Our researchers

Midierson Maia, Ph.D.
Founder and President

Researchers

Jay Olson,
Ph.D.

Postdoctoral fellow in psychology at the University of Toronto, with prior training in psychiatry at McGill University and psychology at Harvard University. He leads global research on smartphone addiction and has been featured in major media outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and TIME.

Joseph Jay Williams, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in Computer Science. Director of the Intelligent Adaptive Interventions Lab and courtesy appointment at Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Former Professor of the University of Singapore, Research Scientist at Harvard, Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford, and PhD from UC Berkeley.

Mathieu Landry,
Ph.D

Assistant Professor of Psychology at Université Laval with postdoctoral training at École Normale Supérieure. His work focuses on the neurocognitive mechanisms of attention, perception, and introspection, combining neuroscience, data science, and psychology to develop clinically effective therapeutic approaches.

Rémi Thériault,
Ph.D

Postdoctoral fellow at New York University at the Center for Conflict and Cooperation. His research focuses on designing psychological interventions, such as virtual reality and compassion training, to enhance empathy, well-being, and prosocial behaviour. He also studies ways to reduce political polarization by leveraging shared identities, including through books and AI.

Anita Hagh,
Ph.D.

Ph.D. from the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. Anita’s research examines platform cultures, online communities, and emerging digital literacies from a member-researcher perspective. Her work also includes supporting underserved youth through innovative approaches such as ludonarrative programs and digital culture-based palliative care.

Mark Miller,
Ph.D

Research Fellow in Cognitive Science at the University of Toronto. His research examines the mind as a predictive system and integrates this view with 4E cognition, emphasizing embodied and environmental influences on thinking. He also studies how technology shapes well-being and human flourishing, with applications to human-computer interaction and socio-technical systems..

Raha Razaghi

Master’s student in Developmental Psychology and Education at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include resilience, flourishing, and the factors that impede these processes.
She is currently working on the mechanisms behind problematic smartphone use and using wisdom practices as an intervention to help emerging adults find meaning in their work.

Paula Basilone,
Ph.D.

AI scientist specializing in citrus agriculture and founder of XplorAll, focused on improving global food production through efficient and sustainable farming. Her work leverages AI to interpret plant signals, enhancing productivity and linking agriculture to better human nutrition, particularly through the role of vitamin C in health. Paula has been internationally recognized for AI innovation and has contributed to research.

Newsletter

Be ahead of your time