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​Congratulations to Sharuya on receiving the Best Visual Poster Award at the 2025/2026 FSSH Honours Thesis Poster Presentation Day!!!

Congratulations to Taylor on receiving the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) in support of her PhD research on intolerance of uncertainty in adolescence!!!

Congratulations to Jessica on receiving the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) in support of her PhD project on lie-telling behaviours and sensitivity to rewards and threats among undergraduate students!!!
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Congratulations to Sharuya on receiving a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) graduate scholarship in support of her research on Adolescent Worries and Development!!!
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​Congratulations to Kimberleigh on receiving a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) graduate scholarship in support of her Master’s research on positive youth development and transformational leadership!!!

​Congratulations to Celina on receiving a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) graduate scholarship in support of her Master’s research on developmental neuroscience and event segmentation!!!

​Congratulations to Jessica on receiving the President's Award of Excellence in Student Leadership for her outstanding leadership!!! 
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Congratulations to Jessica on receiving First Place at the 2026 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition!
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Congratulations to Jessica on receiving a research grant from the European Association of Psychology and Law (EAPL) to support her research project on day-to-day lie-telling behaviours and their relation to changes in perceived rewards and threats among undergraduate students!!!

​Congratulations to Dr. Heffer on receiving the Early Career Teaching Award and Students' Choice Teaching Award at the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities’ 20th annual Academic Awards Reception!!!

​Congratulations to Taylor on receiving the Canadian Psychological Association Mentor of the Year Award!!! 

​Congratulations to Devlyn on receiving the Student Assignment Recognition Award (SARA) in the Honours Thesis or Capstone Category for the 2024/2025 school year!!!

​Congratulations to Dr. Heffer, who has been awarded an Early Career American Psychology and Law Award for a project titled: The Role of Punishment and Reward Sensitivity in Deceptive Behaviour!!! This collaborative project is being led by Jessica Biasin, Aliyah Carruthers, and Emily Tyrrell. 
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​Congratulations to Devlyn on receiving the Best Poster Award at the 2024/2025 FSSH Honours Thesis Poster Presentation Day!!!

​Congratulations to Jessica on receiving a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) graduate scholarship in support of her Master's research on Honesty and Humility during adolescence!!!
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​Congratulations to Dr. Heffer on receiving a SSHRC Explore Grant to assess generational differences in worry and wellbeing among adolescents!!!
Congratulations to Julia for winning the McDonald's Employee Scholarship, which recognizes the outstanding contributions an employee makes in their restaurant, school, and community!!!
April 21st, 2026 - Sharuya presented her Honours Thesis, "The Non-Linear Developmental Differences in Adolescent Worries: A Longitudinal Assessment of Self-Reported Concerns," at Ontario Tech's 2025/2026 FSSH Honours Thesis Poster Presentation Day. Her thesis found that adolescent worries follow both linear and non-linear developmental trajectories. Specifically, worries related to adulthood and social evaluation increased steadily across age, while concerns regarding the future, future school, and sports showed non-linear patterns that peaked at specific ages before declining or stabilizing. Click HERE to see the full poster!

Sharuya was also awarded the Best Visual Poster Award by both the psychology/forensic psychology faculty and current forensic psychology graduate students. Congratulations Sharuya!!!
April 21st, 2026 - Rebecca presented her Honours Thesis, "The Longitudinal Assessment of the Relation Between Adversity in Childhood and Threat Sensitivity During Adolescence," at Ontario Tech's 2025/2026 FSSH Honours Thesis Poster Presentation Day. Her thesis found that higher levels of childhood adversity were associated with increased threat sensitivity across adolescence. Specifically, threat-related and later-occurring adversity were most strongly linked to elevated threat sensitivity, while deprivation-related adversity demonstrated little impact. Click HERE to see the full poster!
April 21st, 2026 - Kimberleight presented her Honours Thesis, "Profiles of Worry and Their Relation to Mental Health in Adolescence," at Ontario Tech's 2025/2026 FSSH Honours Thesis Poster Presentation Day. Her thesis found three distinct types of adolescent worriers based on self-reported worries. Specifically, adolescents identified as “Micro Worriers,” who focused on concerns about themselves and their close social networks, showed significantly higher levels of social anxiety and depression, indicating they may be at the greatest risk for poor mental health. Click HERE to see the full poster!
March 19th, 2026 - Jessica participated in Ontario Tech's 3-Minute Thesis Competition, presenting findings from her Master's project titled "Developmental Patterns of Honesty-Humility from Childhood to Adolescence: A Six-Year Longitudinal Investigation." Her research suggests that honesty remains relatively stable until around age 10, followed by a decline across adolescence until around age 19. Click HERE to watch Jessica's presentation! 

Jessica was also awarded First Place at the 2026 3-Minute Thesis Final Competition. Congratulations Jessica!!!
November 26st, 2025 - Jessica presented the findings from a project on Reward and Threat Sensitivity Related to Self-Oriented Lie-Telling Among University Students at the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) Research Showcase. This study found that higher threat sensitivity predicted higher self-oriented lie-telling behaviours, especially when reward sensitivity was high or low. Click HERE to view the full poster and its findings! 


She also had the opportunity to convey this research project through visual and creative arts at the showcase. 
April 9th, 2025 - Devlyn presented her Honours Thesis, "Non-Linear Longitudinal Development of Sensitivity to Threat: Considering the Role of Gender and Pubertal Development," under the supervision of Dr. Heffer at Ontario Tech's 2024/2025 FSSH Honours Thesis Poster Presentation Day.  Her thesis found that sensitivity to threat increased more rapidly during adolescence among females compared to males, across both age and pubertal development. Click HERE to view the full poster! Click HERE to view the full poster! 

She was also awarded the Best Poster Award by both the psychology/forensic psychology faculty and current forensic psychology graduate students. Congratulations Devlyn!!!
April 9th, 2025 - Dryden presented his Honours Thesis, "Developmental Differences in Patterns of Electrophysiological Connectivity in Children and Adolescents," under the co-supervision of Dr. Heffer and Dr. Stojanoski at Ontario Tech's 2024/2025 FSSH Honours Thesis Poster Presentation Day.  His thesis found both linear and non-linear developmental trajectories of functional connectivity from childhood to adolescence, highlighting how functional connectivity continues to mature throughout development. Click HERE to see the full poster!
March 15th, 2025 - Jessica presented the findings from "The Non-Linear Development of Antisocial Lie-Telling: The Role of Sensitivity to Punishment" study at the American Psychology-Law Association (APLS) conference. This study found that greater sensitivity to punishment predicted higher rates of antisocial lie-telling among adolescents, and antisocial lie-telling tended to decrease with age.  Click HERE to view the full poster! 

​She was awarded the Student Travel Award for presenting at this conference. This award is granted by the Conference Advisory Committee at Ontario Tech to approximately twenty students whose proposals received the highest ratings during the conference review process. ​Congratulations to Jessica for being one of the twenty recipients! 
December 2nd, 2024 - Final meeting of the year, celebrating the first of many successful semesters for DevWellLab.
November 27th, 2024 - Jessica presented the lab's work on "The Non-Linear Development of Antisocial Lie-Telling: The Role of Sensitivity to Punishment" at the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) graduate student poster event.