped part time with different research projects. Upon graduation from the University of Toronto with Honors BSc. in Psychology, Olga joined the MEHRI team full time as a research assistant. Currently, as Research Coordinator, Olga’s work is focused on handling and organizing research projects in MEHRI under the direction of Dr. Devin Casenhiser.

Dr. Jim Stieben is the director of the clinical and developmental neuroscience unit, where he oversees all neuroscience research and neuroscience research staff. His research is broadly focused on clinical and developmental neuroscience in children and adolescence.

Dr. Stieben’s research is focused on four main areas: 1) The core research focus in the MEHRI lab is intervention neuroscience with a number of studies assessing EEG and event related potential (ERP) changes associated with interventions e.g., DIR/Floortime intervention in young children with autism and neurophysiological changes using the Roots of Empathy program, 2) The neurophysiology of parenting with a focus on the effects of parenting style on frontal lobe development in children, 3) The effects of violent video game play on the development of the frontal lobe in adolescence, and 4) The development of joint attention in infancy.

Dr. Stieben’s lab is specialized for the collection of 128 channel dense-array EEG (EGI), psychophysiological methods (Biopac) including ECG, heart rate variability, vagal tone and skin conductance. He also utilizes eye-tracking methods (Tobii) to monitor participants gaze behaviour during EEG/ERP data collection. His lab is designed to acquire concurrent EEG, psychophysiology and video observation from two research participants simultaneously. This method provides us with a unique ability to study joint behaviour in our research participants (e.g., mother-infant dyads).

Amanda Binns is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist.  She received a BA in Speech and Language Sciences from Brock University in 2002 and a Master’s Degree from the State University at Buffalo, Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, in 2004.  Amanda then began her career working in a private practice, seeing a wide range of clients in schools, hospitals, and in-home settings.

Amanda has been at MEHRI since 2006, when the clinical program was founded, and is part of the multidisciplinary team who collaborated on the DIR-based treatment study recently published online ahead of print in the international peer-reviewed journal Autism. Her current clinical practice includes working with children and families using a combination of trans-disciplinary parent coaching, reflective parent meetings, and direct therapy.  She also provides ongoing professional support to teachers, designing classroom curricula and individualizing programs for students with special needs. 

Amanda is a certified Expert DIR Speech Language Pathologist and has been a Training Leader in the ICDL DIR certificate program since 2010.  She has developed training curricula and presented to professionals locally, across North America, and in Colombia on a variety of topics including: DIR principles and practice, supporting communication development, the importance of play and interaction for young children, self-regulation, and coaching/supporting parents to become part of the therapeutic process.  Audiences have included parents, clinicians, teachers, early childhood educators, medical professionals, and government officials.

Eunice Lee is a Registered Social Worker who has worked with children with special needs and their families for more than a decade.  She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1999 with a BA in Psychology and French.  In 2002, she received dual Master's degrees in Social Work and Special Education from Columbia University and Bank Street College of Education in New York City.  She also earned a post-graduate certificate in Infant Mental Health from York University in 2007.

Eunice has focused her work on building collaborative relationships between parents, educators, and professionals in a variety of settings including a children's mental health clinic, Head Start program, therapeutic nursery, and a social service agency for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and their families.  Her clinical experience includes providing individual therapy/counselling, designing and delivering psycho-educational workshops, and facilitating support groups for children, adolescents, and parents. 

Eunice joined MEHRI in 2007 and is a member of the multidisciplinary team that provided treatment for families in the long-term research study recently published online ahead of print in the international peer-reviewed journal Autism.  More recently, she has played a significant role in developing and delivering curricula for training and consultation locally, provincially, and internationally for schools, district school boards, non-profit organizations, and government programs.  In addition to being certified as an Expert DIR Floortime provider, she is also a Training Leader for the Interdisciplinary Council for Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL).

Fay McGill is a licensed speech-language pathologist who has been practicing since 2004.  She received her Honours BA in Linguistics from York University in 2000 and a Master’s degree in Communicative Disorders and Sciences from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2004. 

In her clinical practice, Fay has worked with children with a variety of developmental and communication concerns and their families.  Since joining the Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative in 2007, she has also been working as a part of the multidisciplinary team serving children and families using a DIR-based treatment approach. 

Fay is certified as an Expert DIR Floortime provider and Training Leader.  She has experience coaching and educating parents and professionals.  She has also presented throughout Canada on developmental-relational approaches to therapy and the importance of self-regulation. 

Chris Robinson is an Occupational Therapist who joined MEHRI in 2007.  During her twenty years of service to communities, Robinson has provided formal and informal training sessions—in assistive technology, sensory-motor development and sensory processing—to the staff and families of many school districts.

Individually, Chris has provided continuing education to the French Catholic School Board in Sudbury, Ontario (Conseil Scholaire Catholiqe du Nouvel-Ontario), and was an invited presenter at the Nebraska Autism Conference 2012. As a training leader and Expert DIR Occupational Therapist for the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL), she provides coaching sessions and distance education to professionals and parents around the world.

Chris received a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Toronto in 1984.  She has also received advanced training in neurodevelopmental therapy and sensory-integration, DIR Floortime Training Leader Certification, and is credentialed to work in both Canada and the United States.