Meet the Team

Dr. Kathleen Hughes

Dr. Kathleen Hughes an Associate Professor (Teaching) in Psychology at the University of Calgary. Her current research focuses on Social Emotional Assets as protective and predictive factors of positive development across the lifespan.

As a first-generation university student, Dr. Kathleen firmly believes in the importance of equity and accessibility in higher learning. To that effect, she has collaborated on an open-access Lifespan Development textbook with OpenStax. The free textbook can be found here: https://openstax.org/details/books/lifespan-development

Teaching is her passion, and Dr. Hughes has won the University of Calgary Student Union Award for Teaching Excellence on two separate occasions. She is also the current Undergraduate Program Director for the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary.

Roopjot Dhanda, Research Assistant

Roopjot (Joty) is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Calgary completing her Bachelors of Science in Psychology. As a Research Assistant in the SEA Lab, she has worked on projects such as the Community Hub, which aims to promote connectivity within researchers and not-for-profit organizations working to serve the needs of youth and the community. She is currently working with other SEA Lab members on topics such as peer and family relationships, ADHD and anxiety symptoms, belonging, and social emotional assets, hoping to present at ISSBD 2026. Some other topics of interest for Roopjot include parent-child relationships, cultural influences on social emotional assets, and community wellbeing. She plans to pursue an honours degree, followed by a MSc and PhD in Clinical Psychology. 

Nevaeh Kerkhoven, Research Assistant

Nevaeh is a third-year Psychology (BA) student at the University of Calgary, with an interest in child development, neurodiversity, personality, relationships, and mental well-being. As a research assistant in the SEA Lab, she contributes to various projects aimed at improving developmental research and community relations, including working on Dr. Hughes’ Community Hub. Her research looks at the impacts of personality, social emotional assets, and gender on well-being in university life, which she hopes to present at the ISSBD Conference in South Korea. In the future, she aims to pursue honors and an MSc and PhD in School and Applied Child Psychology.