Melanie Noel, PhD, RPsych is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary and a Full Member of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. She directs the PEAK (Pain Education, Advocacy, Knowledge) Research Lab within the Vi Riddell Pain & Rehabilitation Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Canada.

Josep was born in Menorca, Spain and completed his Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of the Balearic Islands in 2017. In 2024, he obtained his PhD at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili under the supervision of Prof. Jordi Miró. In 2023, Josep was the recipient of a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, enabling him to investigate the factors involved in the transition from acute pain to chronic pain in youth as a visting scholar at UCalgary. Josep is now completing his Postdoctoral Fellowship with the lab.

Queenie is passionate about finding ways that we can live better together. She believes a key to achieving thriving communities is to support those in the most vulnerable positions, including children and marginalized individuals. As such, her breadth of research experience in psychology, public health, and education is connected by a focus on advocacy and justice.

Debra is a PhD candidate at the University of South Australia, co-supervised by Dr Melanie Noel, Dr Sarah Wallwork, Dr Rebecca Sharp and Prof Lorimer Moseley. Debra is passionate about understanding the social context of child pain, how it contributes to children’s pain experiences in the moment and how it equips them to manage future pain experiences. Debra’s research focuses on the influence of parent- and health professional-child interactions in children’s acute pain.

Eugena is an undergraduate psychology student at the University of Calgary. With a family history and personal experiences with chronic pain, she is dedicated to learning about how physiological and psychological health processes are linked and how they are passed intergenerationally in families. She completed her summer studentship under Dr. Noel and intends on applying for the honours program in the upcoming year.

During his tenure as Coordinator of the Calgary Institute for the Humanities, Sean completed a BA (Honours) in Psychology at the University of Calgary to work towards a transition into a counselling career. Sean's diverse educational background, including a BA in English and an MA in Film Studies, enriched his psychology honours project. Under the guidance of Dr. Melanie Noel, he explored how popular media informs the identities of neurodiverse youth. Before returning to academia, Sean honed his skills in visual communications and video production, working in the film industry, running an independent video production company, and serving as the Digital Learning Content Producer and Director at the Alberta College of Art and Design (now Alberta University of the Arts).

Tatiana is a PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary. Tatiana’s research interests surround how chronic and acute pain narratives are co-constructed between parents and children across early childhood and into adolescence. Tatiana is passionate about pediatric psychology and investigating ways to promote children’s physical and mental health. Her previous research experience explored children’s cognitive and language development. Tatiana remains interested in cognitive factors involved in children’s development and how shared language regarding painful experiences can serve as a context within which to study children’s broader social and emotional development.

Karen graduated with a BSc from the University of Calgary’s Zoology program in 2022. She is currently a PhD student in Neuroscience at the University of Calgary training under the primary supervision of Dr. Jillian Miller and is co-supervised by Dr. Melanie Noel. Her research focuses on the relationship between hippocampal efficiency, memory biases and pain outcomes in youth undergoing major surgeries. She hopes her research will help open the door to more effective treatments for youth at risk of developing chronic pain.

Amara is an undergraduate student at the University of Calgary completing her BSc in Psychology. She is dedicated to exploring new ways to improve mental and physical health in our communities. Amara is completing her honours thesis this year, co-supervised by Dr. Melanie Noel and Dr. Jillian Miller.

Jenna recently graduated from her Master's in Psychology at the University of Calgary, supervised my Dr. Michael Antle. Her thesis investigated the adverse effects of circadian rhythm disruption on behaviour and physiology in mice. During her master's training, Jenna was passionate about incorporating equitable and inclusive practices in teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students. She is excited to continue developing her research skillset in the PEAK lab as she prepares for doctoral studies.