Levine Lab

Senior Scientist

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Brian Levine, Ph.D., C.Psych., ABPP-cn

Senior Scientist, Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences
Professor of Psychology and Medicine (Neurology), University of Toronto

Dr. Brian Levine obtained his Ph.D. in 1991 from the University of South Florida and completed fellowships in clinical neuropsychology at McLean Hospital in Boston and cognitive neuroscience at the Rotman Research Institute. He has published over 200 peer reviewed scientific articles and chapters on memory, frontal lobe function, traumatic brain injury, aging, dementia, and rehabilitation as well as Mind and the Frontal Lobes: Cognition, Behavior, and Brain Imaging (2012, Oxford University Press) and Goal Management Training™ intervention for executive deficits (with Ian Robertson and Tom Manly). He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and Association for Psychological Science and recipient of the 2015 International Neuropsychological Society's Benton award for mid-career research achievement. He has obtained over $10 million in grant funding as a principal investigator. Dr. Levine's trainees have achieved outstanding success in obtaining external funding and positions in academia, clinical, government, and industrial settings.

Dr. Levine, a board-certified neuropsychologist, is clinically active, providing expert opinions in cases involving brain injury, dementia, and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Levine is frequently called upon to communicate research findings to health professionals and the general public. He has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, CBC radio, USA Today, Psychology Today, Scientific American Mind, Wired, New York Magazine, and Discovery Health.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Krista Mitchnick, Ph.D. (C.Psych., Supervised Practice)

I obtained a PhD in Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience in 2018 from the University of Guelph (supervised by Dr. Boyer Winters), where my research focused on the neurobiology of learning and memory in rodents. Having always been torn between basic research and clinical work, I then completed a PhD in Clinical Psychology - Neuropsychology stream in 2023 at York University (supervised by Drs. R. Shayna Rosenbaum and Erez Freud). Here, my research took an interdisciplinary approach, assessing the involvement of individual hippocampal subfields in perception and memory using brain damaged case studies and rat lesion models. As part of my clinical training, I completed neuropsychological assessment practicum placements at Sunnybrook Hospital (Toronto) and the Community Head Injury Resource Services (Toronto), as well as a full year predoctoral residency in Clinical Neuropsychology at the London Health Sciences Centre (London, ON). As a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Brian Levine, my research is centred around characterizing the neural correlates and functional outcomes of individual differences in autobiographical memory within various populations. Clinically, I am conducting neuropsychological assessments in private practice. Outside of my research and clinical work, I am an avid gym-goer and reader and love the outdoors. I am also wildly competitive when it comes to board games…

Ryan Yeung, Ph.D.

I completed my PhD at the University of Waterloo in 2022, studying memories that spring to mind involuntarily. Known as recurrent or intrusive memories, I found that these memories were surprisingly common in daily life. Importantly, properties of these memories were systematically related to individual differences. For instance, the emotional quality and the content (i.e., what people report remembering) of these memories significantly predicted symptoms of mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. In my postdoc, I hope to build on my past work by investigating cognitive and neural mechanisms of why emotional memories persist or fade away. I am particularly interested in hypotheses that emotional memories are enhanced due to their strong ability to evoke mental imagery; as such, emotional remembering might be modulated by individuals’ trait-level abilities to generate such imagery. Other research interests of mine include computational methods of analyzing autobiographical memories, such as natural language processing and machine learning. Outside of research, I’m a fan of hipster music, hipster tabletop role-playing games, and insisting that I’m not actually a hipster.

Rotem Paz, Ph.D.

I completed my PhD in neuroscience in the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where I studied the cognitive and neural implications of a rare genetic mutation causing early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to that, I earned an MA in clinical psychology and neuropsychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel. As a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist with a background in neuroscience, I am deeply interested in how early experiences and memories shape the brain, biological processes, personality, and subjective experience. My previous work has focused on investigating neurodegenerative diseases that impact memory, as well as developing interventions for mental health disorders using multimethod approaches. In my current postdoctoral research with Dr. Brian Levine at Baycrest and Dr. David Moscovitch at the University of Waterloo, my goals are: (1) to examine the role of autobiographical memories in fostering resilience or, conversely, increasing vulnerability to various forms of psychopathology; and (2) to develop intervention and prevention strategies that target memory processes to reduce psychological distress and promote well-being in individuals with mental health disorders. Outside of my research, I enjoy quality time with my children and family, diving into books, practicing Yoga and appreciating all kinds of art.

Matt McPhee, Ph.D., C.Psych. (Supervised Practice)

I completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Toronto in 2022. During my PhD, my program of research included two prominent foci. The first area focused on examining the bidirectional relationship between response inhibition and alcohol use behaviours; that is, how alcohol produces state-like alterations of response inhibition and, conversely, how response inhibition ability predicts alcohol consumption. The second major focus of my research was centred on clinically-informed questions, such as examining the feasibility of innovative behavioural interventions for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. I completed a pre-doctoral internship in neuropsychology at Baycrest, where my passion for clinically-informed research flourished. In my postdoctoral fellowship, I will continue to build my clinical research program by examining individual difference factors that predict real-world treatment effectiveness of the Goal Management Training intervention. In general, I am interested clinically-driven research that has potential to improve healthcare outcomes and delivery. Outside of research, I’m an avid baker, I’m always trying to learn something new, and I love spending time outside, surrounded by nature.

Graduate Students

Xuan Zhang

I graduated with an Honours B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Toronto. My undergraduate thesis explored computational modeling in category learning under the supervision of Dr. Michael Mack, and investigated the effects of brain modulation and prior knowledge on learning, supervised by Dr. Asaf Gilboa. I subsequently worked as a lab manager with Dr. Rosanna Olsen, where I studied the longitudinal changes in cognition associated with aging through comprehensive neuropsychological assessments. These diverse research experiences have deepened my passion for memory research, particularly in understanding how previous experiences influence the encoding and retrieval of future events. In my graduate studies, I aim to extend this research by investigating the role of sleep as a key mechanism in memory consolidation, using multi-modal neurological measures such as EEG, fMRI, and MEG to explore how experiences are solidified and transformed within different memory systems. I am eager to begin my Ph.D. journey, where I hope to uncover the impacts of sleep on memory and explore potential applications of this research in supporting individuals with cognitive decline. Outside of the lab, I am an avid karaoke singer and ballet enthusiast—feel free to reach out if you share a love for singing!

Shikang Peng, M.A.

I earned my M.A. in Social Science-Psychology from the University of Chicago, working with Dr. Wilma Bainbridge and Monica Rosenberg. Before that, I completed my Honors B.Sc. in Psychology at the University of Alberta under Dr. Peter Dixon. During my master’s, I explored the predictability of attention and memorability neural pattern on memory performance using fMRI, and image memorability’s impact on social media virality using machine and deep learning. My undergrad thesis focused on cognitive coupling—how attention and reading work together—while my independent study, supervised by Dr. Peggy St Jacques, examined the impact of dimensionality on memory using VR. These experiences shape my research interests into episodic memory and perception. As I begin my Ph.D., I’m hoping to pursue these two directions using fMRI and my machine learning experiences. Outside the lab, I’m a novel enthusiast and a role-playing game fan, often found getting lost in a good book or battling fictional foes.

Research assistant

Michael Lochner

I recently graduated from York University, where I received a Specialized Honours B.Sc. in Psychology. I completed an independent research project and my undergraduate thesis with Dr. Asaf Gilboa and my fellow lab colleague Xuan Zhang where we explored the possible impacts of anodal stimulation (using HD-tDCS) upon semantic knowledge integration ability. During my time as lab manager of Dr. Mead's Well-Being Research Lab at York University, I previously completed various literature searches, coding tasks, coordinated lab activities and conducted in-person testing sessions. With these experiences, I aim to continue into graduate school studies within clinical psychology or cognitive neuroscience domains, in hopes of becoming a contributor to both research and clinical work. Outside of lab work and research, I enjoy jogging, journaling and novel reading.

Summer Students

Rivka Van Klei

I recently graduated from York University with a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience, specializing in Cognitive and Behavioural Psychology. My Undergraduate Honours Thesis, supervised by Dr. Jeffrey Schall, focused on the brain mechanisms underlying cognitive control. In the summer of 2023, I began working with Dr. Daniel Felsky on a project developing a method to estimate brain reserve across the lifespan and examining its relationship to late-life cognitive resilience. These experiences have deepened my passion for neuroscience research. This summer, I’m excited to join the Levine Lab as a research assistant, exploring how autobiographical memory and everyday cognitive function are supported by large-scale brain networks. When I’m not in the lab, you can usually find me making or listening to music, hiking or biking around the city, or exploring Toronto’s amazing food scene!

Jennifer Zhavoronkova

I recently completed my 3rd year of undergrad at the University of Ottawa, working towards a BSc in Psychology. Over the last two years, I have volunteered at uOttawa’s Sleep Lab, under the supervision of Dr. Stuart Fogel. I would assist with overnight data collection, examining sleep-dependent memory consolidation in younger and older adults. This summer, I am looking forward to continue exploring the relationship between sleep and memory at the Levine Lab! I am also a volunteer research assistant at Dr. Nafissa Ismail’s Neuroimmunology, Stress and Endocrinology lab, where we investigate how immune and hormone changes during critical developmental periods, like puberty, affect behaviour through underlying neurochemical mechanisms. Outside of research, I enjoy collecting tropical plants, crocheting, and going on runs.