People

Lara Pierce, Ph.D.

Lara Pierce (she/her) is the director of the Pierce Experience & Development Lab and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at York University. She received her Ph.D. from McGill University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Lara uses developmental cognitive neuroscience tools to explore how variation in the early environment impacts the development of neural systems, particularly those supporting language. She aims to a) identify mechanisms by which specific variables (e.g., those associated with socioeconomic variation and early life stress) shape both early neurodevelopment and the early language environment, and b) explore the role that individual differences play in the development of language and cognitive abilities, and c) uncover variation in early neurodevelopment contributes to later learning. She uses tools such as electroencephalography (EEG/ERP), language recordings, and behavioural assessments in infants and children to address these questions. Lara is also a mom to the world’s most patient developmental science teacher and EEG pilot participant.

Developmental Science graduate program

Ana Badal, PhD Student

Ana Badal received her MA in the Developmental Science area of the Graduate Psychology program at York University in 2024. She earned a bilingual specialized honours BA in psychology with a concentration in neuropsychology at York University’s Glendon Campus and is now pursuing her PhD in developmental science and psychology at York.

Ana’s research interests are focused on developing engaging research strategies to investigate the complex influences of socioeconomic status (SES) and stress on parenting and infant neurodevelopment. Alongside her research, Ana has been a support worker for local shelters in Toronto since 2019 and is currently focused on building rapport with unhoused families doing their best to raise children during stressful transitions.

Ana is also a clinical research coordinator at Baycrest hospital for a project exploring associations between SES and cognitive health in older adults. On her free time, Ana enjoys relaxing with her family and friends and spends as much time as possible outdoors with her dog, Honey.

Rhonda Baker, PhD Student
(Lab Coordinator)

Rhonda Baker (she/her) is a graduate student in the Psychology program (Developmental Science area) at York University, working under the supervision of Dr. Lara Pierce at the Experience & Development Lab. She holds a BA with specialized honours in Psychology and a concentration in counselling and mental health (2022), and her Master’s thesis involved validating a thin-slice measure of maternal responsivity coded during free-play.

Rhonda’s current research is focused on caregiver responsivity, and the specific behaviours that facilitate early child development. She further examines and incorporates risk and protective factors into her work to understand how the broader socioeconomic context of families contribute to experiences of stressors and alter early caregiver-child relationships. To understand these relationships more deeply, she aims to incorporate qualitative methods into her work and examine the role of a secondary caregiver.

Rhonda works as the administration and outreach manager at the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists – East Chapter (CADA/East), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1986 to improve the status and working conditions of independent dance artists. At CADA/East she focuses on strategic planning, program development, grant writing, and research and consulting on the Professional Standards for Dance (PSD). She is also an alumna of Dance Arts Institute and has a background in dance performance and education. Through her dance career, she has been nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award in Toronto (2014), and awarded the Lieutenant Governor Masterworks Arts Award in Nova Scotia (2016) for her contribution and performance in an ensemble dance work called Canvas 5 x 5, by the late Tedd Robinson.

Heala Maudoodi, PhD student

Heala Maudoodi (she/her) is a graduate student in the Pierce Experience and Development Lab at York University. She received her HBSc from the University of Toronto, specializing in neuroscience and psychology.

She recently completed her undergraduate honours thesis on how conditioned inhibition develops under varying experimental conditions while examining the neural substrates that are activated using immunohistochemistry and cFos, in the rodent model. Prior to this research, Heala completed an independent project partnered with ManyBabies, focusing on the social and moral evaluation of infants.

Her current research will investigate how early language experiences and variation in socioeconomically diverse contexts shape children’s developing neurophysiology – particularly cognitive functions like memory and attention – by using electroencephalography and behavioural assessments. Besides research, Heala enjoys spending time with family and friends, cycling in newly discovered trail parks, and reading novels.

Yara Odeh, PhD Student

Yara Odeh is an M.A. student working with Dr. Lara Pierce in the Pierce Experience & Development Lab. A York native, Yara has completed a B. A., Specialized Honours of Psychology at York University and is now furthering her academic career at York.

Throughout her beginning university years, she has always had an interest in language and developmental science with a focus on neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD. This led her to specialize in her bachelor’s in developmentally based fields while taking numerous language courses. Throughout the years, however, Yara, who has ADHD, has made a personal discovery on the effects ADHD has on language, as she has personally found differences between herself, who is bilingual, and individuals with ADHD who are monolingual.

Through her literature review, she has found Dr. Lara Pierce. With similar interests and a shared focus, Yara has joined Dr. Lara Pierce in her work and hopes to be able to contribute to the many mysteries found within the language and developmental science field. Yara also has a strong adoration for all animals and currently works as a Vet Technician/Assistant. Relatedly, she has a huge interest in animal behaviourism that she hopes to one day incorporate into her research career.

Niousha Pordavoody, PhD Student

Niousha Pordavoody is a PhD student in the Pierce Experience and Development Lab within the Psychology program at York University. She hold a Master of Science in the Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science area from York University, as well as a prior Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.

Her research focuses on developing innovative methodologies to examine the nonlinear complexity of family dynamics, along with the intersecting influences of socioeconomic status (SES) and stress on children’s neurodevelopment. She is particularly interested in the psychological mechanisms underlying anxiety and stress in youth and in evaluating the effectiveness of emotional regulation strategies for mitigating these symptoms.

In addition to her academic work, Niousha is a registered psychotherapist specializing in anxiety and mental health support for adults, children, and families. Since 2020, she has provided psychotherapy services to diverse populations in both Vancouver and Toronto. In her free time, Niousha enjoys reading, hiking and engaging in creative projects in fine art.

Shannon Cassidy, MA Student

Shannon received her BA (Honours) in Psychology from Queen’s University in 2025, where she completed an undergraduate thesis on belief revision in 2–5-year-old children. During her undergraduate degree, she also worked four consecutive summers as a Wellness Worker in the Sagamok Anishnawbek Mental Health and Addictions Department, which sparked her interest in understanding how early stress in a child’s life may influence their development in lasting ways.

She is now pursuing her MA in the Developmental Science area of the Graduate Psychology program at York University, working in the Pierce Experience & Development Lab. Shannon’s interests focus on how socio-economic status and stress – including both infant and maternal experience – shape early neurodevelopment, particularly in systems supporting language, attention, and sleep. She aims to research mechanisms linking stress-related environmental variation to infants’ neuroprocessing, the role of individual differences as both protective and risk factors in these processes, and how early neural variation may influence later cognition and mental health outcomes.

In her spare time, Shannon enjoys trying fancy kinds of coffee, window shopping, and spending time outdoors – especially on weekend camping trips and hikes with her dog, Greyfriar. She also dabbles in all sorts of art forms, including sculpting, painting, and wood burning, and loves going to Crock A Doodle to create art with friends.

Aaliyah Daruwala

Aaliyah is a fourth year student in the Specialized Honours Psychology program at York University. With concentrations in both Child and Youth development and Counselling and mental health, her goal is to be a registered Child and Youth Psychologist. Passionate about research in the developmental and cognitive areas of psychology, she is interested in how parental stress can impact later literacy outcomes in children. As a Research Assistant at the lab, she has completed an Independent Research Project with Dr. Pierce, who is now supervising her honours thesis project. Aaliyah hopes to be a part of research that moves us towards creating new early interventions and improving children’s resilience in face of stressful situations.

Nusrat Iftikhar, B.A., Psychology

Nusrat completed a BA in Psychology (Hons) at York University in 2023 and joined the Pierce Experience & Development Lab to explore neural methods in research. She’s working on an independent project examining polygenic risk scores and depression in infants. Currently pursuing an MSc in Mental Health Studies at King’s College London, her dissertation focuses on therapeutic alliance in cognitive remediation therapy for people with psychosis. Aspiring to become a clinical psychologist, Nusrat aims to address gaps in the field for the South Asian community. Outside of her studies, she loves travelling, reading, watching sitcoms and spending time with her family.

Mahnoosh Jalilzadeh

Mahnoosh Jalilzadeh is a fourth-year Psychology student at York University and an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Pierce Experience & Development Lab. Her research experience is rooted in developmental psychology, with a focus on early environments and their impact on long-term outcomes. At the lab, Mahnoosh’s current work involves a scoping review of EEG markers of neurodevelopmental risk in infants exposed to early life stressors, supervised by Dr. Pierce. She also contributes to infant studies as an Experimenter 2 (E2), supporting Experimenter 1 by preparing study materials, setting up equipment, assisting participants and families, engaging with infants during sessions, and ensuring proper cleanup. This combination of scoping review and hands-on work allows her to bridge theory with practice in developmental research.

Her broader research interests include child and youth development, eco-psychology and trauma-informed framework. She is particularly drawn to somatic practices, mindfulness, and meditation as ways to strengthen the mind–body–soul connection. For her, psychology is not only about cognitive processes but also about fostering resilience and healing through approaches that recognize the whole person. Beyond research, Mahnoosh is the facilitator for The Nest Initiative, where she founded Art as Earthlight, a creative circle offering space for reflection and healing around eco-anxiety, climate grief, and solastalgia through art and dialogue. In her free time, she enjoys painting, yoga, meditation, reading, and spending time in nature, practices that reflect her belief in creativity, environmental connection, and holistic well-being.

Livia Guerrieri

Livia Guerrieri (she/her) is in her third year of the Bachelor of Arts specialized honours program in psychology. She began joining the open lab meetings in January of 2025. Currently, she is working on an individual research project looking at developmental EEG methods and analysis in the lab, working under the supervision of Dr. Lara Pierce. Outside of the lab she is a volunteer at Boomerang Health – powered by SickKids. She is interested in research regarding developmental psychology.

Prisha Jain, BSc

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Prisha Jain (she/her) is in her fourth year of her B.Sc., Specialized Honours Psychology degree from York University. As an undergraduate research assistant, she attends weekly meetings, gives journal presentations, and participates in EEG training techniques. She collaborates with other members of the lab to contribute to various projects in the lab.

Diana Pombo

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Diana is in her fourth year of the Bachelor of Arts specialized honours program in psychology. She has been working in Dr. Lara Pierce’s lab since January 2022 and has been working on an individual project in the lab. She is looking at how associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and language are moderated by infant temperament or frustration reactivity. In addition to her project, she is being trained to run EEG studies on infants. Diana hopes to pursue a future in clinical-developmental psychology, looking at how environments (e.g., family, education, etc.) affect children’s mental health.

Nazanin Rahmani

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Nazanin Rahmani is a fourth-year Specialized Honours Psychology student at York University. She is volunteering in three different labs at York University as a research assistant. In one lab, run by professor Cindel White, she is coding open-ended data and conducting a literature review about different types of positive emotions. The second lab is an EEG lab run by professor Lara Pierce. In the third lab, she is coding qualitative data from student surveys in professor Jorida Cila’s lab. Nazanin has a plan to continue her studies to be a clinical psychologist. She is also interested in doing research in terms of developmental psychology.  

Honey Savla, BSc

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Honey Savla (she/her) is a Research Assistant working for Lara Pierce, director of the Pierce Experience and Development Lab. Born in 2002 in Mumbai, India, Honey is a 3rd-year international student currently working towards a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Psychology. She uses her strong research ability to work on literature searches aimed at exploring protective factors buffering against the effects of early life stress on neurodevelopment. She also assists in EEG data collection from infants and young adults.