Our Team
Director
Shaylene Nancekivell (she/her)
Dr. Shaylene Nancekivell is an Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba who directs the Young Minds Research Lab. She was previously an Assistant Professor at UNCG. Broadly, she is interested in understanding the nature of conceptual representations, specifically those (potentially) structured as intuitive theories. Right, now her primary interests center around how children and adults reason about digital contexts and possessions. But, as an educator, she has additional interests in people’s beliefs about learning Her work can be found in a wide range of developmental, cognitive science, and educational journals. She is currently funded by NSERC.
Learn more about recent papers here, or by sending her an email at shaylene.nancekivell@umanitoba.ca.
Graduate Students
Ekam Banipal (she/her)
Ekam is currently in her first year of the Experimental Psychology Master's program. She is interested in children’s consumption of content provided by algorithms. For her thesis, she is working on investigating algorithmic literacy amongst parents and how this impacts children's interactions with technology. Other than conducting research, Ekam enjoys spending time with her family and friends and reading books.
Mark Dobrovolskyi (he/him)
Mark is pursuing a Master’s degree in School Psychology. He aims to increase the inclusivity of children with diverse needs and promote evidence-based practices in education. His Master’s thesis focuses on how learning styles, a common learning myth, may impact how people think of students and the potential consequences of these perceptions. Beyond academia, Mark collects hobbies, like soccer, bowling, baseball, and recently, chess!
Allyson Paton (she/her)
Allyson is in the School Psychology Masters program. She is interested in research that supports wellbeing and development in children. Allyson’s Masters research focuses on promoting wellbeing in digital spaces by learning how children think and feel about technology. Her thesis is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. When not in front of her laptop, you can find Allyson outside gardening or cozying up with her cat and a good book.
Sarah Petriw (she/her)
Sarah is our former database coordinator/lab manager. She is in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at the University of Manitoba. She is interested in how young children reason about privacy online (and offline).
Lab Coordinators
Celeste Vermette (any pronouns) - Lab Manager
Celeste graduated from the University of Manitoba in June of 2026 with a B.A. Honours in Psychology and minor in Anthropology. Having completed their undergraduate thesis with the MINDLab in the Dept. of Psychology, they are interested in how language affects individual's lived experience and how to support second-language acquisition in young learners
Taylor French - Social Media Coordinator
Taylor is a B. A. Honours Psychology student. She joined the lab to gain valuable experience and expand her understanding of the clinical psychology field. Her interests centre around human development and behaviour modification.
Honours Thesis Students
Caleb Payment
Caleb is an undergraduate student in the B.Sc. Honours Psychology program. He is interested in studying the reasons behind human behaviour and decision making. He joined the lab to learn the basis that children use to make decisions.
Kiana Pagtakhan
Kiana is a third year undergrad student in the B.A. Honours Psychology program. She joined the lab to get research experience and is happy she gets to do so by studying child development.
This could be you!
We are currently looking for undergraduate research assistants to join our lab.