Lab Director

Jonathan Rush, PhD

Dr. Rush is an Assistant Professor in Lifespan Health and Development within the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria. His research utilizes a variety of innovative research methods and analyses to address longitudinal questions of change and variation in health and well-being across the lifespan. He has particular expertise with multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, and intensive longitudinal research designs that examine patterns of behaviour across multiple timescales.

Dr. Rush will be accepting graduate students for September 2025.

Curriculum Vitae | Google Scholar Profile | University Webpage

Email: jrush@uvic.ca

Breanna McCreary

Breanna is a Doctoral student in the Department of Psychology’s Individualized program. Breanna’s research adopts critical social psychology perspectives to investigate the social and psychological determinants of collective and individual actions on climate change. Breanna is working as an RA on the Daily Experiences of Climate Change Distress project.

Otis Geddes

Otis is a second year Master’s student in the Social Psychology program. Otis is interested in understanding the impact of climate change anxiety on well-being and motivations to engage in pro-environmental behaviours. Otis is working as an RA on the Daily Experiences of Climate Change Distress project.

Zoë Gilson

Zoë is a first year Master’s student in the Clinical Psychology program. Her research interests are in the area of cognitive aging and the psychosocial, lifestyle, and neurological factors that relate to symptoms of cognitive decline. Zoë is collaborating with the Slow Lab on the development of mHealth Intervention materials aimed at promoting lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of cognitive decline in older adults.

Meghan Papineau

Meghan is a combined Biology and Psychology major currently completing her Honour’s thesis under the supervision of Dr. Rush. Her research interests include, health, well-being, and psychological disorders. Meghan’s Honour’s project is examining the effects of physical activity and sleep, as measured objectively through wrist-worn accelerometers, on daily experiences of psychological well-being.

Devon Rees

Devon is a fifth year Psychology student currently completing her Honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Rush. Her Honour’s project will implement a psychoeducational mobile health app aimed at the prevention of cognitive decline in older adults. Her research interests include child psychology, health psychology and how brain and physical activity relate to mental health. Devon hopes to pursue a career as a child clinical psychologist.

Ahneke van Lankvelt

Ahneke is a second year undergraduate student studying Biology and Psychology. She was a recipient of the 2023 VKURA internship award. Through this award, Ahneke examined factors that either limit or support opportunities for active transportation and micro-mobility use in older adults. Ahneke’s work has contributed toward the development of the ATLAS project.