Meet The Team

Dr. Christophe is an Associate Professor of Psychology at McGill University. He received his PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he also earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Christophe is also a former NICHD T-32 Predoctoral Fellow at the Carolina Consortium on Human Development. Dr. Christophe’s research employs a wide range of quantitative tools to examine (1) the impact of discrimination on trajectories of psychopathology and wellbeing among racially/ethnically minoritized and immigrant youth, (2) how cultural factors such as ethnic-racial identity, the way parents talk to their children about race and discrimination (i.e., parental ethnic-racial socialization), cultural values, youth activism, and culturally-embedded forms of coping (shift-&-persist, religious coping, etc.) may reduce the harmful impacts of discrimination among youth and families. He also has (3) a line of measurement-focused work that aims to create, evaluate, and improve the measurement tools we have to better study cultural processes in minoritized communities.

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Hear my name

Ariane is a 4th year clinical psychology PhD candidate at McGill University where she also received her BA Honours in psychology. She is interested in daily online experiences of discrimination and the development of civic engagement (activism) as well as its longitudinal effects on wellbeing during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Her past work involved the development of critical consciousness -a process that can be used by minoritized folks, such as youth of colour, to resist and cope with oppression through understanding racial injustices, developing motivation to fight these injustices, and taking action to enact sociopolitical change- and its association with mental health outcomes.

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Her current research includes the development of a comprehensive anti-racist civic engagement measure for youth and emerging adults to explore different dimensions of activism such as means (e.g., online vs in-person), content (e.g., more interpersonal action vs more formal political action), and risk-level, as well as the examination of daily coping processes among youth of colour.

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Tripat is a 3rd year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student within the CDS lab. Prior to joining the lab, she received her B.A. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and her M.S. in Clinical Research Methodology from Fordham University. Broadly, she is interested in exploring how experiences of online and vicarious racism (e.g., hearing or seeing someone from your own ethnic-racial background experience racism) impact the mental health and well-being of BIPOC emerging adults. She is interested in leveraging quantitative and qualitative tools to elucidate how various coping strategies may help BIPOC emerging adults cope with these forms of racism. Tripat’s current work includes using latent profile analysis to investigate profiles of coping among Asian emerging adults across Canada, and leading qualitative focus group interviews with Asian emerging adult women about their experiences navigating online racism.  

Shayndel is a 3rd year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at the CDS Lab. Prior to joining McGill, she received her Honours BA in Psychology from the University of Guelph. Broadly, she is interested in researching risk and resilience factors that influence developmental processes across the lifespan. She is interested in understanding the impact of different forms of discrimination on trajectories of wellbeing and exploring how individual, familial, and cultural factors (e.g., ethnic-racial identity, ethnic-racial socialization) shape how youth and emerging adults of colour experience, navigate, cope with, and challenge the systems of oppression that are imposed on them. Additionally, she is interested in informing strengths-based culturally-informed interventions to better serve minoritized communities.
 
Her current research projects include uncovering the occurrence and family-level predictors of ethnic-racial socialization discrepancies among Black parent-adolescent dyads, as well as examining coping strategies that may moderate the impact of different forms of discrimination on mental and physical health outcomes among South Asian emerging adults.

Raina is a 1st year Clinical Psychology PhD student in the CDS lab. Prior to joining the lab, she received her BSc in Psychology and MSc in Neuroscience from the University of Ottawa.

She is interested in exploring identity development in Multiracial youth (e.g., identity suppression, identity shifting across contexts), feelings of belongingness in Multiracial populations, the experiences of youth with multiple marginalized identities, the effects of discrimination on mental health outcomes in BIPOC youth, and the way in which factors such as ethnic-racial socialization can promote positive coping skills in youth of colour facing discrimination. She is also interested in the development of culturally sensitive interventions tailored to the needs of people belonging to equity-deserving groups.

Her current research focuses on how different kinds of belonging (e.g., belonging with Multiracial people, People of Colour, White people) contribute to flourishing in Multiracial youth, taking into account how environmental factors influence this relationship.

Loredana is a 1st year MA student in the Educational Psychology (Human Development) program, co-supervised by Dr. Christophe and Dr. Gigi Luk in the Department of Education and Counselling Psychology. She received her BA in Psychology and Economics from McGill University and is a former undergraduate member of the lab.

Her undergraduate thesis examined the short-term longitudinal mental health and well-being outcomes of critical consciousness among Black and Latine adults in Canada. She is particularly interested in understanding critical consciousness development in the context of systemic oppression and how individual, familial, and cultural protective factors (e.g., ethnic-racial identity, ethnic-racial socialization) may promote well-being and adaptive coping. Her current research investigates how family processes, such as familism, support the development of critical consciousness among youth and emerging adults of colour. She is also interested in culturally-informed interventions that support motivation, engagement, and adjustment among immigrant and refugee youth who are newly navigating the Quebec educational system.

Dr. Christophe WILL be fielding applications for graduate students this application cycle (Applications due December 1, 2026 - see https://www.mcgill.ca/psychology/graduate for more information. 

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He is open to admitting a PhD student into either the Developmental (i.e., experimental psychology) or Clincial Psychology Tracks. 

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Please note that, due to equity reasons, Dr. Christophe does not extend or accept invitations to meet with prospective applicants prior to the application deadline, but applicants are encouraged to email Dr. Christophe with any and all questions that may help them determine whether the CDS lab may be a good fit.