ABOUT US
Language Development Team
| Cass Foursha-Stevenson is an associate professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta and teaches courses in Developmental Psychology. Dr. Foursha-Stevenson’s research interests include bilingual advantages, language interference, learning first and second languages, and syntactic processing and comprehension in children and adults. Dr. Foursha-Stevenson has presented her research at a number of conferences and published research in journals including the International Journal of Psycholinguistic Research and International Journal of Bilingualism. |
CURRENT RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
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Bella Davey is a research assistant for Dr. Cass Foursha-Stevenson. She is currently in her fifth year enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts of Psychology program. After graduation Bella hopes to go on to get her MA and PhD in Education and Clinical Psychology specializing in early childhood development. |
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Derek Phung Derek Phung is a research assistant for Dr. Cass Foursha-Stevenson. He graduated with a B.A Honours degree in Psychology from Mount Royal University. On August 29th, 2022 Derek began the Masters of Science in School and Applied Child Psychology program at the University of Calgary. His lab duties include: participant recruitment, research assistant training, child language testing, data entry and scoring, video coding, literature reviews, and manuscript editing |
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Kurt Hablado is a research assistant for Dr. Cass Foursha-Stevenson. He completed an honours degree at Mount Royal University. He hopes to obtain his Master’s in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in trauma, and suicide/self-injury behaviours in children. |
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Axel Cuellar was an honours student for Dr. Cass Foursha-Stevenson. He recently finished his honours thesis in the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology program. After graduation Axel will be completing his MA and PhD in Forensic Psychology while attending University of New Brunswick. He hopes to work with mentally ill offenders and high recidivism offenders. |
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Vanessa Sandoval is a research assistant and former honours student for Dr. Cass Foursha-Stevenson. She recently finished her degree in the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology program. After completing her undergraduate degree and taking a gap year, she hopes to obtain a Master’s in School Psychology. |
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Alex Baranescu is a research assistant for Dr. Cass Foursha Stevenson. He graduated with a B.A Honours degree in Psychology from Mount Royal University. |
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Bri Hughes is the current lab manager of the MRU Language Development Lab, working under Cass Foursha-Stevenson. She is in her fourth year of the Bachelor of Arts Psychology program. She is also a member of the Psychology EDI committee and presented with the committee at Mount Royal University’s 2024 Inclusion Week. After graduating from her undergraduate program, she hopes to get a Master’s degree in Child and Adolescent Psychology. |
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Nicole Gallant is a research assistant for Cass Foursha-Stevenson. She is currently enrolled in her second year in the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology program at Mount Royal University. Following the completion of her undergraduate degree she hopes to pursue a masters. |
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Martina Barclay is a research assistant for Cass Foursha-Stevenson. She is a fourth year Bachelor of Arts student at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick and is excited to work with Dr. Foursha-Stevenson and other students this summer! She is majoring in Psychology and hopes to complete a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology after graduating from St. Thomas. |
FORMER STUDENTS
Caitlin Hummel began volunteering in the lab 2008 as a research assistant and became the Lab Manager. Caitlin completed an individual research project examining the effects of exposure to a new language on executive functioning skills. After completing her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Caitlin was accepted into graduate studies at the University of Kent (Canterbury, England) where she graduated with a Master of Science- Forensic Psychology with distinction. Her thesis was articled in the British Psychological Association- Forensic Update. Since that time, Caitlin has worked for the Correctional Service of Canada and AHS within a forensic population. Responsibilities have included involvement in crisis intervention, suicide prevention, cognitive behavioural therapy and psychological risk assessments evaluating risk of recidivism and recommendations for release.
Thariq Badiudeen was a volunteer research assistant in Dr. Cass Foursha-Stevenson’s lab in 2006. He recently graduated from UBC with a MSc in Neuroscience, where his research focused on studying working memory deficits in schizophrenia. Currently, he is working on a research study investigating the barriers to accessing healthcare faced by residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, while also applying to medical school.
Carrie Leonard is a former research assistant and lab manager. She graduated from MRU with honours in 2012 and completed her MSc in December of 2013 at the University of Lethbridge. Her thesis was on the individual differences that contribute to poker playing skill. She has continued on with gambling related research for her PhD (also at the U of L), with funding from both the Alberta Gambling Research Institute and SSHRC in addition to a number of other projects and supervisions.
She graduated from Mount Royal University with an honours degree in Psychology and a
minor in Spanish in the Spring of 2019. Kaley is enrolled in the Master of Science in
Clinical Psychology Program at Newcastle University (Newcastle Upon Tyne, England).
After completing her Master’s she plans to stay in England to obtain a PhD in Clinical
Psychology and become a registered psychologist. Kaley hopes to have a future career
working with children in a clinical setting with a focus on trauma and attachment.
She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree with a minor in art history in
2018. She is currently enrolled in her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy at the
University of Alberta.
Adam Spenrath is a former research assistant for Dr. Cass Foursha-Stevenson. He completed an honours degree at Mount Royal University. Adam intends to pursue a Master’s Degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology and hopes to work with high-level athletes.
Kaycie Hartley Kaycie Hartley is a former research assistant for Dr. Cass Foursha-Stevenson. She graduated with a B.A degree in Psychology from Mount Royal University in 2020. She is currently enrolled at the University of Calgary, pursuing her Master’s of Education in School and Applied Child Psychology. She hopes to continue working with children and families post graduation, with a focus on school-based assessment and intervention for mental health issues.
Rene Trombley Rene Trombley is a former lab manager and research assistant for Dr. Cass Foursha-Stevenson. She graduated with a B.A Honours degree in Psychology from Mount Royal University in 2023. She is currently enrolled at the University of Alberta, pursuing her Master’s of Science Speech-Language Pathology.
Kiefer Sikma Kiefer Sikma is going into his second year of his undergraduate BA Psychology degree at Mount Royal University, and is planning to enter an Experimental Psychology graduate school program down the road.