People
The people behind the work.
The people in the lab work across speech, hearing, and cognition — from the control of the voice to the brain under load.
Jeffery A. Jones, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology · Wilfrid Laurier University
Jeffery Jones directs the Jones Lab. He earned his Ph.D. at Queen’s University and began his career at the ATR Human Information Processing Laboratories in Japan before joining Laurier. He has also directed the Laurier Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and served the university as Interim Associate Vice-President: Research. His work has been funded continuously by NSERC, with support from SSHRC, CIHR, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and Mitacs. He has chaired an NSERC Discovery evaluation group, served on review panels for the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and held various editorial roles in his field. In 2025, Laurier’s Faculty of Science recognized him with its Established Career Award for Teaching Excellence.
Current members
The lab today
Zahra Fotovatnia
Research AssociateHow the bilingual brain processes words shared across languages.
Nina Hedayati
Doctoral ResearcherCognitive and neural markers of resilience to adversity.
Zehra Sasal
Doctoral ResearcherAuditory evoked potentials and language development in autistic school-aged children.
Co-supervised with Dr. Nichole Scheerer
Mariia Vistyzenko
Doctoral ResearcherAuditory-motor control in Parkinson’s disease, and acute THC effects on frontal brain networks, both measured with fNIRS.
Mitacs Accelerate · with Parkinson Society Southwestern OntarioZachary Brill
Master’s ResearcherHow perceived vocal instability shapes the control of speech.
Amy Delia Younesi
Master’s ResearcherCortical dynamics of auditory-motor integration under altered feedback, measured with fNIRS.
Fiona Skinner
Master’s ResearcherGroove and vocal feedback in Parkinson’s disease.
Incoming · September 2026Angelina Glas
Master’s ResearcherThe cognitive effects of cannabis.
Incoming · September 2026
Emily Hatton
Undergraduate ResearcherNSERC USRA
Imaan Khandwala
Undergraduate ResearcherNSERC USRAAsif Mirza
Undergraduate ResearcherNeural basis of resilience, with fNIRS.
Directed study
Saksham Gupta
Research AssistantDetecting mental fatigue from prefrontal fNIRS signals.
Where they are now
Full alumni list →A few of where the lab's people have gone; the full alumni list spans graduate students, honours and research trainees, and lab staff. Prospective students and research volunteers are welcome to get in touch — see Get Involved.