MIVE Lab

09/18/2025

🎓 Congratulations to Lianna Montanari on successfully defending her Master’s thesis at the University of Toronto! 👏

Her research at KITE Research Institute uses to study how hearing loss and subjective cognitive decline affect spatial navigation abilities. Lianna’s work highlights the potential of tasks as a tool for understanding early signs of .

We’re so proud of you and can’t wait to see what other meaningful contributions you'll make in your PhD journey! 🎉 🧠🚶‍♀️

09/12/2025

🎓 Congratulations to Niroshica Mohanathas on a successful PhD defense at the University of Toronto! 👏 Her research at the KITE Research Institute explores the intersection of , , and , offering valuable insights to inform strategies that enhance mobility, safety, and quality of life for older adults with hearing loss.

We’re so proud of your achievement, Dr. Mohanathas — an incredible milestone! 🎉

08/29/2025

🎓 Congratulations to Katherine Bak on successfully defending her PhD at University of Toronto! An incredible achievement that reflects years of dedication, perseverance, and passion for advancing research on the effects of and on at KITE Research Institute. We’re so proud of your hard work and can’t wait to see what’s next in your journey Dr. Bak! 👏

08/25/2025

🌍✈️ Some of our MIVErs recently traveled to Akureyri, Iceland for the 2nd Annual Congress on Motion Sickness! Here are a few highlights:

🔹 Dr. Behrang Keshavarz shared new insights into visually induced motion sickness, showcasing recent and ongoing MIVE Lab research.

🔹 Polina Andrievskaia presented on the influence of s*x and age in the relationship between field dependence and motion sickness.

🔹 Narmada Umatheva discussed preliminary findings from a project exploring how auditory beat stimulation and music affect motion sickness in VR.

Beyond the presentations, our team enjoyed connecting with colleagues, sparking new collaborations, and even taking in some of Iceland’s breathtaking sights.

07/31/2025

🎉 Congratulations to Lauryn Gittens for all the outstanding work she does at the MIVE Lab, including her outreach work to raise awareness about , , and the KITE Research Institute!

https://uhnstempathways.ca/volunteer-spotlight

07/31/2025

Check out this new study (authors: Shirley Dumassais, Jennifer Campos, Margaret Kathleen Pichora-Fuller, Joseph B. Orange, Marie Savundranayagam, Paul Mick, Natalie Phillips, Walter Wittich) highlighting the urgent need for better cognitive screening strategies for individuals with sensory impairments—plus calls for improved training & education for occupational therapists. 👁️👂🧑‍⚕️

Background. Cognitive screening tools rely on vision and hearing. However, sensory impairments, alone or in combination, can hinder the accurate identification ...

07/31/2025

🗣Recruiting participants‼️

✅Are you aged 65+?

✅Want to try navigating in VR?

This study may be for you! Contact us at lianna.montanari@uhn.ca or 416-597-3422 ext. 3064.

07/31/2025

‼️Recruiting participants!‼️

✅Are you between the ages of 18 and 35 or 65+?

✅Want to try virtual reality?

This study may be for you! Contact us at raheleh.saryazdi@uhn.ca or 416-597-3422 ext. 7887.

07/31/2025

Some more MIVE activity highlights at :

🎮 Dr. Raheleh Saryazdi presented research on at-home VR interventions for persons living with dementia and their caregivers. Results show that the use of VR facilitated communication by making conversations longer, more frequent, natural, engaging, and enjoyable. (Coauthors: Lou-Anne Carsault, Julie Bannon, Erica Dove, Marie Savundranayagam, PhD, FGSA, Lora Appel, Jennifer Campos)

🚘 Dr. Gelareh Hajian presented her exploratory work on using driving performance as a marker of cognitive status. Machine-learning models show great potential for utilizing driving performance in determining cognitive impairment. (Coauthors: Bing Ye, Elaine Stasiulis, PhD, Mark Rapoport, Gary Naglie, Jennifer Campos, Alex Mihailidis)

🚗 Gelareh Hajian also presented on the use of conditionally automated vehicles (CAVs) by users across a range of cognitive abilities. Findings indicate that CAVs may be a useful tool to support safe driving in persons with cognitive impairment. (Coauthors: Bing Ye, Elaine Stasiulis, PhD, Mark Rapoport, Gary Naglie, Alex Mihailidis, Jennifer Campos)

07/31/2025

🧠 The MIVE Lab has been busy at this year’s Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC)!

👂👁️👃 The Sensory Health and Cognition ISTAART PIA hosted an Immersives workshop on "Assessing and Addressing Hearing, Vision, and Olfaction in Individuals with Cognitive Impairment”. Impressive line-up of presenters included Natalie Phillips, Walter Wittich, Carrie Nieman, Marilyn Reed, moderated by Jennifer Campos, with invaluable contributions by Lianna Montanari and Bryan Hong. Thanks for a great session!

🕶️👩‍💻 Dr. Jennifer Campos also gave a talk on "VR and AR Technologies in Research and Applications in Aging and Dementia" in a session with Dr. Lillian Hung. Many interesting discussions surrounding the strengths and limitations of using VR and what the future has in store for these technologies in the context of brain health and aging.

07/25/2025

📍 The MIVE Lab travelled to Durham University for the 23rd annual International Multisensory Research Forum (IMRF)! Here were some highlights:

1️⃣ Dr. Jennifer Campos presented research by lead author Anthony Moncada (coauthors Lianna Montanari, Lauryn Gittens, Katherine Bak) on multisensory illusions & cognitive performance in healthy older adults. Preliminary findings indicate that greater susceptibility to the sound-induced flash illusion is associated with poorer inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility—highlighting the potential for multisensory tasks to serve as early predictors of cognitive decline.

2️⃣ Dr. Raheleh Saryazdi presented on the effects of olfactory cues on memory. Results show that smells improve recall memory for visual objects in both younger and older adults, offering insights for future memory-based interventions. (Coauthors: Parjanya Parikh, Rafidal Islam, Katharina Pöhlmann, Ruoqi Huang, Laurence R. Harris, Behrang Keshavarz, Jennifer D. Ryan, Jennifer Campos)

3️⃣ Dr. John S. Butler presented work in collaboration with Jennifer Campos on novel methods of modelling visual-vestibular self-motion perception.

Thanks to the organizers for a fantastic conference!

07/25/2025

🎉 Congratulations to Anthony Moncada who received the Governor General's Academic Medal, awarded to the top undergraduate student in each graduating class!

Anthony graduated with an impressive 98%, the highest grade in Kinesiology. At the MIVE Lab, he has been doing outstanding work researching audiovisual illusions and their potential in detecting cognitive decline.

We’re incredibly proud of his achievements and feel fortunate to have him on our team. Way to go, Anthony! 👏

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