BALD Lab — People

Dr. Shannon Drouin

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology

PhD in Psychology, University of Alberta

Dr. Drouin earned her PhD in Psychology from the University of Alberta, where her research focused on understanding individual differences in brain and cognitive aging using multi-modal datasets and data-driven approaches. She was a visiting fellow at the National Institutes on Aging (National Institutes of Health, USA), working with proteomic and epigenetic data to explore mechanisms of neurodegeneration.

Shannon’s research interests center on cognitive aging, neurodegeneration, and applying advanced data-driven methods to uncover variability in disease progression. Outside the lab, she enjoys baking, hiking, skiing, and cheering for the Baltimore Ravens 🏈.

Dhanishta Ambwani

Clinical Psychology PhD Student

Dhanishta is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology under the supervision of Dr. Drouin. She earned her Bachelor of Science with Honours in Psychology from McGill University, where she worked with Dr. Natasha Rajah and Dr. Lesley Fellows to investigate the role of menopause in executive functioning and cognitive impairment among people living with HIV. These experiences sparked her interest in cognitive aging and brain health across the lifespan. Dhanishta's research interests focus on understanding risk factors for neurodegenerative disease, cognitive outcomes, and trajectories of cognitive aging. She is specifically committed to advancing equity in brain health research and is interested in studying populations historically underrepresented in this field, including women, rural communities, and other equity-deserving groups. Outside of the lab, Dhanishta enjoys dancing, painting, hiking, hosting at-home cafés for friends, and exploring the outdoors!

This could be you!

Interested in brain aging, resilience, and normative and non-normative cognitive trajectories? Join the BALD Lab and contribute to data-intensive research on aging and neurodegeneration.

Contact: shannon.drouin@unb.ca

Sofía Gutiérrez-Robert

Undergraduate Honours Student in Psychology with a Specialization in Neuroscience

Sofía is a 4th-year student working on a project involving epigenetic and brain-aging related resilience. Her passion for neuroscience is rooted in the desire to improve people’s quality of life. She plans to pursue graduate studies focusing on pain research and eventually work in this field. Outside the lab, Sofía enjoys running, traveling, cheesy murder mystery novels, and enjoying meals with her loved ones.