Dr. Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva
Principal Investigator, they/them
Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva is a Professor of Psychology with expertise on the cognitive neuroscience of human thought, from spontaneous thought phenomena such as mind-wandering, daydreaming, and creativity; to goal-directed thought, including deliberate reasoning and problem-solving; to clinical alterations in thought and their implications for human wellbeing. Their work also examines the neurocognitive mechanism of introspection, meta-cognition, meditation, and different forms of self-experience and self-regulation. Prof. Christoff Hadjiilieva’s research seeks to understand these mental phenomena through the dynamic interplay between large-scale brain systems, including the default, salience, and frontoparietal control networks.
Contact: kalinach@psych.ubc.ca
Curriculum vitae: View Kalina’s CV
Artistic inspiration: ‘The Garden’, poem by Andrew Marvell
Andre Zamani
PhD Student, he/him
Andre earned a BA in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Puget Sound in 2019 and an MA in Psychology from UBC in 2023. His research centers around studying the neural bases of spontaneous thought generation. His most recent study combined experienced meditators and fMRI to investigate the neural mechanisms supporting the generation of spontaneous thoughts prior to their conscious experiencing. Andre is now conducting a precision fMRI study with a similar design. Other topics of interest to Andre include fMRI methods (for which he co-teaches an annual course), precision neuroscience, neurophenomenology, and complexity science.
Contact: azamani@psych.ubc.ca
Curriculum vitae: View Andre’s CV
Artistic inspiration: ‘Seasonal Rains (a tribute to Louis Gluck)’, poem by Sarah Schaff, with slight personal edits
Jen Burrell
PhD Student, she/her
Jen Burrell completed her BSc at the University of Alberta, with a specialization in Psychological Research, in 2021. As an undergrad, Jen researched a novel approach to diagnosing stroke using mobile electroencephalography (EEG), in hopes of generating a more efficient and accurate tool for pre-hospital diagnosis of stroke (Burrell et al., 2020). Currently, Jen is investigating how psychoactive substances, specifically cannabis, alters the way we think. Her research interests span thought generation, creativity, attention deficit hyperactivity, psychoactive substances, and more.
Contact: jenbur@psych.ubc.ca
Douglas Forrest
MA Student, he/him
Douglas graduated from UBC’s neuroscience program, and now works with Dr. Christoff studying historical trends in the consciousness field as well as the neuroscience of meaning in life.
Contact: douglas.forrest@psych.ubc.ca
Artistic inspiration: ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’, by Albert Camus, “(…) how shall I negate this world whose power and strength I feel?”
Emma MacEntee
Lab Manager, she/her
Emma has been supporting research at UBC for over 25 years. As the Manager at our lab, Emma oversees the daily operations, ensuring that the lab runs smoothly and providing support for the scientific activities of our team.
Contact: emma.macentee@psych.ubc.ca
Artistic inspiration: ‘On Getting Your Ducks in a Row’, poem by Matthew King
Desmond Wood-Anderson
Research Assistant, he/him
Desmond earned his Master’s degree in philosophy from UBC in 2022, focusing on abstract and social cognition, agency, and selfhood from an enactive and neurophenomenological perspective. He is currently exploring the link between thought dynamics, modality, and neural networks using precision fMRI and experience sampling. His research interests continue to center on the phenomenology and neural dynamics of human thought, particularly how individual differences influence their relationship. Desmond is a climbing enthusiast and often makes use of Vancouver’s proximity to Squamish.
Contact: dwoodanderson@psych.ubc.ca
Muskan Mathur
Research Assistant, she/her
Muskan is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in Psychology at UBC and is working on the Dynamic Framework of Thought study that seeks to investigate the relationship between brain activity and how thoughts move over time. Other topics of research include qualitative analyses and South Asian modalities of grief. Outside of research Muskan loves to practice wheel pottery.
Simran Dhanjal
Research Assistant, she/her
Simran received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UBC in 2026 and is currently working on the Meaning Project with Douglas.
Artistic inspiration: ‘Trees’, by Twenty One Pilots
Diya Bhusal
Research Assistant, she/her
Diya grew up between rural Nepal and Butwal, and is now pursuing a BA in Psychology (Honours) at UBC. Working with Andre Zamani on her Honours thesis, she is testing whether the thought dynamics observed in the lab’s precision fMRI study of the Dynamic Framework of Thought generalize to a larger sample, and whether people fall into distinct subgroups in how automatic constraints shape the freedom of their thoughts. Her other interests include philosophy and any novel experience that forces her mental schemas about the world to collapse and reorient. Outside of research, Diya is almost always side-questing: this summer she solo-backpacked across Europe for a month with zero reservations, and earlier this year she did the world’s second-highest bungee jump (228 m). Her lifelong, admittedly impossible goal is to visit every corner of the world.
Artistic inspiration: ‘Wild Geese’, by Mary J. Oliver, “You do not have to be good”