People
Directors
Meredith Rocchi
Dr. Meredith Rocchi is an award-winning quantitative methods professor with research expertise in effective interpersonal communication, measurement validation, and data literacy education.
She is passionate about statistics and sharing this passion with her students. She is committed to teaching excellence through reducing the stigma surrounding methods courses, making quantitative methods education more accessible, and helping alleviate students’ anxiety towards math and numbers.
As an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Ottawa, Meredith is overseeing a large multi-year project (The Data Literacy Project) aimed at improving quantitative methods courses for students in the humanities and social sciences.
Simon Beaudry
Dr. Simon Beaudry is an award-winning quantitative methods and research methods professor with expertise in pedagogy, data literacy, and strategic research development.
He is passionate about fostering innovation and supporting researchers through infrastructure, partnerships, and strategic initiatives. His teaching and research practices emphasize relational support, autonomy, and confidence-building for students across the humanities and social sciences.
Simon has over two decades of experience in teaching and has held a Chair in University Teaching from the University of Ottawa. He previously directed the INSPIRE Core Facility at the University of Ottawa, which he co-founded, advancing interdisciplinary social neuroscience and psychophysiology research. He also co-founded the Data Literacy Research Institute with Professor Rocchi and other colleagues. He is now Dean of Research and Creation at the Université du Québec en Outaouais.
Student Lab Members
PhD Students
Bianca St-Denis
PhD Clinical Psychology
Research areas: Data Anxiety, Aging, Measurement Validation
François Thibeault
PhD Communication
Research areas: Film studies, Post-apocalyptic fiction, Social space theory, Fictional representations, Data literacy
Michelle Bartleman
PhD Communication, Media Studies
Research areas: Automated journalism, Canadian media, Data in news media
Master’s Students
Heba Aweiwi
MA Communication
Research areas: Data in news media, Non-verbal communication in political settings
Undergraduate Students
Maélie Gagnon
BA Psychology
Research areas: Data Literacy, Motivation, Learning Strategies & Behaviours
Patrick Heuvelmans
BA Psychology
Research areas: Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders, Stress Management, Mental Health, Data in news Media
Sydney Reil
BA Psychology
Research areas: Implementation Science, Data Literacy, and Instructional Design
Jasmine Abdat
BA Psychology
Research areas: Attitudes toward Data, Student Motivation, Curriculum Evaluation
Sara Almsaddi
BA Psychology BHSc in Health Sciences
Research areas: Social Inclusion, Human Rights, Social and Cultural Psychology, Mental Health Disparities, Data Literacy in Education.
Aurélie Suprenant
BA Psychology
Research areas: Trauma, Delinquent Behaviour, Resilience and coping mechanisms
Former members
- Jordan Leblanc
MA Public Health (202) - Ariane Gauthier
PhD Clinical Psychology (2025) - Pari-Gole Noorishad
MA/PhD Clinical Psychology (2025) - Mo Ahmad
BA Psychology (2025) - Océane Sarrazin
Honours BSc Psychology (2025) - Dominique Gagnon
Honours Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (2023) - Nada Naser
Joint Honours Bachelor of Social Science, Communication & Political Science (2023) - Abbey Corson
Honours Bachelor of Science, Human Kinetics (2022) - Alexa Naccarato
Master of Arts, Communication (2021) - Paola Merchan Tamayo
Master of Arts, Communication (2021)
Former visiting researchers
- Silvio Maltagliati
Université Grenoble Alpes
PhD Student in Physical Activity Psychology (2023)