Meet The Team
Dr. Kara Thompson
St. Francis Xavier University Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Director of the Victor and Mona Dahdaleh Institute for Innovation in Health
Research Chair in Substance Use Policy & Prevention
Collaborating Scientist Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR)
Dr. Kara Thompson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at St. Francis Xavier University. She is a prolific scholar, with over 70 peer-reviewed publications and is widely recognized for her research contributions on alcohol policy, and substance use in young adulthood. She is a scientist on the Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation project, and was a scientific expert for the development of Canada’s new guidance on alcohol and health.
Lab Manager
Stephanie supports Dr. Thompson on all grant funded projects. Her responsibilities include coordination of participant recruitment and data collection, troubleshooting any data collection challenges, booking and scheduling program sessions, and participant compensation. She also schedules and coordinates meetings among research team members and lab team members, and review manuscripts prior to submission. Stephanie is interested alcohol and cannabis labelling, marketing, and policy.
Research Scientist
Dr. Darien DeWolf earned a PhD in Mathematics at Dalhousie University in 2017. His research interests include category theory, (inverse) semigroup theory, and applied statistics. Darien is currently a research associate of the SHEA lab and specializing in statistical analysis.
Rachael MacDonald-Spracklin
Master's Student
Rachael is a 2022 StFX graduate from the BASc Health Program. She has been with the SHEA lab as a research assistant since 2020. Rachael pursued an honours thesis in her fourth year under the direction of Dr. Thompson, focusing on the simultaneous use of alcohol and cannabis, based on the Sex and Cannabis study. She continues to further her knowledge and work on substance use and population health at the University of Ottawa pursuing a Master’s in Public Health. Rachael recently accepted a summer 2023 practicum placement at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) focusing on the Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms Project.
Will Langille
Research Coordinator
Will is a 2024 StFX graduate from the BA Psychology honours program. He has been with the SHEA lab as a research assistant since 2023 and a volunteer since 2022. Will completed his 4th-year honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Thompson, focusing on the relationship between depressive symptoms and academic practices and challenges in male undergraduate students using the UniVenture project. He supports Dr. Thompson’s lab by aiding in different stages of manuscripts, data collection and cleaning for current projects, guidance to current honours students on their thesis projects, and grant applications. Will looks to further his knowledge and work in his interest area of men’s mental health, substance use, and suicide throughout the following year with the lab and has the goal of going on to a master's and PhD in clinical psychology starting in 2025.
Brynn Webber
Research Coordinator
Brynn is 2024 graduate from the BASc Health program. She has been with the SHEA lab since 2022 starting as a volunteer and becoming a research assistant in 2023. Brynn completed a 4th year honours thesis under the direction of Dr. Thompson, investigating the impacts of loss in adolescences on physical health in adulthood. She currently works as a research coordinator aiding in manuscript writing, data collection and analysis, focus group facilitation, guidance to current honours students on their thesis projects, and more. Brynn looks to develop her research skills and further her knowledge and work in areas pertaining to adverse childhood experiences, grief, and substance use. She has a goal of pursuing a master’s and PhD in clinical psychology starting in 2025.
Bryn Florence
Honours Thesis Student
My name is Bryn Florence and I am a fourth-year student from Calgary, Alberta. I am pursuing a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Health with honours. Under the supervision of Dr. Kara Thomson, I will be investigating the prevalence and predictors of cannabis compensatory behaviours using the UniVenture project. I have been a member of the SHEA lab since the winter of 2023, originally as a volunteer and later as a research assistant. Areas of interest include substance use, women’s health, and mental health. After graduation, I plan to pursue further education in a Master’s of Occupational Therapy where I can pursue a career working directly with patients.
Nicole Nakad
Honours Thesis Student
Nicole is a fourth-year BASc Health honours student. Nicole is completing her honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Thompson, focusing on the evaluation of a multimedia campaign to disseminate the new Guidance on Alcohol and Health. Nicole has the goal of going on to a master’s in speech-language pathology.
Kaylee Macleay
Honours Thesis Student
My name is Kaylee Macleay, and I am a student in my fourth year at STFX in the B.A. honours Psychology program. I have been a member of the SHEA lab since the start of 2024 and spent this past summer working for the SHEA lab on various projects. I am now continuing to work with the Dr. Thompson on my fourth-year thesis project that investigates attitudes and perceptions surrounding no and low alcohol beverages. In the future I am looking to pursue a career in counselling psychology where I can continue to focus on youth and promote positive change.
Kelley Trainor
Honours Thesis Student