Work with thought leaders and academic experts in neuropsychology physiological psychology

Dr. Daniel Milej is a multidisciplinary researcher with experience in medical biophysics, electronics, biocybernetics, biomedical optics and engineering. He is highly knowledgeable and experienced in a range of research techniques. He is currently a Research Associate at the Lawson Health Research Institute, leading the transition of multimodal optical imaging systems from a research setting to clinical use in an ICU and OR environment, working closely with teams of nurses, surgeons, doctors and respiratory therapists. Previously he was a postdoctoral fellow working on developing noninvasive modalities for brain activity monitoring in the Department of Medical Biophysics at Western University. Before that, Dr. Milej worked as a researcher at the Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2014 from the Polish Academy of Science, specializing in Electronics and Biomedical Engineering. He received his MSc from the Military University of Technology in 2008.

Dr. Savannah Lokey is a clinician-scientist with a passion for research and helping others. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Arizona State University in 2015, followed by a Master of Arts in Psychology in 2017 and Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology in 2023 from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Lokey has gained valuable experience in the field of clinical psychology and social neuroscience through various positions. She served as an Intramural Research Training Fellow (IRTA) at the National Institute of Mental Health, where she conducted research on how a rare genetic disorder (Moebius Syndrome) affects emotion processing and underlying neurocircuitry. She also worked as a Research Associate at Rush University Medical Center, where she focused on the social neuroscience of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. She uses many techniques in her research, including fMRI, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), survey research, and passive smartphone sensor data. In addition to her research experience, Dr. Lokey has also received clinical training in various settings. She completed a predoctoral internship in the Major Mental Illness track at the University of California Los Angeles, where she provided psychotherapy and assessment services to individuals with severe mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.). She has deep knowledge about evidence-based interventions and principles of behavioral change, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (CBT), trauma therapy, exposure therapy, cognitive remediation, and social skills training. Dr. Lokey is dedicated to using her knowledge and skills to improve the lives of individuals struggling with mental health issues. She is committed to expanding research on these conditions and developing and testing new treatment approaches in the field of psychology. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with her family and friends.

Dr. Everson A Nunes is a highly accomplished researcher and educator in the field of physiological sciences. He received his Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology with a focus on Physiological Sciences from Universidade Federal do Paraná in 2009, after completing a BSc in Human Nutrition and an MSc in Physiological Sciences. He also holds a specialization in Exercise Physiology and a BSc in Biological Sciences from Universidade Federal do Paraná. Dr. Nunes has a strong background in research, having completed two post-doctoral fellowships at McMaster University and Universidade Federal do Paraná. He has also held positions as an associate professor and assistant professor at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, and his research focuses on the effects of exercise and nutrition on physiological processes in the human body. In addition to his research, Dr. Nunes is also a dedicated educator. He has taught at various universities in Brazil, including Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Universidade Gama Filho, Faculdades Integradas Espírita, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Paraná, and Faculdade do Litoral Sul. He is known for his dynamic teaching style and his ability to engage students in complex physiological concepts. Dr. Nunes is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society for Nutrition, the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology, the Canadian Nutrition Society and the Brazilian Society of Physiology. He is also a regular speaker at national and international conferences, sharing his expertise and research findings with colleagues and students. Overall, Dr. Nunes is a highly qualified and experienced professional in physiological sciences, metabolism, cancer and nutrition. His dedication to research and education makes him a valuable asset to any institution.

As a Postdoctoral Researcher at UC Irvine, I apply my PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience to investigate the neural mechanisms of learning and memory. I use advanced data management, analytics, techniques to process and analyze large-scale brain imaging data sets. I have over seven years of research experience, including as a Graduate Research Assistant at Florida International University, where I contributed to multiple publications and projects on cognitive and affective neuroscience. I am passionate about advancing the scientific understanding of the brain and its functions, and collaborating with other researchers and experts in the field. I am also committed to sharing my knowledge and skills with the next generation of neuroscience students and professionals.

**Dr. Erin Westgate** (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Florida, where she studies boredom, interest, and why some thoughts are more engaging than others. ​She received her PhD in social psychology from the University of Virginia in 2018, and her undergraduate degree from Reed College. Much of her research has been on the conditions under which people enjoy or do not enjoy their own thoughts. She has extended that work to the larger question of why people become bored, developing a new model of boredom that explains what boredom is, why we experience it, and what happens when we do.  As part of this, she is investigating our desire for a life full of interesting, perspective-changing experiences - or a “psychologically rich” life.

Professor Lyubomirsky’s research interests include well-being, happiness, self-regulation, and talents. She is widely published, with well over 100 articles and chapters and four books, The How of Happiness (Penguin, 2007), The Myths of Happiness (Penguin, 2013), The How of Happiness Workbook (Penguin, 2008), and Designing Your Life (Avery, 2016). Professor Lyubomirsky has received numerous awards for her work, including the American Psychological Association’s Positive Psychology Prize (2015), the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award (2009), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2008-2009). She is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the American Psychological Association.

Norman Farb, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, where he directs the Regulatory and Affective Dynamics laboratory (www.radlab.zone). He studies the psychology of well-being, focusing on mental habits, such as how we think about ourselves and interpret our emotions. He is particularly interested in why people differ in their resilience to stress, depression, and anxiety. Prof. Farb's work currently explores online training to support wellbeing, as well as neuroimaging to understand how emotional reactions predict mental health over the lifespan.

I got a bachelor's degree from Hokkaido University in Japan, a Master's at the University of Calgary in Canada, and a Ph.D. at the University of Alberta in Canada. My expertise is cultural psychology, sports psychology, and achievement motivation. I have published several articles in each area. Also, I have coached soccer in Japan and Canada for seven years. Thus, I have an applied experience as well.

I’m Boki Wang, a basketball professional with a unique blend of expertise ranging from a PhD in Biomedical Engineering to a mastery of Kinesiology. Passionate about revolutionizing basketball, especially for women, I aim to integrate science and data to enhance performance. Your goal is to share insights through conversations and writing. I prioritize kindness, accountability, and excellence, while valuing innovation and contrarian thinking.

My core interests lie in understanding how children and adolescents perceive and interpret social signals and how emerging functional specificity of the developing brain supports this process. My approach primarily involves using the face processing system as a model domain. Faces are dynamic stimuli from which we extract many different kinds of information (e.g., gender, age, emotional state, mate potential, social status, trustworthiness, intentions, “person knowledge”). All of these processes must be executed accurately and rapidly for many faces over the course of a single day, making face processing among the most taxing perceptual challenges confronted by people in their day-to-day life. Given that faces are also the pre-eminent social signal, studying developmental changes in the behavioral and brain basis of face processing in typically developing individuals and in those affected by social-emotional disorders may index a core set of developmental changes within the broader social information processing system. I employ converging methodologies, including functional (fMRI) and structural magnetic resonance, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) along with detailed behavioral paradigms in both typically developing populations and those with developmental disorders to examine development from early childhood to adulthood.

James C. Kaufman is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. He has written or edited more than 50 books. These include: the recently published *The Creativity Advantage* (Cambridge); the forthcoming *Lessons in Creativity from Musical Theatre Characters* (with Dana P. Rowe; Routledge); two editions of *Cambridge Handbook of Creativity* (with Robert J. Sternberg) and five other Cambridge Handbooks; two editions of *Creativity 101* (Springer); and a book on terrible baseball pitchers with his father and a book on pseudoscience with his wife. James has developed many theories, most notably the Four C’s (with Ron Beghetto). He has developed several self-report measures of creativity and is currently focusing on positive outcomes of creativity. James has won many awards, including Mensa’s research award, the Torrance Award from the National Association for Gifted Children, the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children’s International Creativity Award, and APA’s Berlyne, Arnheim, and Farnsworth awards. He co-founded two major journals, *Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts* and *Psychology of Popular Media Culture* and is the current Senior Associate Editor for *Creativity Research Journal*. He has tested Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s creativity on CNN; written the book and lyrics to the musical *Discovering Magenta* (which played NYC and has a cast album); and appeared onscreen, complete with white lab coat, in the comic book documentary *Independents*.

Sheila Monfared, Ph.D. is a seasoned researcher and consultant with specialized expertise in human factors and sports psychology. Her advanced degrees in Sports Psychology from Florida State University and Human Factors from Georgia Institute of Technology equip her with a unique skill set that bridges the gap between technology and human performance. Sheila's Master of Science in Kinesiology from Tehran University further complements her holistic approach to enhancing performance and mental health. In her professional career, Sheila has excelled in roles such as Strategic Planning Consultant at Saddleback College and Research Scientist at Innisghtful, focusing on research and interface design. Her extensive research experience in cognitive ergonomics and human-computer interaction allows her to provide tailored solutions to individuals and organizations. Sheila's passion lies in using her diverse knowledge to drive success and innovation. Whether optimizing sports performance or enhancing user experience, she is dedicated to helping clients reach their full potential.

Initially trained as a Cognitive Psychologist with expertise on conscious versus unconscious influences on performance, Steve has more recently become a strong proponent of preventative mental health efforts. During the pandemic Steve created a free online course at Coursera.org entitled Understanding and Managing the Anxiety of COVID 19, a course that has over 180,000 registered students. That lead him to then created more specialized courses, one supporting Police Officers and another supporting Health Care Workers, providing each with a better understanding of the stressors associated with their chosen work, and giving them tips and strategies for managing their mental health. Since then Steve has become a common media commentator around preventative mental health, and has begun supporting both not for profits (The GenWell Initiative) and commercial entities (OOt Social) to bring mental health support to corporations, students, and the general public.