Alyssa Smith
PhD Candidate
University of Waterloo
Discovery (Biological & Genetic Mechanisms)
I completed my undergraduate work in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour at McMaster University. Before that, I worked briefly as an analyst at a bank, and completed a degree in English literature.
Today, I am a part of the Vision and Attention Lab at the University of Waterloo working with Dr. Daniel Smilek. My dissertation is focused on examining the relation between menstrual cycle related hormone fluctuations, hormonal contraceptive (HC) use, and cognition. I am currently examining HC use and attention (at the trait and state level) as well as HC use and perseverance. My research has also examined individual differences in cognition, attention during lectures, information search behaviours, media multitasking, and flow.
Outside of academia, I can be found running, doing yoga, baking, painting, and playing with our puppy Finn.
