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.

Safira recently completed her BA in Psychology at the University of Calgary. She did her Honours thesis co-supervised by Dr. Noel and investigated the relationship between sleep, pain, and headache in pediatric mild traumatic brain injury. Safira is passionate about exploring the factors involved in the transition from acute to chronic pain and, more broadly, the interconnected relationship between physical health and psychological well-being, particularly in children.

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.

Allison is a BSc honours psychology student with an interest in the intersection of research and health care. She hopes to one day pursue a career with clinical populations and is eager to learn more about clinical research. With a personal history of chronic pain, she is excited to complete her honours thesis with the PEAK team!

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. This year, she will be completing a summer studentship under Dr. Noel and intends on applying for the honours program in the upcoming year.

As a person with lived experience dealing with chronic pain in his childhood, Merek has a great interest in learning more about how psychology and pain come together, and using this knowledge to help others struggling with pain. Merek began as a volunteer, and has completed a summer studentship and honours thesis under Dr. Noel, with hopes of continuing on to the clinical psychology program.

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.

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.

As a current Neuroscience student at the University of Calgary, Reese is hoping to introduce a neuroscientific twist on the fascinating psychological research happening within the PEAK lab. Reese is completing a summer studentship under Dr. Noel’s supervision, and is thrilled to be progressing her research journey with everyone at the PEAK lab!