The HART Lab

Check out Dr. Sigrún Þóra Sveinsdóttir's recent publication on HRVB with the Icelandic Police :link.springer.com/article/10.100…

We are pleased to announce the commencement of our AMT RCT in Iceland, led by Dr. Sigrún Þóra Sveinsdóttir in collaboration with Dr. Kamilla Rún Jóhannsdóttir at Reykjavik University and the Icelandic National Police - Lögreglan. AMT Protocol dx.doi.org/10.2196/33492

The key takeaway is that applied research should be established as the standard practice prior to the introduction of psychological concepts as foundational principles. nature.com/articles/s4415… #openaccessweek #openscience #ShareSciences #appliedscience #appliedresearch

We are pleased to share Professor Andersen's article on Applied Research published in Nature Reviews Psychology. This work embodies a significant milestone in a career dedicated to promoting the importance of applied research.

She intends to pursue further education in clinical psychology and is excited to be working in a lab that focuses on developing practical and accessible interventions to help reduce the development of psychological disorders in those who are exposed to stressful life experiences.

Today we are focusing on the work of Lucia Di Censo - lab manager of the HART Lab. Lucia is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto Mississauga where she specialized in Psychology.

She is particularly involved in the Autonomic Modulation Training (AMT) project amongst other more general lab responsibilities.

She was a recipient of the 2024 University of Toronto Excellence Award and is currently performing qualitative analyses on Police and Protester interactions at Canadian protests.

Today we are highlighting the work of Loridee De Villa, a recent graduate from the University of Toronto Mississauga where she majored in Health Sciences and double minored in Psychology and History of Religions.

She has previously worked on the Thought Suppression Immunity Project (TSI) with Dr. Jennifer Chan as a part of her research opportunity project (ROP) and the Autonomic Modulation Training Project (AMT) with Sarah Scott.

Her research interests involve investigating the intersection between physical and mental health, as well as visual neuroscience.

Anushka is currently working as a Supervisor in Home Healthcare in the GTA, making healthcare more accessible to vulnerable populations. Anushka is passionate about learning alternative forms of therapy and to make therapy more accessible to vast populations!

Today we're focusing on the work of Anushka, a previous Independent Research Student at the HART Lab. Anushka's work predominantly focused on Horticulture Therapy and its benefits to mental and physical health.

Today the program runs as a wellness project for students in partnership with HCC. You can check out more about the events hosted by this group at @th.uoft on Instagram.

Jahda’s academic and professional interests focus on developing and implementing trauma-informed interventions within the legal system.

Today we're highlighting the work of Jahda Waldron, a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto Mississauga, specializing in Forensic Psychology with a minor in Professional Writing and Communication.

She is a volunteer research assistant at the HART Lab, contributing to the Autonomic Modulation Training (AMT) project. In this role, she processes heart rate data and extracts heart rate variability (HRV) values for analysis.

She was a recipient of the 2024 University of Toronto Excellence Award, whereby her project consisted of exploring sex and gender effects in psychobiological and psychosocial measures among police officers.

Today we are focusing on the work of Amanda, a research assistant in the HART Lab who is primarily responsible for data organizing/processing from the various studies that the lab has conducted.

She has a wide range of research interests including: investigating the interaction between biological markers and mental health, neuroplasticity, and personality psychology.