Director & Principal Investigator
Paul W. Andrews (pandrews@mcmaster.ca)
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University
Director & Principle Investigator, Evolutionary Ecology of Health Lab
President, McMaster University Faculty Association
Senator, McMaster University Senate
I am an Associate Professor of Evolutionary Psychology, but I have a checkered educational past. My bachelor’s degree is in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Arizona, and I received my law degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I then pursued a PhD in Biology at the University of New Mexico, after which I did postdoctoral work in evolutionary psychology (University of New Mexico) and in psychiatric and behavioural genetics (Virginia Commonwealth University).
My primary research interest is to understand the evolution of depression. Specifically, I study the role of depression as an evolved emotional response to complex problems and its function in promoting analysis of these problems.
We are also currently studying the risk of relapse after discontinuing antidepressant medication, where we found evidence of antidepressants causing an increased risk of depression relapse compared to placebo treatments in depressed individuals.
I also work on sexual infidelity, suicidal behaviour, and other mental health traits from an evolutionary perspective.
Graduate Students
Maxwell Altman (altmanm@mcmaster.ca)
PhD Candidate
My research focuses on the development of an experimental paradigm for inducing depressive rumination. I am also investigating the unusual sensory experiences reported by bereaved individuals, and how these experiences help grieving individuals emotionally process their loss.
Courtney D. Aucoin (aucoic2@mcmaster.ca)
PhD Candidate
MSc. in Experimental Psychology, Central Washington University
BSc. in Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
My research interests focus on individual differences in depression and depressive symptoms. I have previous research experience in personality and with nonhuman primates.
Anmol Thind (thinda6@mcmaster.ca)
Master’s Student
BSc. in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour, specialized in mental health at McMaster University.
My research interests focus on metacognition (metacognitive beliefs regarding depression) and suicide, assessed using an evolutionary lens.
Undergraduate Thesis Students
Abigail Ferguson-Donaldson (fergua19@mcmaster.ca)
Honour’s Thesis Student
I am interested in exploring the evolutionary origins of psychological conditions in hopes of gaining a better understanding of modern mental health experiences. My thesis project focuses on suicidality, specifically the various factors that may influence both our perceptions and experiences of suicidal ideation.
Dana Lin (lind31@mcmaster.ca)
Honour’s Thesis Student
I am a fourth-year Honours Bachelor of Science student in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour. My thesis explores the relationship between mental health and cognitive processes, approached through an evolutionary perspective. Specifically, I focus on understanding mechanisms of top-down control across different populations.
Ruhani Mand (mandr2@mcmaster.ca)
Honour’s Thesis Student
Hi! My name is Ruhani and I am a fourth-year student in the Biology and Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour program. My research interests primarily encompass understanding how behaviors come to be pathologized and what role cultural and social norms play in this pathologization.
Seb Meisner (meisners@mcmaster.ca)
Honour’s Thesis Student
Hi, I’m Seb, a fourth year Honours BA student in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour, with a specialization in Mental Health! I’ve always been fascinated by mental health and people’s experiences of different mental illness, particularly how these experiences may have evolved and the adaptive forces that shaped them. Outside of academics, I’m an avid musician, concertgoer, and engaging in whatever creative challenges I can
Former Students
Sima Abdullah
Joe Adragna
Tina Behdinan
Aadil Bharwani
Tanor Bonin
Gray Boyko
Meg Carley
Samantha Celli
Kyle Comishen
Hanae Davis
Charlotte Day
Charlotte de Biasi
Senuki Dasanayaka
Zachary Durisko
Peter Fenlon
Dorsa Ghenaati
Lyndsey Gott
Siqi (Jane) Huang
Jessica Hur
Rosa Kyuwon Lee
Chloe Lau
Onkar Marway
Marta Maslej
Jayden Miller
Parastoo (Paris) Motahari
Alyssa Murdoch
Arshia Naserinejad
Stefanie Northover
Kristina Ognjanovic
Cadence Opoka
Katina Pullia
Saxon Schwarz
Sebastian Sciarra
Parham Seyedmazhari
Shreya Sharma
Sangeeta Sutradhar
Adelaide Swanston
Delaney Vanderwater
Vicki Walaszczyk
Melanie Warren
Youre (Yuri) Yang
Nabeelah Zaman