Current Team

Academic Background

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I obtained my doctorate in psychology and education in 1996 in Berlin, Germany. This was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship from 1996 to 1999 at the University of Montreal and Concordia University. I am a member of the Research Group on Psychosocial Inadaptation in Children (GRIP) and the Research Center of Ste Justine Hospital. I am also an affiliate researcher with the Network for the Promotion of Healthy Relationships and the Elimination of Violence (PREVNET), the Bullying Research Network, and the Simon Fraser University Institute for the Reduction of Youth Violence. I am the recipient of three research salary awards: Bourse Chercheur Boursier Junior (2001-2005) awarded by the Conseil Québécois de la Recherche Sociale (CQRS) as well as the Bourse Chercheur Boursier Junior 2 (2004-2008) and Bourse Chercheur Boursier Senior (2008-2012) awarded by the Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRQS).

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Research Interests

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My broader research interests focus on the interplay between individual, family-, and peer-related factors in the development of mental health and psycho-social adjustment problems in children, adolescents and young adults. A specific topic of interest in this regard concerns the role of bullying in the peer group, both from the aggressors’ and the victims' perspective. Three recent research projects funded by SSHRC and CIHR examine potential long-term effects of peer victimization experienced during the school years on victims’ mental health and psycho-social adjustment in emerging and early adulthood as well as the underlying neurophysiological mediating mechanisms. This research also aims to identify protective factors -- both within the individual (e.g., genetic dispositions) and outside the individual (e.g., family, friends, teachers) -- that might moderate such long-term effects and thus inform preventive intervention efforts for victims of peer bullying.

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See my Google Scholar profile here