Congrats to PhD student Lucas Fowler & co-authors. Their new study shows that plastic exposure disrupts fetal neuroendocrine-immune systems in mice. Such disruptions overlap with those linked to neurodevelopmental disorders in humans. sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0018506X25001448 🧠🐁

A meta-analytic review of 16 studies found that body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) symptoms were significantly more strongly correlated with symptoms of social media addiction than with the number of hours spent on social media per day. Read more: doi.org/10.1080/1521...

A new study found that Canadians still have significant misconceptions about FASD—how common it is, and how it affects people’s lives. That shows us where education and awareness efforts are most needed. Want to learn more? Click here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

New study on cancer in adolescents and young adults shows depression and anxiety are the biggest predictors of quality of life. Almost 50% of AYA still experience QOL issues after a cancer diagnosis. www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/32...

A new study finds that despite what previous research suggests, problematic cannabis use and internet gaming are only weakly connected. Additionally, problematic gaming is linked most to escape & competition motivations for playing. Learn more: doi.org/10.1016/j.ps...

Sex and Gender Seminar Series continued this Thursday! Thursday October 23, 1 pm, CSF-1302 Dr. Amanda Bittner (Political Science) will answer the question "What happens to political attitudes when women make more money than their husbands?"

A new Canadian study by Dr. Sheila Garland and colleagues reports that 1 in 5 Canadians have used a wearable to track sleep. Sleep wearables are popular—but their effects vary. For some, they aid awareness; for others, they might fuel anxiety about sleep. www.jmir.org/2025/1/e68816/

Chemo often brings insomnia + fatigue. A new trial tested CBT-I (behavioural strategies for sleep) and bright light therapy (using light to reset sleep cycles). Learn more about what was found in the recent study exploring these interventions by clicking this link: doi.org/10.1200/JCO....

Krista Greeley, Rachel Lee, Joshua Tulk, Dr. Sheila Garland, and colleagues showed that CBT-I is a safe, non-drug option to help cancer survivors improve sleep. Check out the full publication to see their report on the adverse events experienced during this intervention. doi.org/10.1186/s416...

Check out a new publication by Dr. Sheila Garland and colleague that explored how to improve sleep in adults with coronary heart disease using a social ecological lens. Read the full article: doi.org/10.1016/j.pc...

Check out this new article in The Conversation where Dr. Ashley Balsom and MSc student Olivia Bishop talk about what actually helps to (and what hurts) when supporting someone facing infertility. theconversation.com/infertility-...

PhD student Tianshuang Han, MSc student Kelsey Downer, Dr. Brent Snook, and colleagues, reviewed 813 forensic psych articles to examine the statistical reporting practices in forensic psychology. They found increased effect size & CI reporting—but NHST still dominates. shorturl.at/hHtch

Olivia Bishop, Brooke Hiscock, Quinn Morris, Chelsea Lahey, Dr. Jonathan Fawcett, and Dr. Emily Fawcett conducted the first-ever meta-analysis on the prevalence of aggressive obsessions in youth with OCD, finding a lifetime prevalence of 65.1%. See the full paper: shorturl.at/tFvaN

A new publication by Krista Greeley, Josh Tulk, and Drs. Emily Fawcett, Joshua Rash, and Shelia Garland highlights that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) doesn’t just improve sleep in survivors, it significantly reduces cancer-related fatigue too. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

📣 Join the Psychology Department Social Media Committee! 📣 Are you passionate about psychology, creativity, and communication? We’re looking for new members to join our Social Media Committee Interested? Send Dr. Balsom ([email protected]) and vice-chair Olivia Bishop ([email protected]) an email!

@munpsych.bsky.social at @memorialu.bsky.social started with its first courses in 1957, taught by local clinicians. 🧠 With new faculty and students joining in areas like Cognition and Neuroscience, and a growing doctoral program in Clinical Psychology, the future is bright! #Memorial100

Meet your PsyCentral Teaching Assistants (TAs) for Fall 2025! These graduate students can help with coursework, labs, Honours and grad school questions, and more. Come say hi in SN-3071 during their shifts - they’re here to support you!

PsyCentral is officially open for the Fall 2025 semester! 📍 Location: SN-3071 🕘 Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays → 9:00AM – 5:00PM Tuesdays, Thursdays → 10:15AM – 5:00PM Attached is the weekly schedule for PsyCentral.

The next seminar in the Sex and Gender seminar series September 11th 1 pm in the main auditorium of CSF (CSF-1302). Speaker: Dr. Ashlyn Swift-Gallant, Department of Psychology Title: Building Brains Differently: How sex chromosomes and hormones shape neurodevelopment via the placenta-brain axis

We’re thrilled to share that Maliha Dew, honours student of Dr. Kathleen Hourihan, has been awarded the Hebb Award for Best Student Poster Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science (CSBBCS)—held this year in Dundee, Scotland, Congrats!

The next seminar in the Sex and Gender seminar series will be in-person on Thursday July 24th from 1-2 pm in the main auditorium of CSF (CSF-1302). Name: Dr. Lourdes Peña-Castillo, Departments of Computer Science and Biology Title: Artificial Intelligence is blind to gender and sex, right?

🎓 Please join us in congratulating Quinn Morris on successfully defending her doctoral thesis! Her PsyD dissertation was titled “The Prevalence and Predictors of Aggressive Obsessions in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Way to go! 🧠✨

🎉 Congratulations to Molly MacMillan on receiving the Teaching Assistantship Award from the Council of Canadian Departments of Psychology (CCDP)! 🧠🍎 This award acknowledges the significant contributions of teaching assistants within departments. ccdop.ca/2024-2025-aw...

A new publication by Krista Greeley, Josh Tulk, and Drs. Emily Fawcett, Joshua Rash, and Shelia Garland highlights that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) doesn’t just improve sleep in cancer survivors, it can significantly reduce cancer-related fatigue too.

The next seminar in the Sex and Gender seminar series will be in-person on Tuesday July 8th from 1-2 pm in the main auditorium of CSF (CSF-1302). Brooke Steinhauer, PhD Candidate at McGill Viral lies, violent realities: Understanding violence against women in politics and disinformation on TikTok

Krista Greeley, Rachel Lee, Joshua Tulk, Dr. Sheila Garland, and colleagues showed that CBT-I is a safe, non-drug option to help cancer survivors improve sleep. Check out the full publication to see their report on the adverse events experienced during this intervention. doi.org/10.1186/s416...

The CPA convention is happening this weekend! For those attending, see this MUN-specific schedule so we can support our own students and faculty!

Join us for the next installment of our Sex and Gender Speaker Series, where we welcome Dr. Samar Rezq from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr. Rezq will be discussing “The Role of Obesity in Androgen Excess-Mediated Renal Injury in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.”

Support local and come see The Ames Window (a psychedelic instrumental rock band made up of people from the Psychology Department) perform at the Black Sheep to kick off #CPA2025! All attendees will get 50% off cover, and if you're a student at MUN or CPA2025, it's free!

How does media coverage affect public perception of scientific consensus? PhD student, Tianshuang Han, and Drs. Brent Snook and Martin Day examined the false balance effect and how partition dependence may explain why people perceive equal weight in opposing views. Article: doi.org/10.1002/acp....

Congratulations to Dr. Joshua Rash and colleagues who conducted a secondary analysis of a waitlist controlled trial that explored the effect MBSR, specifically on symptoms of stress and cardiac vagal. Read the full article here: psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...

Congratulations to Alesha King, Dr. Joshua Rash, and colleagues who examined the feasibility of the Power Over Pain (POP) Portal as a digital self-management resource for people who are living with chronic pain using a mixed-methods study. Full article: journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

Check out this publication by Dr. Ashley Balsom and colleagues that examined helpful and unhelpful comments reported by women struggling with infertility during the COVID-19 pandemic. They identified 6 helpful and 4 unhelpful interactions. Read the article here: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Congrats to members of the LOVE Lab on their new publication! Authored by current/former students Robyn Cumben, Courtney Loveless, and Noah Pevie, as well as Dr. Chris Quinn-Nilas, this work explores sexual reminiscing after the death of a romantic partner. Link to article: shorturl.at/Du7B6

Thank you to all of the amazing presenters who attended the Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience Career Night at MUN! These individuals shared how they have transformed their degrees in psychology and behavioural neuroscience into successful careers.

Congratulations to our incredible Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience students for their outstanding achievements at the SEA Conference! See our Facebook and Instagram for the full list of winners!

Hannah M. Stapleton BSc Behavioural Neuroscience (Hons) From CBS, I love spending time with my greyhound Jack, gaming, and being with friends. I’m proud of my thesis on sex differences in the brain, now continuing Alzheimer’s research with Dr. Yuan. Huge thanks to Dr. Swift-Gallant and Meagan Hinks!

Brains, heart, and a whole lot of hard work! Congratulations to the Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience Class of 2025. Wishing you all the best in every chapter ahead.

🎓 Meet Keona Russell! BSc Behavioural Neuroscience (Hons). At MUN, she was active in MUNSU, the Addiction Awareness & Concussion Legacy chapters, and served as president of the Neurodivergent Society. Now an incoming med student, she thanks mom Hazel and friends Hannah & Ashlinn for their support.

🎓 Meet Ashlinn Pennell! Joint Hons BA in Psych & Religious Studies from St. John’s. A passionate researcher, student leader & advocate, her honours work focused on lesser-known OCD subtypes. Starting her MSc in Experimental Psych this fall to study weight bias in fertility care!

🎓 Meet Payton Peach! BSc Psych (Hons) grad from Fortune, NL. A passionate mental health advocate, volunteer, and award-winning researcher, Payton’s honours work explored CBT-I and emotion regulation in breast cancer survivors. She hopes to become a family doctor focused on women’s health.

🎓 Meet Kyra Fancey! BA Psych grad, first-gen student, and proud pharmacy assistant from Labrador/Lewisporte. Loves open-world games & walking her cats. Dreams of becoming a school guidance counsellor. 💬 She wants to thank Dr. Emily Fawcett for her support and kindness!

🎓 Meet Jenna Neville! BSc Psychology (Hons) grad from Conception Bay South. She's a rugby lover with a passion for clinical psych & OCD research. Aspires to be a psychologist supporting people through big life transitions. Next stop: exploring social work as a second degree!

Congratulations to MUN alumni, Joshua Tulk and Drs Joshua Rash, and Sheila Garland on their recent publication examining the cost effectiveness of CBT-I on absenteeism and presenteeism at work for cancer survivors. Link to article: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New publication! Dr. Joshua Rash and colleagues examined the political polarization as a result of the government’s choice to implement vaccinations and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Link to article: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Congratulations to Courtney Loveless, Dr. Joshua Rash, and Dr. Nick Harris on their recent publication investigating veterans’ awareness and engagement in potential higher risk medical cannabis use behaviours. Link to article: doi.org/10.1186/s129...

🎤🧠 Huge shoutout to our amazing grad students who shared their research at Research Day! So many thought-provoking ideas, meaningful questions, and cool projects in the works — such a great reminder of the passion and curiosity driving this field forward. Proud of all the work you’re doing! 🙌

Presented my honours thesis at Psychology Research Day last week! 🧠❤️ @munpsych.bsky.social @meaganhinks.bsky.social @swiftneurolab.bsky.social

Dr. Ashley Balsom’s powerful piece, “Infertility, Embryos, and EDI: Why Canada Must Take Medically Assisted Reproduction Seriously,” is now live in the MUN Gazette. She explores how infertility care remains a major blind spot in Canada’s universal health-care system.

Congratulations to everyone who presented their research at the second annual WISE GSS International Women's Day Conference, and thank you to the conference organizers who made this event a huge success. Here's to working towards a more inclusive STEM community! 🌟 #ScienceIsForEveryone