Paid Participants Studies List | Psychology Graduate Student Council

The Paid Participant Studies List is hosted on the Psychology Graduate Student Council website. While most studies here are conducted in the Psychology Department, other departments recruiting participants are welcome to advertise.

Notice to Researchers: Researchers willing to advertise should note that as this page is accessible to the public, we cannot monitor nor guarantee the quality of data you may collect, particularly for online studies. To ensure the integrity of your data, we strongly recommend implementing additional quality checks within your study design.

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Current Studies

We welcome both the general public and students to participate, and please check the eligibility requirements for each study.

Your participation in our studies is greatly appreciated! To ensure that the research results are accurate and meaningful, it’s important that you give your full attention and respond honestly to all questions. Please make sure to carefully read and follow the instructions provided in each study.

Last updated: August 5th, 2026

Understanding How People Seek Relationship Advice from AI (in-person/online)

Researcher: Dr. Dongwook Yoon (Principal Investigator). Shuna Zhu (Research Assistant).

Description: This UBC study aims to understand how people seek relationship advice from generative AI. Participation involves completing a brief online screening survey. If selected, participants will take part in a paid 60-minute semi-structured interview. The interview will explore what motivated them to turn to AI for relationship advice, how they used AI, and how they felt about it. The interview may be conducted via Zoom or in person at the UBC Vancouver campus.

Eligibility:

Have used generative AI to seek relationship advice (e.g., advice about starting a relationship, dating, marriage, ending a relationship, etc.).
At least 19 years old
Must be able to communicate in English and have access to a computer with internet for the screening survey and (if applicable) Zoom interview.

If you are interested in participating, please fill out our pre-screening survey linked here: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_enU6VvlWQ1XZ7IW

Location: Those who are selected from our pre-screening survey will participate in interviews conducted in person at the Department of Computer Science, ICICS Building (2366 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4), UBC Vancouver campus or online via Zoom depending on your preference.

Contact information: To participate, please complete the screening survey at https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_enU6VvlWQ1XZ7IW. If you have any questions, please contact Shuna Zhu at szhu43@cs.ubc.ca.

Reimbursement/Time: The screening survey takes approximately 2 minutes. The interview takes approximately 60 minutes. Participants who participate in the interview will receive $25 CAD via electronic transfer.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted August 5th, 2026.

Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression in Bipolar II Disorder: A Randomized Control Trial (in-person study with zoom option for selected visits)

Researcher: Lakshmi Yatham (Principal Investigator), Vy Ngo (Research Coordinator)

Description: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of single-dose psilocybin (25 mg)-assisted therapy in comparison to active placebo (1 mg micro-dose) psilocybin-assisted therapy in patients with bipolar II depression who have already tried two treatment options for their current episode of depression. Participants will have a total of 11 study visits (including 5 therapy sessions) over a period of up to 16 weeks. Compensation will be provided for participation. The assignment to 25 mg vs 1 mg group is random, and neither the participant nor the study staff will know to which treatment group the participant has been assigned.

Eligibility:

Individuals who meet the following criteria are eligible to participate:

Aged 19 to 65 years, inclusive.
Diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder.
Currently experiencing a depressive episode.
Have tried at least 2 treatments at a therapeutic dose for the current depression, for a minimum of 6 weeks each.
Otherwise generally healthy.

Individuals meeting any of the following criteria are not eligible to participate in this trial:

Recent (past 6 months) use of any psychedelic drugs (e.g., psilocybin-containing mushrooms, ketamine, LSD).
Alcohol/substance use disorder within the past 6 months.
Are pregnant or lactating.

Location: Mood Disorders Centre (2^nd floor of UBC Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health), 2215 Wesbrook Mall.

Contact information: Please email or call the study coordinator at bipolar.research@ubc.ca or (604) 822-3769.

Reimbursement/Time: The total time commitment required for the study is approximately 24-30 hours and participants will be compensated for their time and travel expenses.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted July 30th, 2026.

Haptics Enabled VR Tabletop Interactions Using Hand Redirection

Researcher: Ziyi (Kaseya) Xia (Contact, Graduate Research Assistant), Dr. Robert Xiao (PI)

Description: We are conducting a VR research study on virtual haptics interaction, exploring how physical and virtual spaces can be merged to create more natural, embodied experiences. Participants will wear a Meta Quest 3 headset and complete guided tasks such as touching virtual targets on a real table and rating their embodiment level, followed by a short survey and brief interview. No prior VR experience is required.

Eligibility:

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18-50 years old

• Be able to communicate in English

• If you need to wear glasses to see, your glasses need to be less than 142mm in width and 50mm in height to fit into the VR headset. Or you would have to wear contacts when participating.

· Exclusion Criteria:

• Blindness and Deafness

Location: ICICS 509x

Contact information: Kaseya Xia (zxia0101@cs.ubc.ca)

Reimbursement/Time: Your participation will take approximately 1h and will be done in our lab in the ICICS building. You will be compensated $16 for your participation.

Study End Date: September 10th, 2026

Do you use AI tools to help write tricky work messages – apologies, refusals, difficult requests? (Online study)

Researcher: Yuri Kim, Dr. Dongwook Yoon (PI), Dr. Joanna McGrenere (Co-investigator)

Description: This study aims to understand how people experience effort when composing relationally sensitive workplace messages with Artificial Intelligence (AI) writing tools. We will be conducting interviews with individuals about their recent workplace messaging experiences.

Eligibility: You may be eligible if you

Are 19+
Have used AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) to help writing sensitive work messages in the past 6 months
Still have access to that AI chat log

Location: Online over Zoom

Contact information: If you are interested in participating, please contact Yuri Kim at yurikim1@cs.ubc.ca or 236-996-7109

Reimbursement/Time: The study involves a 10-minute online survey and a 50-minute interview online via Zoom. Participants will receive a $30 CAD/hour honorarium, paid over e-transfer or PayPal.

Study End Date: August 31, 2026

Designing AI Support for Seniors’ Online Browsing (In-Person and Online Study)

Researcher: Teerapaun Tanprasert, Dr. Joanna McGrenere (PI), Carmen Chen

Description: This is a pair study involving one older adult who will participate in person in Vancouver and one younger family member who will participate remotely. We aim to study the effects of using a personalized artificial intelligence (AI) voice agent modelled after a family member to support older adults’ online browsing activities. The younger family member will first complete a 30-minute online questionnaire that collects personality information, voice samples, and a photo to help create an AI voice agent that represents them. The older adult will then attend a 90-minute in-person session, where they will complete online browsing tasks with support from the agent, followed by a brief questionnaire and interview. The younger family member will later attend a 60-minute Zoom session to review summaries of the interactions and their profiling responses.

Eligibility: Participants must apply as a pair and meet the following requirements:

The older adult must be over 60 years old, fully or partially retired, occasionally need help navigating websites, and live in Vancouver or a nearby area.
The younger family member must be between 19 and 60 years old, must not live with the older adult, and be able to attend a Zoom meeting.
Both participants must speak English fluently, have no diagnosed and uncorrected cognitive, visual, or hearing impairments, and have sufficient manual dexterity to operate a computer.

Location:

The older adult’s session will take place at ICICS/Computer Science Building (2366 Main Mall V6T 1Z4). A home visit or another safe, quiet, and convenient location within the City of Vancouver may also be possible.
The younger family member will participate remotely on Zoom.

Contact information: If you are interested in participating, please fill out this screening survey: tinyurl.com/extraeyes-screener (Both participants must complete the survey to be considered). If you have any questions, please contact Carmen at cchen321@student.ubc.ca.

Reimbursement/Time: $50 CAD per person

Older Adult: participate in one 90-minute in-person session
Younger family member: complete a 30-minute online profiling questionnaire and a 60-minute Zoom session

Study End Date: October 1, 2026.

Adjunctive CElecoxib in childhood-onset OCD (ACE-OCD) Study

Researcher: Dr. S. Evelyn Stewart

Description: We’re recruiting for a 12-week clinical trial of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory celecoxib as an add-on to current usual treatment in children and youth. Participants do not need to stop current medications or treatments in order to enroll. After the screening process, participants will be randomized to either Celecoxib or placebo for 12 weeks. Study tasks include two blood draws, a diagnostic interview, online surveys, and 3 visits with a study physician.

Eligibility:

We are looking for people who

Live in BC
7-18 years old
Clinical diagnosis of OCD
Further eligibility criteria will be determined during the screening process after initial contact

Location: Participation can take place either virtually over Zoom or on-campus at BC Children’s Hospital.

Contact information: If you are interested in participating, please contact the study team at aceocd@bcchr.ca

Reimbursement/Time: $25 digital gift card after the first two study appointments (1-2 hours each), $50 digital gift after the final appointment (1-2 hours). Approximate participation time of 5-7 hours across 14-16 weeks.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted July 9, 2026.

Feasibility study of long-term light and ion therapy for maintenance treatment in depression (LIMIT-D) (In-person)

Researcher: Dr. Raymond Lam, Department of Psychiatry

Description:The UBC Mood Disorders Centre at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health is recruiting for a feasibility study exploring the use of two separate non-medication treatments, light therapy and ion therapy, as maintenance treatment in major depression. We are interested in exploring factors affecting the two treatments as maintenance treatments (to help prevent the return of symptoms) instead of medications in people with Major Depressive Disorders who wish to stop their antidepressant treatment.

Participation would include daily use of a bright light device or ion device provided by our clinic for 6 months, as well as regularly completing self-rated scales and meeting the study doctor for assessments. However, half of the treatment devices have been modified so that they are inactive (placebo). You have a 1 in 2 chance (like flipping a coin) of receiving an active or an inactive device.

Eligibility:

We are looking for people who

are 19-65 years old
meet criteria for major depressive disorder (not bipolar disorder)
are currently taking an antidepressant, with no dose change in the past month
are interested in stopping your antidepressant
are feeling well (no longer depressed), according to a clinical interview
do not have a seasonal pattern of depressive episodes (seasonal affective disorder)
do not have any other major medical or psychiatric conditions
do not have a problem with substance use currently or within the past 6 months.

Location: UBC Mood Disorders Centre, at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health

Contact information: Research coordinator, Lam.MDDResearch2@ubc.ca / 604-822-8012, https://app.reachbc.ca/project/study/424

Reimbursement/Time: $15 per visit (1-2 hours)

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted March 31, 2026.

Do you live in a basement in Vancouver

Researcher: Anam Bashir and Dr. Julia Harten

Description: Researchers at UBC are studying the real experience of renting a basement suite — the affordability, the everyday conditions, and what it means to call a basement home. Your experience matters and deserves to be heard.

Eligibility: Currently living or have lived (for at least 6 months) in a basement suite (NOT ground level) in the City of Vancouver or Surrey.

Location: in-person (place of convenience for the participant) or online

Contact Information: anamb@student.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time:

$25 Gift Card

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted June 27, 2026.

How LGBTQ+ Youth and Their Parents Envision Digital Support Tools

Researcher: Dr. Dongwook Yoon (Principal Investigator), Gale Chen

Description: We are a research group at the University of British Columbia, and we are looking for LGBTQ+ youth and parents of LGBTQ+ youth to participate in a paid research study.

Our research investigates how LGBTQ+ youth and their parents envision digital tools for strengthening parental support. Participants will take part in a 1-hour interview followed by a 2-hour co-design session. Both sessions will be in person at the UBC campus (preferred) or on Zoom. Participants will discuss their relationship and brainstorm ideas for digital tools tailored to their specific needs. The Principal Investigator for this study is Dr. Dongwook Yoon.

Eligibility:

Youth should identify as LGBTQ+ and are between the ages of 14 and 24.
Parents should be the parent of a LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 14 to 24.
You must be comfortable participating in English.

Please note that we are not recruiting participants in pairs — youth can participate without their parent, and vice versa.

Location: The study is conducted in-person at the UBC Vancouver campus in the Department of Computer Science (preferred) or on Zoom. The total time is 3 hours per person.

Contact Information:

Gale Chen

galesc@student.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: Participants will receive a $30/hr compensation for participating in a 1-hour interview, and a 2-hour co-design session. Maximum compensation is $90 per participant. For in-person participation, public transportation and parking costs will be reimbursed with receipt.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted June 15, 2026.

Effects of transcranial electrical stimulation on perception and cognition 

Researcher: Dr. Lawrence Ward (PI)

Description: This experiment will explore how people process visual stimuli. It will involve viewing and responding to visual stimuli presented on a computer screen. You will receive weak electrical stimulation on the scalp. Your eye movements will be monitored.

Eligibility: Must be 18-35 years old.

Location: The experiment will be conducted in the Psychophysics and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (Kenny Building)

Contact Information: Email Mehak Dhaliwal at wardlab (at) psych.ubc.ca to organize a time to participate.

Reimbursement/Time: Participants will receive $10.00 for each hour of participation. The study will take approximately 2 hours to complete on each of two separate occasions.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted April 3, 2025. Updated May 31, 2026.

SCANS: Spontaneous Craving and Neurophenomenology in E-cigarette Users

Researcher: Christian Schütz, PhD, MD, MPH, FRCPC (PI); Kalina Christoff, PhD; Stefanie Todesco, PhD Student

Description: The main purpose of this study is to assess a new method to study e-cigarette users’ experience of craving. To do this, you will be asked questions about your craving regularly while watching film clips.

Eligibility:

The study team will determine your eligibility based on your responses to a survey and through potential follow-up assessments completed via phone or in-person, if required. You may be able to participate in this study if you:

Are between 21 and 35 years old at the start of the study
Use e-cigarettes containing nicotine ≥ 5 (greater than or equal to) days/week for at least 1 year
Can verify e-cigarette use status with a saliva test
Willing to abstain from any nicotine use for ≥12 (greater than or equal to) hours prior to 2nd visit
Are not actively trying to quit or cut down on your level of e-cigarette use
Are able to provide informed consent
Are able to complete assessments in English

Location: If you agree to take part in this study, you will first need to complete an online survey to determine your eligibility. You may be contacted by phone or email to arrange completion of some follow-up questions (questions will be completed via phone interview). If you are then invited to and agree to participate in-person sessions, you will complete 2 in-person sessions at the University of British Columbia.

Contact Information: Please contact our research team at brainlab.scans@ubc.ca to express interest or for questions/concerns.

Reimbursement/Time: Session 1: 1 hour; $20; Session 2: 1.5 hours; $30

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted May 18, 2026.

Brain Fog and Mindless Scrolling: A Proof of Concept study

Researcher: Rochelle Chauhan (PhD Student) and Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul (PI)

Description: We are currently conducting a study to assess the impact of mindless Instagram scrolling on the brain. Additionally, we hope to understand any relationship brain fog-related symptoms post-concussion to cognitive inefficiencies seen through mindless scrolling. Participants will be placed in the control (news reading) or task (Instagram scrolling) group, during which EEG will be recorded through a wearable. Participants will then complete 3 questionnaires and a short interview.

Eligibility: We are currently only recruiting participants whose biological sex is male, as we have reached our target number of biologically female participants.

The inclusion criteria for this study is the following:

18 – 25 years of age
Have a smartphone and internet access
A personal instagram account is preferred
Either diagnosed with a concussion in the past month OR have no history of concussions

Location: Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3.

Contact Information: If you are interested in participating, please email Rochelle at rochelle.chauhan@ubc.ca. In your email, please state wether you have sustained a concussion in the past month or not.

Reimbursement/Time: Data collection will take approximately 45 – 60 minutes. This one-time data collection will be reimbursed with a $20 amazon gift card.

Study End Date: August 2026

Famous Faces in Focus: Athlete Portraits and Motor Embodiment (in person)

Researcher: Christopher Gray (student lead), Nicola Hodges (Principal Investigator)

Description: Participants are needed for a UBC study to investigate the influences of perception on our own motor system. In this research study, we examine motor reactions to images of famous tennis and soccer players.

Eligibility:

– Between ages 18-50 years old

– Identify as male

– Normal or corrected-to-normal vision

– No existing injury to the dominant hand and foot

– No known neurological disorders

– Must be able to understand and speak English

– Must be familiar with famous tennis and soccer players

Location: Room 2105, 5955 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Gateway Building). https://maps.ubc.ca/?code=GWHB

Contact Information: If you meet the requirements and are interested, please email cgray06@student.ubc.cawith “Famous Faces Study” in the email subject line. You will receive a pre-screen survey to complete prior to testing.

Reimbursement/Time: It is anticipated that the study will take approximately 45 minutes. A $15 honorarium will be provided upon completion of the study.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted May 7 2026.

Perceiving Objects and Events A (in-lab)

Researcher: Dr. Joan Ongchoco

Description: You will be asked to do computer-based tasks that will involve responding to shapes, images, and/or tones using the keyboard and mouse. This study will take place at Kenny 3203. You can knock and the researcher will come out to get you set-up!

Eligibility: 18-35 years old, normal or corrected-to-normal vision, must be fluent in English. Should be able to do computer-based tasks.

Location: Room 3203 (third floor), Douglas T. Kenny Building, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

Contact Information: To participate, please email the Research Assistants at ubcperception@gmail.com

Reimbursement/Time: The study will take 60mins and the participant will be reimbursed through a CAD $15 Amazon gift card.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted May 1, 2026.

Practice-based improvement in movement automatization (in-person study)

Researcher: Jeremy Thomas (Graduate Student), Yoyo Luk (Student), Dr. Hyosub Kim (Principal Investigator)

Description: We are looking for healthy volunteers to take part in a study on motor skills. We are interested in how cognition supports human skill automatization, which is the process by which humans transition from being slow and deliberative to being fast at executing motor skills. Testing will involve making reaching movements over a graphics tablet in a simple video game-like setting, while we measure reach movement trajectories.

Eligibility:

Healthy volunteers aged 18 – 35 years old
No known history of neurological impairment
Normal to corrected-to-normal vision (i.e., 20/20 with glasses or contacts)
You are able to comfortably make reaching movements up to 25 cm while holding on to stylus (i.e., pen) or robot handle

In addition, you do not possess or exhibit either of the following:

Impaired vision that cannot be corrected by glasses or contact lenses
Hearing or other motor/sensory deficits

Location: Gateway Health Building, Room 2101 (5955 University Boulevard)

Contact Information: You can contact Yoyo at: yoyoluk@student.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: The study consists of two sessions and will take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours per session. Participants will receive a $15 honorarium per session.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted April 29, 2026.

Visual Learning (In-Person Study)

Researcher: Dr. Hee-Yeon Im (PI), Jieun Cho (Post-doc), Erin Chiu (student), Alexis Fong (Research Technician)

Description: We are recruiting participants for a study on visual learning and perception.

You will complete a computer-based task where you will view simple visual patterns and learn to categorize them based on their features. You will receive feedback during learning and complete a short subsequent test with new images. Some individuals may experience eyestrain and/or fatigue. If you are very prone to eyestrain or having trouble staring at a screen for a prolonged amount of time, we ask that you do not sign up for this study.

Eligibility:

18 years or older
Normal or corrected-to-normal vision
Fluent in English

Location: Room 4205 (4th Floor), IMM Lab, Kenny Building, UBC Vancouver Campus (2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)

Contact Information: Please contact the IMM Lab using immlab.ubc@ubc.ca to coordinate participation or with any further questions.

Reimbursement/Time: Participants will receive $10 CAD for the participation. The experiment will take ~60 mins.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted April 23, 2026.

Evaluation of auditory evoked response stimuli and response detection

Researcher: Kailey McMillan, Chloe Fichter, Dr. Anthony Herdman (PI)

Description: We are currently recruiting participants for a research study at the University of British Columbia (UBC), led by Dr. Anthony Herdman, Ph.D., in the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. The current study explores how people with normal hearing respond to the sounds that are used in a specialized type of hearing test. One of the most common uses of this specialized test is to check the hearing of newborn babies. If you choose to participate, you will be asked to listen to a series of beep and chirp sounds while your brainwaves are scanned with electrodes gently placed on your scalp. We are seeking adult volunteers who meet specific criteria to help us assess the efficacy of these AEP stimuli. If you decide to join the study, you will be asked to participate in the following tests:

A brief demographics questionnaire.
A visual examination of your ears (otoscopy).
A brief hearing screening.
An auditory brainstem response (ABR) test with different brief tone stimuli

Eligibility:

We are looking for participants who:

Are between the ages of 19 to 35.
Do not have any current concerns or complaints about their hearing.
Have never been diagnosed with a hearing loss.

You will not be eligible to participate if you:

Are younger than 19 or older than 35.
Have a history of diagnosed hearing loss, ear infections, auditory processing disorders, or neurological conditions.
Have recently used or currently using substances that might impact your reaction time.

Location: Woodward Instructional Resources Centre (IRC) on UBC campus.

Contact Information: Please email branelab@audiospeech.ubc.ca if you are interested in participating.

Reimbursement/Time: The study is estimated to take 1.5-2 hours. Participants will receive a gift card as a token of appreciation for your time completing the study

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted April 18th, 2026.

Self-concept: A potential link between mental health stigma and university-work trajectories in emerging adults

Researcher: Talia Vacca (PhD Student) and Dr. Charles Chen (Supervisor)

Description: The aim of this study is to understand how mental health stigma and self-concept relate to academic adjustment, future career thinking, and overall well-being in emerging adults. The ultimate goal is to inform future research and programs that support students’ transition into adulthood.

Eligibility:

Be aged 18-29
Have a confirmed mental health diagnosis by a qualified professional (e.g., psychiatrist or psychologist)
Are currently enrolled in a post-secondary in Canada
Fluent in English

Location: Virtual/online survey via RedCAP

Contact Information: To participate, please email Talia Vacca at talia.vacca@mail.utoronto.ca

Reimbursement/Time: Eligible participants will be asked to complete an online survey that takes approximately 30-50 minutes. As a token of appreciation for their time, participants may optionally enter a prize draw to win one of 10 $50 Amazon e-gift cards.

Study End Date: March 1st, 2027.

Visuomotor Learning in Children and Adults (MEG/MRI Study) (In-Person)

Researcher: Dr. Hee Yeon Im (PI), Dr. Deborah Giaschi (Co- PI), and Alex Cook (Graduate Researcher)

Description:This neuroimaging study (MEG/MRI) seeks to evaluate participants’ learning of new motor movements through a behavioural task. You will first complete a quick visual assessment, and then play a video game in the MEG scanner. The video game involves using a mouse cursor to interact with animated images on the computer monitor. This will be followed by a short MRI scan, where you will be asked to lie in the MRI scanner for 15 minutes.

Eligibility:

Children aged 6-11
Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision
No metal in your body

Location: ImageTech Laboratory at Surrey Memorial Hospital (Building A, Level 1, 13750 96 Avenue, Surrey, BC V3V 1Z2)

Contact Information: Please contact Christina at immlab.neuroimging@ubc.ca if you would like to participate or have any questions.

Reimbursement/Time: Participants will receive an honorarium for helping us out. The study will consist of one visit that takes around 2-2.5 hours.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted April 15, 2026.

Comparing brain changes with and without knee pain (in-person)

Researcher: Christopher Lamb (PhD candidate) and Dr. Lara Boyd (principal investigator)

Description: Osteoarthritis is the degeneration of joint cartilage and the underlying bone, which may or may not cause pain and/or other symptoms. Increasing evidence suggests that symptomatic knee osteoarthritis involves changes in how the nervous system transmits and processes information from the knee joint. This study aims to use different tools such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and quantitative sensory testing to assess differences in nervous system sensitivity between individuals with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and individuals without any knee pain.

This study involves a single session in the Brain Behaviour Laboratory at UBC hospital. This will include:

Filling out a variety of questionnaires
Pain sensitivity testing at the knee and back of the forearm using quantitative sensory testing
Measurement of “excitability” of 2 different parts of the brain using TMS

Eligibility: You may be eligible if you:

Are between 45-80 years old
Have movement-related knee joint pain
Do not have TMS contraindications (e.g., cochlear implants, pacemaker, metal implants)
Do not have any of the following:
- diagnosis of cognitive impairment
- history of head trauma, psychiatric diagnosis, neurodegenerative disorder, neurological diagnosis or substance abuse
- current use of schedule 1 pain medication(s)
- diagnosed with autoinflammatory condition (i.e., rheumatoid arthritis)
- leg injury, surgery or injection within 6-months.

Location: UBC Hospital Koerner Pavilion (2211 Wesbrook Mall), Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z3

Contact Information: If interested, please reach out to Chris Lamb at clamb02@student.ubc.ca, or Jordan Brocato (lab manager) at 604-827-3369 or brocato@mail.ubc.ca. Alternatively, you can fill out a brief screening survey here: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/ form/SV_7aFJZWL7dwwWh9k

Reimbursement/Time: Participants will be provided with $25 to compensate for time and parking costs. Participants will be required to go through a brief safety screen via email or phone to determine eligibility prior to data collection. Data collection will take place during a single session at UBC hospital and will last 2-3 hours.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted April 8, 2026.

Investigation of the Biological Markers of Major Depression (OPTIMUM-D) (In-person)

Researcher: Research coordinators, Dr. Raymond Lam

Description: This study involves standard treatment for depression and randomization into placebo groups. Patients will be treated by a psychiatrist for 12 weeks with an antidepressant medication approved to treat depression. The study will involve a total of 8 in-person visits over 12 weeks.

Throughout the visits, the study will involve 2 x Collection of blood (Baseline, Week 8) 2 x Stool Sample Collection (Baseline, Week 8) 2 x Urine Collection (Baseline, Week 8) 2 x Electroencephalography (EEG) (Baseline, Week 8) 1 x Electrocardiography (ECG) (Screening only) 8 x Clinical assessments done by a psychiatrist (at each week study visit)

Eligibility: Are between 18-65 years of age. Have been diagnosed with depression or suspect you may have depression, and are currently feeling depressed. in activities, change in appetite, poor sleep, fatigue, low self-esteem, and poor concentration. Are willing to take a standard antidepressant medication as treatment for your depression. Are willing to undergo blood/lab tests and brain scans.

Location: UBC Mood Disorders Centre (2nd floor), 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3

Contact Information: Research coordinator, Lam.MDDResearch2@ubc.ca/604-822-7804, https://app.reachbc.ca/project/study/356

Reimbursement/Time: To be discussed/12 weeks

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted March 31, 2026.

Seeing the man: The properties of ensemble coding (In-Person Study)

Researcher: Dr. Hee Yeon Im (PI), Victor Cui (MSc student), Gursahil Purba (student), Rundong Wang (student), Alexis Fong (Research Technician)

Description: Ensemble coding refers to the brain’s ability to rapidly and efficiently extract summary statistics or overall patterns from a group of visual elements, rather than processing each individual item in detail. For example, instead of analyzing every single face in a crowd separately, we can quickly perceive the average emotion or identity of the group. This mechanism allows for the global perception of complex visual scenes, helping us make sense of cluttered environments at a glance. In the first part of the study, participants will watch a clip with multiple actors depicting different emotions and evaluate the intensity of their overall emotion. In the second part, participants will watch a series of dynamic emotional clips and then evaluate the intensity and identify the emotional categories.

Eligibility:

18 years or older
Fluent in English

Location: Room 4205 (4th Floor), IMM Lab, Kenny Building, UBC Vancouver Campus (2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)

Contact Information: Please contact the IMM Lab using immlab.ubc@ubc.ca to coordinate participation or with any further questions.

Reimbursement/Time: Participants will receive $10 CAD for the participation. The experiment will take ~60 mins.

Study End Date: Ongoing.

Perception of Faces (Online)

Researcher: Suna Yoolf (Research Assistant) and Dr. Ipek Oruc (PI)

Description: We are interested in how people recognize faces. Participants will be asked to take part in an online test assessing their ability to differentiate faces of various levels of similarity.

Eligibility: You are eligible to participate in this study if you are:

Aged 19 years or older
Have normal or corrected-to-normal (glasses/contacts) vision
You may be placed in one of our experimental groups based on your responses to our Social Exposure Survey, which must be completed before beginning of the experiment.
People with impaired vision that cannot be corrected through the use of glasses or contact lenses are excluded from the study because the proposed experiments measure visual recognition, thus requiring normal or corrected-to-normal vision.
Participants may be grouped into different conditions based on their prior exposure and experience with various image categories (e.g., bird experts). If a participant does not qualify for a particular group (e.g., bird experts), or if that group’s target sample size has been reached, then we may not be able to recruit that participant at that point in time, even though they do not satisfy the exclusion criteria (i.e., even if they have normal or corrected-to-normal vision).

Location: This study will be completed online on a personal computer. After completing the survey, eligible participants will receive a follow-up email with instructions for the online experiment. The experiment is fully web-based, so it can be completed anytime and anywhere.

Contact Information: Please contact syoolf@student.ubc.ca if you are interested in participating.

Reimbursement/Time: This study takes 1-1.5 hours to complete (with breaks). Participants are compensated at $10/hr in the form of a Canadian Amazon gift card will be emailed to you.

Study End Date: Ongoing.

TikTok/ADHD Relationship Over Time

Researcher: Vasileia Karasavva (Graduate Student) and Dr. Amori Mikami (Principal Investigator)

Description: If you participate, the study has two parts, both completed online. In Part A (which takes about one hour), you’ll complete questionnaires about your social media use, ADHD symptoms, and beliefs about mental health services. You’ll then be randomly assigned to one of four conditions for one week. Depending on the condition, you may receive short daily videos about ADHD, be sent popular ADHD-related TikToks, be asked to abstain from social media, or be asked to continue your usual habits. One week later, you’ll complete Part B (which also takes about one hour and takes place online), which is a follow-up questionnaire.

Eligibility: To be eligible, you need to be 17 – 25 years old, a UBC student, and suspect or know you have ADHD.

Location: The study is completed online.

Contact Information: If you are interested in participating, please complete the screening survey at the following link: https://ubc.yul1.qualtrics.com/app/comms-navigator/surveys/SV_8dfbuvrDabvotKK/anonymous-links.

Reimbursement/Time: You will be paid $5 for participating in Part A of the study and $10 for participating in Part B

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted February 21st, 2026

Pediatric Speech Recognition Performance (VR study)

Researcher: Dr. Douglas Sladen (Principal Investigator), Asha Hui (Research Student)

Description: We are conducting a study to explore how well children understand speech in virtual reality (VR) environment. We are looking for children with typical hearing between the ages of 8-14. During the study session, we will ask the child to wear VR goggles and listen to sentences whilst noise is playing in the background, and to repeat the sentences back. Following this, the child will be asked to rate how similar VR is to real life on a scale between 0 and 10 with 0 being “not similar” and 10 being “very similar”.

Eligibility: You are eligible to participate in this study if you are:

Between the ages of 8-14
Have normal hearing in both ears
Use English as a primary language

Location: This study is located in the Friedman Building (2177 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3) on UBC campus.

Contact Information: If interested, please email ashahui@student.ubc.ca or fill out this interest form (https://rc.med.ubc.ca/redcap/surveys/?s=FYJERPKKD7NAMLPE).

Reimbursement/Time: The anticipated study duration will be one hour. A $30 amazon gift card will be provided upon completion of the study.

Study End Date: February 19, 2027.

Understanding Victim/Survivor and Professional Perspectives on Hate Crime Response in British Columbia (Zoom-based Study)

Researcher: Dr. Michael Woodworth (PI), Kassandra Roul (Co-Investigator, Graduate Student)

Description: This study explores how hate-motivated incidents and crimes are experienced by victims/survivors in British Columbia and how police and community service providers respond to them. Participation involves a) completing a brief online pre-screener survey (approximately 5 minutes), and eligible participants will be invited to take part in b) a confidential 60-90 minute Zoom interview to discuss their experiences seeking support, navigating reporting pathways, and interacting with police and/or community organizations.

Eligibility: You are eligible to participate in this study if you are:

Aged 18 years or older
Living anywhere in British Columbia
Have personally experienced a hate crime or incident within the past 5 years
Have personally sought/accessed services from police (e.g., reporting) and/or community agencies (e.g., victim services, settlement services, advocacy, counselling, etc.).

Location: This study is hosted at the University of British Columbia Okanagan; however, all study procedures will take place over Zoom.

Contact Information: Please complete this short pre-screener form to determine your eligibility: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3K5gf2TydER2mMu

If you have any questions or desire further information with respect to this study, you may contact Kassandra Roul (Kroul@student.ubc.ca) at any time.

Reimbursement/Time: Participation in this study will take approximately 60-90 minutes to complete. Individuals who partake in an interview will receive a $50 honorarium as a thank-you for their time. No compensation is provided for completing the pre-screener alone. Not all individuals who complete the survey will be invited to interview. All participants will be notified of their eligibility by the end of April 2026.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted February 3rd, 2026

Effect of Audiovisual Multisensory Integration on Manual Interception (in-person)

Researcher: Dr Miriam Spering (Principal investigator), Abibat Akande, Anthony Herdman

Description: We are looking for healthy volunteers to take part in a study on audiovisual multisensory integration on manual interception. If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to look at a moving object on a screen and follow its motion with your eyes. You will also be asked to intercept it by hitting it on the screen with your finger.

Eligibility: To participate, you must fulfill the following requirements:

be between 19-49 years old.
have normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity.
do not have hard contact lenses.
have no history of neurological disease (such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, trauma to the head, including a concussion within 12 months of the study).
have no history of eye disease (such as strabismus or amblyopia, known a “lazy eye”)
do not have an implanted pacemaker or defibrillator.
have no history of psychiatric disease (such as schizophrenia or depression).

Location: The study location is 2366 Main Mall, Computer Science building, ICICS Room X715, UBC campus.

Contact Information: Please email Abibat: akande02@student.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: The experiment consists of a single session lasting up to 90 minutes. You will be compensated $10/hour in cash upon completion of this study.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted February 3rd, 2026

Comparability of Alternate Versions of EF tasks (in-person, male only)

Researcher: Dr. Adele Diamond (Principal Investigator), Umang Ajmera, Tesnim Mtiraoui, Dominique Chen, Hannah Gharagozloo (Research Assistants)

Description: For this research, you will do three versions of the Flanker/Reverse Flanker task to assess selective attention; two versions of the Hearts and Flowers task to assess response inhibition. The goal of this research is to examine whether different versions of two widely used executive function (EF) tasks, the Flanker/Reverse-Flanker task and the Hearts-and-Flowers task, are comparable in difficulty for young adults.

Eligibility:

Between 18 and 30 years of age
Male (we have already collected enough data from female participants)
Have normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity
Fluent in English
No history of head injury
No conditions that could affect task performance (e.g., limb injuries)

Location: We are located downstairs in Detwiller (the Psychiatry Pavilion), next to UBC Hospital, between Health Sciences Rd and Wesbrook Mall. The building address is 2255 Wesbrook Mall.

Contact Information: If you meet the eligibility criteria, please email uajmera@student.ubc.ca and include “Comparability” in the subject line. In your email, please include your UBC email (if available), a phone number, and availability over the next two weeks.

Reimbursement/Time: The experiment consists of a single session lasting up to 60 minutes. You will be compensated $10 upon completion of this study. In addition to this, you will be entered in a lottery to win $50.

Study End Date: June 30, 2026.

Visual Search Study

Researcher: Principal Investigator: Todd Handy, todd@psych.ubc.ca. Co-Investigator: Alannah Wallace, awalla01@student.ubc.ca

Description: The purpose of this study is to collect information about how people use visual attention. To learn more about this, participants will be asked to fill out a demographics form, a questionnaire pertaining to strategy use, a questionnaire on attention, and participate in a non-invasive brain scan (electroencephalogram) measuring the brain’s natural electrical activity, using a cap filled with small metal electrodes (a small amount of saltwater gel will be applied to electrodes resting on hair).

Eligibility: Participant must be a student that is diagnosed with ADHD.

Location: This study takes in-person in room Douglas T. Kenny room 3409/3407.

Contact Information: Alannah Wallace, awalla01@student.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: The study takes two hours and participants will obtain a $20 Amazon gift card which will be emailed to them.

Study End Date: February 19, 2026.

Cerebellum transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study (In-person)

Researcher: Vivian Li (MSc student) and Dr. Lara Boyd (PI)

Description:Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a safe and non-invasive tool to study the human brain. Single and paired-pulse TMS protocols can measure brain excitability and connectivity, while repetitive TMS protocols can transiently make the brain more or less excitable. The Brain Behaviour Lab is conducting a TMS study to understand how the brain excitability and connectivity change following repetitive TMS over the cerebellum.

The study involves 4 visits to the Brain Behaviour Lab at UBC Hospital (2211 Wesbrook Mall).

Visit 1 (2 hours): You will complete some questionnaires and take part in a short TMS session for baseline measurements.
Visit 2-4 (2.5 hours each, spaced at least 1 week apart): In these three sessions, we will deliver 3 different types of repetitive TMS. We will use TMS to map your brain excitability and connectivity both before and after the repetitive TMS.

Eligibility:

Between ages 19-35 years
Right hand dominant for most skills
No known history of head trauma, major psychiatric diagnosis, neurodegenerative disorder, or substance abuse
No TMS contraindications (e.g., cochlear implants, pacemaker, metal implants).

An eligibility screening will be conducted with a member of the research team.

Location: UBC Hospital Koerner Pavilion (2211 Wesbrook Mall), Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z3

Contact Information: If you are interested in participating, please reach out to Vivian at ylvivian@student.ubc.ca or fill out the interest survey here: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3NLgnSERTdC9C50

Reimbursement/Time: The study will involve a 15-minute phone call for confirming eligibility, and 4 visits to the lab that will be 2-2.5 hours each. Compensation will be provided for your time and transportation.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted November 18, 2025.

Cerebellum transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study (In-person)

Researcher: Vivian Li (MSc student) and Dr. Lara Boyd (PI)

The study involves 4 visits to the Brain Behaviour Lab at UBC Hospital (2211 Wesbrook Mall).

Visit 1 (2 hours): You will complete some questionnaires and take part in a short TMS session for baseline measurements.
Visit 2-4 (2.5 hours each, spaced at least 1 week apart): In these three sessions, we will deliver 3 different types of repetitive TMS. We will use TMS to map your brain excitability and connectivity both before and after the repetitive TMS.

Eligibility:

Between ages 19-35 years
Right hand dominant for most skills
No known history of head trauma, major psychiatric diagnosis, neurodegenerative disorder, or substance abuse
No TMS contraindications (e.g., cochlear implants, pacemaker, metal implants).

An eligibility screening will be conducted with a member of the research team.

Location: UBC Hospital Koerner Pavilion (2211 Wesbrook Mall), Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z3

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted November 18, 2025.

Cerebellum transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study (In-person)

Researcher: Vivian Li (MSc student) and Dr. Lara Boyd (PI)

The study involves 4 visits to the Brain Behaviour Lab at UBC Hospital (2211 Wesbrook Mall).

Visit 1 (2 hours): You will complete some questionnaires and take part in a short TMS session for baseline measurements.
Visit 2-4 (2.5 hours each, spaced at least 1 week apart): In these three sessions, we will deliver 3 different types of repetitive TMS. We will use TMS to map your brain excitability and connectivity both before and after the repetitive TMS.

Eligibility:

Between ages 19-35 years
Right hand dominant for most skills
No known history of head trauma, major psychiatric diagnosis, neurodegenerative disorder, or substance abuse
No TMS contraindications (e.g., cochlear implants, pacemaker, metal implants).

An eligibility screening will be conducted with a member of the research team.

Location: UBC Hospital Koerner Pavilion (2211 Wesbrook Mall), Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z3

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted November 18, 2025.

Perceptual Grouping in Children (In-Person)

Researcher: Dr. Hee Yeon Im (Principal Investigator)

Description: We are looking for participants to take part in a study that investigates perceptual abilities in children. In this study, participants will be asked to do a quick visual assessment, and then play a simple video game in our lab that involves drawing circles using a digital pen and a tablet.

Eligibility: We’re looking for children 7-12 years of age with healthy vision.

Location: Opthalmology Lab at BC Children’s Hospital (4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC)

Contact Information: If you’d like to participate, please email us at opthalrl@cw.bc.ca with the subject ‘Clustering Study’

Reimbursement/Time: It is anticipated that the study will take approximately 70 minutes. An honorarium will be provided.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Oct 21, 2025.

The bWell Cognitive Care Platform: A pilot feasibility study in healthy participants

Researcher: Dr. Trisha Chakrabarty (Principal Investigator)

Description: Individuals with depression suffer from problems with cognition (for example, problems with memory, attention and processing speed). In collaboration with the National Research Council Canada, we have developed the bWell Cognitive Care Platform for Depression (called ‘bWell’), a set of games that are presented in virtual reality which are specifically designed to aid people with depression. We would now like to try bWell assessment both in individuals with history of depression, and in healthy individuals with no history of depression, or other psychiatric/neurological disorders.  Our aim is to see whether bWell is engaging, enjoyable and usable, and the data gathered from healthy individuals will be compared to data gathered from individuals with depression.

Your participation would involve an initial screening assessment over the phone to determine your eligibility, a preliminary interview held over Zoom (40-60 minutes), a cognitive assessment session using the bWell virtual reality program and computerized cognitive tests (2.5hrs) and an EEG recording/MRI scan session (2.5hrs)

Eligibility: You may be eligible to participate if:

You are between the ages of 19 and 65
You are able to follow written and verbal instructions in English
You do not have history of any psychiatric disorder
You do not have any significant neurological disorders, head trauma, or other unstable medical conditions which may adversely impact cognitive functioning
You do not have any physical mobility issues that limit arm or neck movement

Location: Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3).

Contact Information: Please email vrstudy.bwell@ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: Participants will receive a $90 honorarium for participation in the assessment session (2.5hrs) and the MRI scan/EEG recording (2.5hrs), as well as reimbursement for all travel costs.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Sept 24, 2025.

The bWell Cognitive Care Platform: A pilot feasibility study in patients with depression

Researcher: Dr. Trisha Chakrabarty (Principal Investigator)

Your participation would involve an initial screening assessment over the phone to determine your eligibility, a preliminary interview held over Zoom (40 minutes-1hr), a cognitive assessment session using the bWell virtual reality program and computerized cognitive tests (2.5hrs), an EEG recording/MRI scan session (2.5hrs), and 8 weeks of repeated sessions (1hr sessions, twice a week for 8 weeks)

Eligibility: You may be eligible to participate if:

You are between the ages of 19 and 65
You have a history of depression and/or are currently experiencing mild symptoms of depression
You have noticed cognitive difficulties (for example, problems with concentration, attention or memory) in your day to day life
You have never before received a diagnosis of a neurological disorder (e.g. Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, Dementia) or suffered a serious head injury/concussion
You do not have any physical conditions that limit your neck (ability to turn your head) or arm mobility

Location: Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3).

Contact Information: Please email vrstudy.bwell@ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: Participants will receive a $200 honorarium for participation in the assessment session (2.5hrs), MRI scans/EEG recording session (2.5hrs) and 8 weeks of repeated sessions (2 sessions per week, 60 minutes each), as well as reimbursement for all travel costs.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Sept 24, 2025.

Food Preparation Study

Researcher: Joey Manaligod and Dr. Rebecca Todd

Description: The Motivated Cognition Lab at the University of British Columbia is currently recruiting participants for a study exploring how emotions are experienced in everyday tasks. This will involve preparing a simple snack. You will be asked to fill out questionnaires and wear a small sensor around your waist. The total time commitment length for the study is 1-1.5 hours. Participants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Eligibility:

Must be over 19 years of age
Must be fluent in English
Must be located in Metro Vancouver
Must be comfortable being video recorded
No severe food allergies or dietary restrictions

If you are interested in participating, please complete the pre-screening survey found here: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e4cBsjze95Ehzuu or email Joey at mclab@psych.ubc.ca

Location: UBC Vancouver

Contact Information: To learn more or participate, please contact Joey at mclab@psych.ubc.ca

Compensation: Receive $20 for participating. Transit and parking costs also covered separately.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Sept 24, 2025.

Canadian-based racialized Two-Spirit, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (2SGBTQ) men’s suicidality – an online photovoice study

Researcher: Calvin C. Fernandez (Student Investigator), Dr John Oliffe (Principal Investigator)

Description: Interested participants can contact the student investigator, and will be invited to a 15-minute Zoom pre-interview meeting to i) assess their eligibility, ii) receive briefing about the study and consent details, and iii) review safety measures while participating in the study. Eligible participants will subsequently complete a sociodemographic form and be invited to take and submit 5 to 10 digital photographs that best illustrate their strategies, including strengths and challenges for dealing with suicidality. They will then undergo individual Zoom interviews with the student investigator, using the submitted photographs to illustrate, narrate and/or discuss their experiences of suicidality.

Eligibility: Only those who: i) self-identify as a racialized 2SGBTQ man, ii) aged 19 and above, iii) currently live in Canada, iv) can speak and understand English, and v) have experienced suicidal ideation, planning and/or attempt more than a year ago will be eligible to participate in the study.

Location: The submission of digital photographs and individual interviews will be conducted online.

Contact Information: To participate, contact Calvin Fernandez at calvin.fernandez@ubc.ca

Compensation: Participants who complete all steps of the study will receive a $100 e-gift card from any Canadian store of their choice.

Time Commitment: Participants are expected to spend approximately 15 minutes for the pre-interview meeting, and approximately 1 hour for the individual interview. Additional time may be required e.g. time taken to take photographs which may vary between participants.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Sep 26 2024.

Action error and observation in aiming movements

Researcher: Carrie Peters & Dr. Nicola Hodges (PI; School of Kinesiology)

Description: Participants are needed for a UBC study to investigate how watching someone else perform can help us learn and/or alert us to errors. We are interested in how watching actions of others impacts on processes related to performance and learning. In this research study, you will be asked to reach towards targets on a touch screen computer and will also watch videos of someone else also doing this task (ethics, H24-03388). This study is being run in the Motor Skills Lab in the School of Kinesiology (principal investigator is Dr. Nicola Hodges).

Eligibility: We are looking for individuals who are/have:

• Between ages 18-50 years old

• Right-hand dominant

• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision

• No known physical or neurological disorders or injuries that impede upper body movements

• Must be able to understand and speak English

Location: 300A in the War Memorial Gym (6081 University Blvd)

Contact Information: If you meet the eligibility criteria, please email kin.msl@ubc.ca and include “Aiming observation” in the subject line. In your email, please include a UBC email address (if available), a phone number, and your availability over the next 2 weeks

Reimbursement/Time: It is anticipated that the study will take approximately 60-80 minutes. A $20 honorarium will be provided upon completion of the study.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted August 18, 2025.

A Qualitative Study on the Lived Experience of Craving in the Context of Compulsive Overeating

Researcher: Laura Bickel (Graduate Student Investigator) and Dr. Rebecca Todd (Principal Investigator; Motivated Cognition Lab, UBC)

Description: We invite you to participate in our study investigating “what it is like” to crave and feel out of control around food, focusing on those attentional processes and emotions that are likely to generate and motivate compulsive overeating. The participation involves keeping a diary via a journaling app and journaling to open-ended questions for one week. You will also engage in an interview session that will be held at the end of the week.

Eligibility: In order to be eligible to take part in the study, you must meet the following criteria:

Over 19 years of age
Located in the Lower Mainland
Fluent in English
Access to a smartphone or laptop
Willing to install the research journaling app on their mobile phone or laptop and commit to using it at least three times a day
Comfortable with being voice recorded in interview sessions
Willing to share their diary notes
Able to commit approximately 4 hours for one week and a 45-minutes pre-study meeting
At least one binge eating episode per week for the last 3 months. Binge eating is characterized by both of the following:

a. Eating a very large amount of food within a 2-hour period

b. Feeling out of control during those binges

Location: The pre-study meeting and interview can take place at a mutually agreed upon location such as UBC campus, a community center with a private room in the Lower Mainland (or alternatively online via Zoom).

Contact Information: For more information, please email Laura Bickel at lbickel@mail.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: If you agree to participate, you will be asked to dedicate approximately 45 minutes for a pre-study meeting and 4 hours of your time for journaling activities and the interview session taking place over the course of one week. Participants will receive a gift card (28$) for one yoga session at YYoga or for the book store Indigo.

Study End Date: Ongoing.

Investigation of Interactive Affective Touch: Happraisal Substudy

Researcher: Preeti Vyas, Karon MacLean

Description: The Sensory, Perception, and Interaction (SPIN) Research Group in the UBC Dept. of Computer Science is looking for participants for a study investigating the sensing, design, and interpretation of emotive interactions with a small robot. We are looking for participants who experience mental health challenges like anxiety and depression. You will be compensated $15/hr ($10 for 30 minutes, $15 for 31-60 minutes) for your participation in a single session. We will ask you to interact with stationary and/or moving small zoomorphic robot prototypes. Before the study, we will ask you to complete a screening questionnaire. During the study session, we will ask you to provide us with personal, emotionally salient stories to be incorporated into the study protocol. We will record your bio-signals (heart rate, breathing rate, etc.) and ask you to describe the motions and perceived emotional content from such interaction, and/or ask you to talk about your experiences with animals and pets, and your process of emotion regulation. This study is part of a graduate student research project. Your interactions will be video recorded, given your consent.

The study will take place between August 11th to 31st 2025.

If you are interested in participating, please complete this screening questionnaire: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5myxmoFyOxOKQDQ

Responses received before 6th August will be prioritized.

Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions at spin-studies@cs.ubc.ca

Eligibility: People 18 years or older; who experience mental health challenges like anxiety and depression

Location: X521, X-wing of ICICS Building, Department of Computer Science, at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Contact Information: spin-studies@cs.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: $15 per hour, expected time to complete is 1.5 hr in-person session and screening and pre-study online questionnaire (~15 minutes).

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted July 30, 2025.

The impact of stimulus complexity on learning and behaviour (in-person study)

Researcher: Dr. Helen Lu (postdoc) & Dr. Alexis Black (PI; School of Audiology & Speech Sciences, UBC)

Description: We are interested in how adults perceive and understand new languages. Participation in this study involves two parts. During the training phase participants hear a language constructed for this study for 2 to 45 minutes. Then we will ask you some questions about these sounds (approximately 5 minutes). Finally, participants are asked to complete a language background questionnaire (approximately 5 minutes).

Eligibility: You must be a native speaker of both English and Cantonese with no known speech, language, or hearing disorders.

Location: Friedman Building (2177 Wesbrook Mall), Room 438, UBC.

Contact Information: helens.lu@ubc.ca (please put “Paid Study Participation” in the subject line to ensure your email does not get lost)

Reimbursement/Time: This study takes up to 1 hour and participants will be compensated $10 per 0.5 hour.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted April 16, 2025.

Stress, Cognitive Control, and Repetitive Negative Thinking

Researcher: Dr. Joelle LeMoult (PI, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Lab), Ellen Jopling and Bronwen Grocott (Co-investigators), Puloma Gupta (Study Coordinator)

Description: This study involves the following three components:

Task 1: Online (approximately 30 minutes) One day before the in-person laboratory session, you will be asked to complete a short online survey about your feelings, behaviours, and thinking patterns.
Task 2: In-Person Laboratory Session (approximately 2.5 hours) You will be invited to come to our laboratory at the University of British Columbia to complete two computer tasks and two different verbal tasks. During these tasks, we will measure psychophysiological variables, such as heart rate and skin conductance, using a non-invasive procedure. During this session, you will also be asked to provide saliva samples at 5 time points, for the purpose of examining your salivary cortisol.
Task 3: Online (approximately 1 hour) You will be asked to complete short surveys about your feelings and behaviours 8 times a day for 5 consecutive days. To receive these questionnaires, you will be invited to download the ExpiWell application for iOS or Android, which would provide you with a notification for each questionnaire. You must complete 5/8 daily surveys to receive full compensation for this portion of the study. If you complete less than 5/8 surveys, you will be sent a notification reminder.
OPTIONAL Task 4: Follow-Up Questionnaires You also have the option of being contacted to complete a brief survey 1 year after your laboratory visit. This portion of the study is optional. You will be sent an email reminder to complete the questionnaire if you consent to the follow-up.

Eligibility: 1) Participants should be above 18 years of age 2) Be able to read, speak and write in English 3) Have access to a cellular phone.

Location: In person at our lab located in UBC’s Douglas Kenny Building (2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4)

Contact Information: If you would like more information or wish to participate in this study, please email us at controlstudy@psych.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: You will receive $25 for the baseline questionnaire and first session and $15 for completing 5/8 of the daily at-home notification surveys, and you will be entered into a draw for a $50 Amazon gift card for the 1-year follow-up questionnaire you complete (Task 4).

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted July 8, 2025.

XR Technology to Support Students with Mood Disorders: Co-Developing a Research Agenda

Researcher: Dr. Trisha Chakrabarty (Principal Investigator)

Description: We are interested in recruiting students with lived experience of mood disorders to brainstorm how extended reality (XR) can be used to support post-secondary students with mood disorders. Participation in the study would involve completing a brief questionnaire (5-10 mins) and your attendance at two, 2.5 hour workshops at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH). Workshops will entail participating in brainstorming sessions, discussions and group activities. If you would like, you can also participate in an optional virtual reality(VR) demo at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health.

Eligibility:

currently enrolled in an undergraduate/post-secondary degree program or have graduated in the past 12 months
self-identify as having lived experience with a mood disorder (depression or bipolar disorders) or have experience providing peer support to students with mood disorders

Location: The VR demo and workshops will take place at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3).

Contact Information: Please email Jenna Ramji (RA) at vrstudy.bwell@ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: Student participants will be provided an honorarium of $30/hour as a token of appreciation for two 2.5 workshops ($75 per workshop)

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted June 24, 2025.

Smartphone Application for Contingency Management in Opioid Use Disorder (Focus Groups)

Researcher: Dr. Pouya Azar (PI), Jane Kim (Primary Contact)

Description: This study aims to explore the perspectives of people who use opioids on how they would feel regarding a contingency management (CM) smartphone game for opioid agonist therapy (OAT). This study will involve in-person or online/virtual focus groups. Both will start with a demonstration of mock-up wireframes of the initial app design. Participants will be asked to verbally appraise the app and discuss preferences and suggestions for future development.

Eligibility: Participants must be on or have experience being on OAT for opioid dependence (methadone, buprenorphine/naloxone, slow-release oral morphine) and use a smartphone that can support applications.

Location: Participants will join an in-person or virtual focus group discussion for approximately 60 minutes. In-person discussions will take place at Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre. Questions will explore experiences with OAT and how smartphone applications may impact their compliance.

Contact Information: Jane Kim, jane.kim2@ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: $15 (1 hour)

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted June 3, 2025.

Visuomotor Adaptation

Principal Investigator: Nicola J. Hodges

Study team / Co-Investigators: Beverley Larssen, Carrie Peters, Matthew Scott

Description

Participants are needed for a UBC study to investigate processes used in visuomotor adaptation. The mechanisms underlying motor learning (physical practice and observational practice) will be examined in this project. Participants will be expected to learn how to reach accurately to visually-presented targets by physically moving in a modified environment. This study is being run in the Motor Skills Lab in the School of Kinesiology by principal investigator Dr. Nicola Hodges.

It is anticipated that the study will take approximately 60-90 minutes. This time may be across one or two consecutive days. A $15 honorarium will be provided upon completion of the study.

Eligibility:

We are looking for individuals who are/have:

Between ages 18-50 years old

Right-hand dominant for most skills

Normal or corrected-to-normal vision

No existing injury to the right hand

No known physical disorders or injuries that impede full body movement

No known neurological disorders

Must be able to understand instructions written and spoken in English

Location: War Memorial Gym, 6081 University Blvd, Vancouver BC

Contact Information: A resume is not required to partake in the study, we simply ask that participants meet all the qualifications listed. If you meet these qualifications, please email kin.msl@ubc.ca and include “VMA study” in the subject line. In your email, please include a UBC email address (if available), a phone number, and your availability over the next 2 weeks.

Reimbursement/Time:

It is anticipated that the study will take approximately 60-90 minutes. This time may be across one or two consecutive days. A $15 honorarium will be provided upon completion of the study.

Study end date: Ongoing. Posted June 19 2024.

The neurodevelopmental trajectory of youth with anorexia nervosa: A Canada-wide longitudinal multi-modal imaging study (in-person)

Researcher: Dr. Jennifer Coelho (UBC, local PI), Dr. Linda Booij (Douglas Mental Health Institute, PI)

Description: The aim of the study is to investigate brain processes in a large sample of youth with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), and reversibility of AN-associated brain changes in remission. Participants will complete questionnaires at 4 time points and undergo an MRI scan and clinical interview at the start of the study, and after 12 months.

Eligibility: Youth 12-18 years old of any ethnicity, gender, or sex, who are in good physical health with no mental health problems or a personal/family history of eating disorders. Youth must not have any MRI contraindications (e.g. no orthodontic braces, pacemaker, stents etc.). Eligibility screening will be conducted with a research assistant.

Location: BC Children’s Hospital (4500 Oak St, Vancouver, BC)

Contact Information: Please email edresearch@bcchr.ca and a research assistant will be in contact with you.

Reimbursement/Time: Participation involves four appointments:

Appointment 1 (in-person): MRI scan, questionnaires, and interview
Appointment 2 (virtual): Questionnaires
Appointment 3 (virtual): Questionnaires
Appointment 4 (in-person): MRI scan, questionnaires, and interview

Participants will receive $60 for appointments 1 and 4, and $25 after completing the questionnaires at appointment 2 and 3. In total they will receive $170 for their participation.

Study End Date: December 2026

Perceiving Objects and Events A (in-lab)

Researcher: Jasmindeep Kaur, Dr. Joan D. Ongchoco (PI)

Description: You will be asked to do computer-based tasks that will involve responding to shapes, images, and/or tones using the keyboard and mouse. This study will take place at Kenny 1202. You can knock and the researcher will come out to get you set-up!

Eligibility: 18 – 35 years old, normal or corrected-to-normal vision, fluent in English. Should be able to do computer-based tasks.

Location: Room 1202 (ground floor), Douglas T. Kenny Building 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

Contact Information: To participate, please email Jasmindeep Kaur at jkaur59@student.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: The study will take 60mins and the participant will be paid CAD $15

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted March 27.

Pointing Task II

Researcher: Veronica Dudarev, PhD, James Enns, PhD

Description: We are looking for people who are diagnosed with autism to participate in our study on the role of attention, motor coordination and cognitive control in social interactions. You will be asked to do a short computer task and fill out a questionnaire.

Eligibility: You must be at least 18 years of age and have normal vision (or corrected to normal vision).

Location: This is a lab study that takes place at the Vision lab, located in the Kenny building, 2136 West Mall, room 3302.

Contact Information: If you are interested please email Veronica Dudarev at vdudarev@mail.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: The study will take up to 30 minutes. You will receive $5.

Study End Date: Ongoing.

Movie Watching Brain MRI Study

Researcher: Tamara Vanderwal (PI), Daria Hammond (RA)

Description: Researchers at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute are seeking healthy children for a Movie fMRI Test-Retest Study. We are interested in testing a new method of MRI brain scan alignment in children. Participants will watch G-rated movie clips during an MRI brain scan and complete a series of tasks and games.

Eligibility:

Children ages 6-12
No neurological or psychiatric disorders
Not taking any medications that affect the brain.
Fluent in English.
Normal or corrected-to-normal vision.

Location: BC Children’s Hospital (4500 Oak St, Vancouver, BC)

Contact Information: If you’re interested in and meet eligibility criteria, please contact movielab@bcch.ca or fill out our participant interest form (https://rc.bcchr.ca/redcap/surveys/?s=CDE893KT739JPN3E).

Reimbursement/Time: Participants will first take part in a virtual screening session. If they are eligible, participants will complete 2 study sessions at BC Children’s Hospital, each about 3 hours long. They will receive $60 compensation, as well as an image of their brain.

Study End Date: October 31st, 2026.

Mandarin-English Cross-linguistic Connections (in-person)

Researcher: Prof. Molly Babel (PI); Chenxi Xu (PhD Student); Sarah Ong (Undergraduate student assistant)

Description: In this experiment, listeners will listen to Mandarin and English tokens and make judgments while their accuracy and response time will be measured. They will also fill in a questionnaire about their language experience.

Eligibility: Mandarin-English bilinguals with certain proficiency as described below are eligible to participate. No Chinese literacy is required.

Proficiency requirement: For both Mandarin and English, you can understand the main points of clear input on familiar matters. You can deal with topics that are likely to arise in social situations. For example, you can describe experiences, events, and your hopes and dreams.

Location: SpeechInContext Lab at Store Road Annex, 6368 Stores Road, UBC (next to Orchard Commons).

Contact Information: If you want to participate in this study, please fill in the sign-up form https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9MN9cjlH87iip3o or connect Chenxi Xu through xcx23xcx@student.ubc.ca. We will schedule a slot with you soon!

Reimbursement/Time: The study will take up to 60 minutes, and the participants will be compensated with CAD 15 in cash.

Study End Date: Ongoing.

Chronic pain experiences in autistic young people

Researcher: Dr. Katelynn Boerner (Lead Researcher), Dr. Tim Oberlander (Principal Investigator)

Description: Our research team at BC Children’s Hospital and the University of British Columbia are looking to understand the perspectives of autistic children and young people who live with chronic pain. The study contains online questionnaires and an online interview. Youth can skip any questions that they don’t want to answer, participate with camera on or off, type answers in the chat if they prefer, have a support person with them, use any communication tool they are most comfortable with, and privacy will be protected throughout. Accommodations can be made for non-verbal and non-English speaking participants.

Eligibility: We are looking for youth who:
1) Have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder
2) Have chronic pain (pain that has lasted 3 months or longer)
3) Live in British Columbia
4) Are between 13 and 25 years old

We are also looking for parents of autistic young people who live with chronic pain (25 years or younger) to take part in an interview study.

Location:Online

Contact Information: If you or someone you know might be interested in participating, please contact Jessica Luu at ASD&Pain@bcchr.ca or 604-875-2000 ext. 5445

Reimbursement/Time: Participating in this study will take about 1.5-2 hours. Youth will receive a $50 gift card for completing the study.

Study End Date: December 31, 2025.

Moderators of Performance in Varsity Athletes

Researcher: Ria Gill (student), Dr. Evelyn Stewart (supervisor).

Description: There are many variables that play into sport performance of university athletes: stress, sleep, nutrition, physical and mental health all factor into that tiniest sliver of advantage that defines a win. This survey examines what beliefs and behaviors a student varsity athlete possesses, and how those qualities affect performance in both school and sport. This study can be completed entirely online.

Eligibility:

A varsity athlete competing in USPORTS
At least 19 years of age or older
Fluent English

Location: Online (RedCap). Please visit this link https://rc.bcchr.ca/redcap/surveys/?s=8MD74F4XF8JHRDPC

Contact Information: If you are interested in participating or would like more information, please contact Ria Gill at riagill@student.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: The study is estimated to take 5 minutes. Participants will receive an honorarium in the form of a $10 gift card.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted December 4, 2024.

UBC Family Study

Researcher: Dr. Joelle LeMoult, Taylyn Jameson, Bronwen Grocott, Katerina Rnic, and Seon Hong

Description: Learning to regulate one’s emotions is an important part of growing up. In this study, we want to better understand how families and friends influence pre-teens’ emotional development and wellbeing. At this stage of the study, we are looking for pre-teens and their caregiver to come to complete some computer tasks and answer questions about their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours during one remote Zoom session and one in-person session at UBC Vancouver.

Eligibility: Children aged 10-12 and their caregiver, speak English fluently, able to attend in person session at UBC campus

Location: Session 1 takes place via Zoom. Session 2 will take place in the Kenny Building on UBC Campus.

Contact Information: Email: familystudy@psych.ubc.ca; website + booking link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/familystudy/

Reimbursement/Time: Each of the 2 sessions will be between 2-3 hours, and families will be given a $120 honorarium for participation in addition to reimbursement of parking or bus fees for the in person session.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted November 27, 2024.

Understanding how older adults learn software tasks (in-person)

Researcher: Dr. Joanna McGrenere (Principal Investigator), Teerapaun Tanprasert and Manushree Singhania

Description: We are conducting a study to understand the learning behavior of older adults while informally learning and doing new software tasks. The study session will be about 1.5 to 2 hours long, where participants will learn some new tasks on a laptop provided by us and reflect on their learning experience. The study will be conducted in-person in Vancouver at UBC. The session will be audio/video recorded.

Eligibility:

We are looking for in-person individual participants who are:

Age 55+
Speaks English Fluently
Ability to operate a computer (laptop or desktop, not a smartphone or a tablet)

Location: The study will be conducted at a quiet location at University of British Columbia,Vancouver.

Contact Information: If you meet the criteria above and are interested in participating, please fill this short screening survey: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4SWJ8sx55NPtihE For more information, please email ms3@student.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: Each participant will receive 40 CAD honorarium (in cash or via Interac e-Transfer) for participating in the 1.5 to 2-hour session.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Oct 27 2024.

Cannabidiol Adjunctive Therapy for Acute Bipolar Depression: A Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial (in-person study)

Researcher: Lakshmi Yatham (Principal Investigator), Shannon Reid (Research Coordinator)

Description: This study is examining whether cannabidiol (also known as CBD) is effective in treating episodes of depression in people diagnosed with bipolar disorder when added to their regular medications for 6 weeks. Participants visit the clinic for a screening visit and a baseline visit, as well as visits at week 2, 4, and 6 to complete clinical assessments with a study doctor, laboratory tests, and answer questionnaires. Eligible participants will receive either placebo (i.e. an inactive substance) or 200-600mg of CBD to take daily for 6 weeks. The assignment to placebo vs CBD group is random, and neither the participant nor the study staff will know to which treatment group the participant has been assigned.

Eligibility: Individuals who meet the following criteria are eligible to participate:

· Aged 19-70 years

· Diagnosed with bipolar disorder

· Currently experiencing depression

· Currently taking medication for mood stabilization (e.g. lithium, epival/valproate, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, aripiprazole, ziprasidone, and/or lamotrigine)

Individuals meeting any of the following criteria are not eligible to participate in this trial:

· Current or past month daily use of CBD/cannabis

· Have met criteria for an alcohol/substance use disorder within the past 6 months

· Are pregnant or lactating

Location: Mood Disorders Centre (2^nd floor of UBC Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health), 2215 Wesbrook Mall

Contact Information: Please email or call the study coordinator at bipolar.research@ubc.ca or (604) 822-8045

Reimbursement/Time: The total time commitment required for the study is approximately 7-8 hours over 8-10 weeks, and participants will be compensated for their time and travel expenses.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Oct 31 2023

General Surface Touch Interaction Techniques using IR Halo Effect

Researcher: Ziyi (Kaseya) Xia (Contact, Graduate Research Assistant), Dr. Robert Xiao (PI)

Description: You will be asked to interact with projected graphical objects on some day-to-day surfaces and finish a series of virtual keyboard phrase typing tasks to help evaluate our system. Your hands will be recorded for further analysis during the interaction. We will also ask you for your impression of the interaction experience by filling out a survey.

Eligibility:

· Inclusion Criteria:

o 18-50 years old

o Be able to communicate in English

o Used mobile phone to type words regularly

· Exclusion Criteria:

o Blindness and Deafness

Location: ICICS 509x

Contact Information: Kaseya Xia (zxia0101@student.ubc.ca), 778-680-6770

Reimbursement/Time: Your participation will take approximately 1h and will be done in our lab in the ICICS building. You will be compensated $16 for your participation.

Study End Date: September 5^th, 2024

Social Media and Perceptions Study (SMAP)

Researcher: Dr. Lauren Human (PI)

Description: This study is examining first impressions based on social media profiles. You will be asked to view up to 15 social media profiles and rate their personalities and complete questionnaires about your own personality. The entire study will be conducted remotely via an online questionnaire we ask that you complete the study in one sitting.

Eligibility:

Age 18 years or older

Identify as male

Student attending a Canadian University who can provide a valid student email

Location: To participate in the online survey, please first complete the following eligibility questionnaire: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9SokxcPFuRkW1mK

Contact Information: If you have any questions, please email human.lab@ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time: The survey takes approximately 2 hours to complete. You will be compensated in the form of a $20 Amazon.ca or Starbucks Canada e-gift card.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted July 29 2024.

Exploring the Perceptions and Health Impacts of Climate Change among LGBTQIA+ People (virtual)

Researcher:

Shelby Yamamoto (Primary Investigator), Sammy Lowe (Co-Investigator), Ishwar Tiwari (Postdoc), Sachit Gurung (RA), Nandia Shirchindorj (RA)

Description: The CHEER Lab is investigating the perceptions and health impacts of climate change amongst LGBTQIA+ identifying adults (≥18 years). We are interested in learning about the physical and mental health impacts of climate change.

Participants will join a virtual focus group discussion for approximately 60 minutes. Questions will focus on an overall discussion of climate change and health, personal lived experience with climate change, climate change information and resources, and climate hope and resilience.

Eligibility:

We are looking for:

LGBTQIA+ adults, who are 18 or over
Living in British Columbia or Alberta
Have access to the Internet

Location: Online/Zoom

Contact information: Please fill out this form if interested in participating. For more information, contact Sammy at cheerlab@ualberta.ca.

Reimbursement/Time: Participants will receive a $10 gift card. The discussion should take approximately 60 minutes.

Study end date: Ongoing. Posted July 4 2024.

Designing cognitively accessible financial technology to support people as they age (in-person or Zoom design sessions)

Researcher: Dr Jiamin (Carrie) Dai, Postdoctoral Fellow, Co-Investigator, Dr Joanna McGrenere, Professor, Principal Investigator, Department of Computer Science, University of British Columbia

Description: We are conducting a study to help design future financial technologies that are easier to use for older adults. Each design session will involve 2–5 participants to discuss fictional user profiles (personas) and critique and sketch features for online banking and digital payment scenarios. The design session will be audio-recorded. You will be asked to fill in a short background questionnaire at the end.

Eligibility: Older adults (aged 65+) and family members (spouses or adult children) who help with technology or banking, joining as pairs or individually

– Both have used online banking or digital payment at least once in the past year

– Both are able to read, write, and communicate verbally in English

We particularly welcome older adults:

– who are experiencing confusion or memory loss with aging

– who have been diagnosed by a medical professional with mild cognitive impairment or early-middle stage dementia

Location: The study will be conducted online (via Zoom) or in person at a place of mutual convenience in Vancouver (e.g., a community centre or a UBC research lab).

Contact Information: Dr Jiamin (Carrie) Dai, jiamin.dai@ubc.ca (preferred), 514-756-4580

Reimbursement/Time: $30 honorarium per person (in cash or via Interac e-Transfer) for joining a 1.5-hour design session.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted 30 May 2024.

Genetic Architecture of Youth Anxiety (GAYA)

Researcher: Dr. S. Evelyn Stewart (PI)

Description: Anxiety disorders can significantly interfere with youth’s lives, so it is important to better understand how and why these disorders develop through mechanisms like genetics. To better understand the development of anxiety disorders among youth, we need to include larger samples of youth in current genetic research.
Participants in the GAYA study will complete questionnaires online, provide a DNA saliva sample, and play two phone games on the GAYA app.You can complete this study entirely at home if you wish, and you will be able to complete the study in less than 45 minutes.

Eligibility:

– 10-19 years of age

– Speak English

– Able to use a smartphone

Location: Online or at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute
938 W 28th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4

Contact Information: If you are interested in participating, please contact the study team at GAYA@bcchr.ca.

Reimbursement/Time: What participants will be paid $15 after completing the study. The study would take approximately 45 minutes to complete

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted April 10 2024.

Healthy Lifestyle Intervention (in-person)

Researcher: Alfredo Sherman (Student lead), Juliet Fowler, Taha Liaqat, Vasily Vakorin, Bernhard Riecke, Sylvain Moreno (Principal Investigator)

Description: Are you interested in improving your lifestyle through a month-long healthy lifestyle intervention? This study investigates changes in the brain after completing a healthy lifestyle intervention, and explores how the experience of the intervention might affect its impact on the brain. The study comprises three in-person sessions, assessments, and weekly remote check-ins. The intervention will take place during your everyday activities.

Eligibility: You may be able to participate if:

You are between 18 and 40 years old
You have no known significant health problems
You are not currently participating in a health intervention
You do less than 1 day of weekly moderate exercise
You are right-handed
You have normal or corrected-to-normal vision

Location: Simon Fraser University, Surrey Campus, 250-13450 102 Ave, Surrey, BC V3T 0A3. Room SRYC 3760, Computational Neuroscience Research Lab, School of Interactive Arts and Technology.

Contact Information: If interested, please complete the pre-screening survey. The survey includes further details. If you have any questions, please email the student lead at alfredo_sherman@sfu.ca. Pre-screening survey link: https://forms.gle/EJCtLWPzawWNHGof9

Reimbursement/Time: Participants who successfully complete the intervention will receive up to $210 and participate in a raffle to win one Apple Watch. This study includes two in-person assessments, one in-person instruction session, and four weekly remote check-ins. The in-person assessments will take place before and after the intervention. Both will have an approximate duration of 60 to 120 minutes. The in-person training session will be approximately 30 minutes long. The remote check-ins will occur remotely over a secured Zoom meeting every week and will be around 5 to 15 minutes long. The healthy lifestyle intervention will take place during your everyday activities during the month for the intervention.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Mar 16 2024.

Career Development in Recovery Study

Researcher: Dr. Robinder Bedi

Description: Eight in-person group counselling sessions involving discussions on career development for individuals with a history of problematic substance use.

Eligibility:

Participants will be adults, defined as being at least 19 years old.
Participants must have previously experienced problematic substance use, but no severe problems with substances in the last year.

Location: Online. Participants must be located in BC or Alberta.

Contact Information: If you meet the requirements mentioned above, please email bedi.lab1@ubc.ca to indicate interest. Alternatively, you can leave us a message at 604 822 8953 or complete this contact form:https://bit.ly/CareerStudyContact. A researcher will contact you to provide more information about the study and to obtain information to determine eligibility (takes approximately 20 minutes).

Reimbursement/Time: Up to $160 upon completion of a set of questionnaires before, after, and at 3-months and 9-months after the groups.

Study End Date: Ongoing until July 2026. Posted Mar 16 2024.

Computational principles of motor skill (In-person)

Researcher: Amanda Arteaga, Gregg Eschelmuller, Davin Hu, Rebecca Niven, Annika Szarka, Romeo Chua (Co-I), J. Timothy Inglis (Co-I), Hyosub Kim (PI)

Description: Participation in this study involves making reaching movements to visual targets in a simple video game-like setting. Your participation will help us advance our understanding of how the human motor system controls reaching movements and utilizes different types of sensory feedback for this purpose.

Eligibility: We are looking for healthy volunteers aged 18-35 with normal or corrected-to-normal vision (i.e., 20/20 with glasses or contacts) and no known history of neurological impairment.

Location: Room 203, Osborne Ctr Unit 2, 6108 Thunderbird Blvd, UBC Vancouver Campus

Contact Information: If you are interested in participating, please send an email to ccm.lab@ubc.ca. We will be in touch with further study information and scheduling.

Reimbursement/Time: The study involves an approximately 90-120 minute test session. Participants will receive a $15 honorarium. If interested, participants may be asked to return for 1-2 additional test sessions of similar length and receive an additional $15 honorarium for each session.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Feb 7 2024.

Cognition Under Tension: A Qualitative Study on the Lived Experience of Being In & Out of Control

Researcher: Laura Bickel (Graduate Student Investigator) and Dr. Rebecca Todd (Principal Investigator; Motivated Cognition Lab, UBC)

Description:

We invite you to participate in our study investigating “what it is like” to feel in control and out of control around food, focusing on those attentional processes and emotions that are likely to generate and motivate restrictive eating and compulsive patterns of overeating. The participation involves keeping a diary via What’s App and journaling to open-ended questions over three weeks. You will also engage in three interview sessions that will be held at the end of each week.

Eligibility: In order to be eligible to take part in the study, you must meet the following criteria:

– Must be over 19 years of age

– Must be fluent in English

– Must be located in Metro Vancouver

– Must have access to a smartphone or laptop

– Must have What’s App installed on your mobile phone or laptop and commit to using it at least three times a day

– Must be comfortable with being voice recorded in interview sessions

– Must be willing to share your What’s App diary notes

– Must be able to commit approximately 3 hours per week for 3 weeks (a total of 9 hours) and a 30 minute pre-study meeting

– Must experience at least one binge eating episode per week

Location:

The journaling may take place on UBC campus, at participant’s home or in the field. The interview sessions will take place either on UBC campus, via Zoom, or at participant’s home.

Contact Information:

For more information, please email Laura Bickel at lbickel@mail.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time:

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to dedicate approximately 9 hours of your time for journaling activities and interview sessions taking place across three weeks (3 hours per week). Participants will receive a gift card (28$) for one yoga session at YYoga or for the book store Indigo.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Jan 28, 2024

Social networks of adults 50 years and older in BC

Researcher: Primary Investigator- Dr. Carolyn Szostak

Honour’s Student – Harshita Gupta

Directed Studies Student- Siu Lin Rodriguez

Description: Researchers from UBC Okanagan are interested in learning more about the social networks of adults 50 years and older. We hope to gain insight into the social connections that make up the social networks to help us better understand how to improve the quality of these relationships and, hopefully, enhance people’s well-being.

Eligibility: –

1. Are you 50 years of age or older?
2. Do you live in BC? We are looking for people who live in rural/remote AND urban/semi-urban communities within BC.
3. Do you have a mental health concern, such as symptoms of depression, anxiety, or problems with drug or alcohol use?

If you answered yes to these questions, you are eligible to participate.

Location: To participate, please click on the following link: https://bit.ly/SocialNetworks2023

Contact Information: If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact: Harshita Gupta (harshi11@student.ubc.ca)

Reimbursement/Time: Survey participants will have the opportunity to enter a draw for a chance to win one of five prizes!
Most people are able to complete the survey in about 1.5 hours. The exact time will depend upon how many people are in your social network.

Study End Date: Ongoing study. Posted on Jan 16, 2024.

Sensorimotor Control and Adaptation of Voluntary Movement (In-person)

Researcher: Gregg Eschelmuller, Annika Szarka, Nick Butler, Tim Inglis (Co-I), Hyosub Kim (Co-I), Romeo Chua (PI)

Description: We are conducting studies to examine the use of vision and limb position sense in movement control. We are interested in how we prepare, control, and adapt our voluntary movements. In this study, you will be asked to make reaching movements in response to visual targets. Your primary goal will be to make target-directed reaches under a variety of sensory conditions. A computer-controlled motion analysis system will be used to monitor eye and hand movements. Visual and position sense stimuli will be presented via visual displays and muscle vibration.

Eligibility: You may be able to participate if:

Age 18-40
Have normal or corrected vision
No known neurological disorder

Location: Room 202, Osborne Ctr Unit 2, 6108 Thunderbird Blvd, UBC Vancouver Campus

Contact Information: If you are interested in participating, please send an email to pmd.lab@ubc.ca. We will be in touch with further study information and scheduling.

Reimbursement/Time: The study consists of one session of testing, approximately 60-75 minutes. Participants will receive a $10 honorarium for participation.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Jan 3 2024.

The Social Communication, Historical Experiences, Memory and Affect (SCHEMA) Study for Men

Researcher: Dr. Connor Kerns (PI), Dr. Daniela Palombo (Co-PI), Dr. Jason Rights (Co-PI), Dr. Veronica Dudarev (Collaborator)

Description: We would like to invite autistic and non-autistic young adults to help us better understand the relationship between social and emotional processing and well-being in young adulthood. This is a three-part study that includes one in-person visit at UBC (1-2 hours) and two online sessions (45 minutes each).

Part 1: Approximately 5 days prior to your scheduled in-person visit (study part 2), you will be asked to complete some online questionnaires at home.
Part 2: The second part of the study will involve a testing session at our lab. During this session, you will complete an online questionnaire about your emotions and some cognitive tasks, including one that involves a computer-based eye tracker. Please note that one of the cognitive tasks will involve some images that may be disturbing or upsetting.
Part 3: For the third part of the study, you will be asked to complete some computer-based cognitive tasks at home.

Approximately, 5 days prior to your scheduled visit, we will send you a link to the sample images in the welcome email.

Eligibility:

Identifies as a man; 18-30 yrs old; fluent in English; and does not have/meet any of the following conditions:

colour blindness
documented intellectual disability
psychotic disorder
history of psychosis
seizure, epilepsy, and/or head injury (last 6 months)
eye movement abnormalities
wears glasses with more than one power

Location:

Parts 1 and 3 of the study are completed online (45 mins each).
Part 2 is a 1-2 hour in-person lab visit at: Room 4207, Douglas T. Kenny Building (2136 West Mall, Vancouver BC, V6T1Z4)

Contact Information: If you’re interested, please complete a brief screening survey: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0k4rlcA33CLdZKm. If eligible, we will email you a link to Part 1 of the study and schedule you for Part 2 (in-person visit) of the study.

Please contact schemastudy@psych.ubc.ca if you would like to view the consent form prior to signing up for the study or if you have any questions regarding the study.

Reimbursement/Time: You will receive $15 per hour as an Amazon gift card. The study will take approximately 2.5 hours (for non-autistic participants) or 3.5 hours (for autistic participants).

Study End Date: Ongoing (until 2026). Posted Oct 30 2023.

The vocational experience of autistic adults: A self-deterministic perspective (Online Study)

Researcher: Talia Vacca, Dr. Charles Chen (PI)

Description: We are conducting a research study on vocational experiences in autism. The purpose of this study is to better understand the career experiences of individuals with a confirmed autism diagnosis. We are looking to conduct virtual interviews with a total of 15 individuals who would like to share their work experience, with the ultimate goal of understanding how their diagnosis, motivations and meaning, influence their career outcomes and work experience.

Eligibility:

Between 18 and 25 years of age
Have a confirmed diagnosis from a psychiatrist or psychologist
Have worked for a minimum of 2 consecutive months within the last 5 years
Fluent in English, as interviews will be conducted in English

Location: Online (Microsoft Teams)

Contact Information: Individuals who are interested in participating can contact the researcher by email at vocationinautism@gmail.com to learn more about the study.

Reimbursement/Time: The interview will last approximately 1 hour. Participants will receive $10 for their time.

Study End Date: Ongoing.

Disruptive Technologies and Negative Heritage: Evaluating the Social and Economic Impacts of the 3D printed Triumphal Arch of Palmyra (In-person Study)

Researcher: Dr. Lindsay Der (PI); Pamela Zamora Quesada (RA), Rachel Thibeault (RA).

Description: We are looking for Syrian citizens for a research study on Syrian cultural heritage. Eligible participants will be invited to attend in-person focus group sessions for up to two hours and/or in-person individual interviews for up to three hours (interviews may be divided into different sessions if it is convenient for participants). In the focus groups, participants will be asked their views and thoughts on cultural heritage, the impact of the Syrian civil war on cultural heritage and any work done to mitigate such destruction. In the interview, participants will be asked more in-depth questions about the 3D-printed Triumphal Arch of Palmyra, cultural heritage and cultural diplomacy.

Eligibility:

Adults, 19 years old or older.
Self-identified Syrian nationals.
Fluent in English and/or Arabic.

Location: Focus groups will primarily take place ace in Vancouver and Surrey. Interviews will take place in Metro Vancouver.

Contact Information: Dr. Lindsay Der, lindsay.der@ubc.ca.

Reimbursement/Time: Selected participants will be compensated $16.75 per hour.

Study End Date: Ongoing.

An Exploration of Parents with ADHD and Their Experiences of Raising Children with ADHD (online)

Researcher: Bethany Ee (PhD Candidate) & Dr. Laurie Ford (PI)

Description:This study aims to explore and describe the lived experiences of mothers with ADHD while they raise a child with ADHD. While there is a lot of research documenting the difficulties that families with ADHD experience, we hope to explore the potential strengths that mothers with ADHD have when it comes to parenting their child with ADHD. The study will require participating in a Zoom interview (60mins) and completing four short journal entries (5-10mins).

Eligibility:Mothers with ADHD, who have a biological child with ADHD between the ages of 6 to 12 years old.

Location:online

Contact Information:BethanyE@student.ubc.ca

Reimbursement/Time:Participants will receive an honorarium in the form of a $25 Amazon gift card

Study End Date: Ongoing

Visual Anticipation in Volleyball

Researcher: Ellie Saplywy (RA), Ryan Jinn (RA), Matt Krueger, Dr. Matthew Scott, and Dr. Nicola Hodges (PI; School of Kinesiology, UBC)

Description: This study will require participants to come to the War Memorial Gym for a testing session taking up to 1 hour. In this experiment, participants will be shown various videos of offensive volleyball plays that will be occluded (edited) at various points in time to prevent information about ball flight. Participants will be asked to respond on force plates (pressure sensitive mats) about the direction of the ball (left, right, centre/straight-up).

Participants will be reimbursed $15 minimum for participation in 1 testing session (or $15.65/hr whichever is more depending on time).

No resume is required, we simply as that you meet all the listed qualifications. If you meet these qualifications, please email kin.msl@ubc.ca with the subject line “Volleyball anticipation“. In your email, please include your ubc email if applicable, a phone number and your availability over the coming weeks. Thank you for your interest!

Eligibility: In order to participate in this study, you must meet all of the following requirements:

Males and females between ages 19-35 years
Must have some experience playing volleyball. We are looking for individuals of two different experience types. You may participate if you have NOT played post-secondary/competitive volleyball (i.e., only played recreationally). Alternatively, you can partake if you are have played at the Collegiate or USport level in Canada (high level of experience).
Normal or corrected-to-normal vision
No existing injury to lower limbs and no known neurological disorder
Good understanding of English instructions

Location: 300A in the War Memorial Gym (6081 University Blvd; http://www.maps.ubc.ca/PROD/index_detail.php?locat1=428).

Contact Information: If you meet the eligibility criteria, please email kin.msl@ubc.ca and include “Volleyball” in the subject line. In your email, please include a UBC email (if available), a phone number, your gender and availability over the next two weeks.

Reimbursement/Time: The study is estimated to take up to 1 hour across one visit. Participants will be reimbursed $15.65 per hour.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted Apr 12, 2023

Fostering Empathy through Intergenerational Storytelling in Embodied Virtual Reality

Researcher: Chenxinran Elise Shen (MSC student), Joanna McGrenere, Dongwook Yoon

Description:

The study involves using our experimental VR system to switch bodies and discuss life events in different points of views. We will ask the participants to do the following:

(1) Participants are required to complete an online screening survey to confirm their eligibility.

(2) A 20-minute Zoom meeting will be scheduled with the older adult participant to share information about their memorable life events and relevant photos.

(3) Participants will be invited to attend a 30-minute VR session at the UBC lab, where the older adult participant will share their life event in a designed VR space to the younger participant.

(4) After the VR session, participants will be interviewed for 20 minutes about their experience in a semi-structured format.

Eligibility:

Participants must have at least one generational gap (e.g. parent and child, grandparent and grandchild, uncle and niece)
Both participants must be 18 years or older and able to effectively communicate in English.
The older family member will share life stories and provide relevant photos. Participants will also need to provide photo(s) of their front face for VR avatar modeling

Location: Room x521, Department of Computer Science (2366 Main Mall #201, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4)

Contact Information: If you are interested in participating or would like more information, please contact Chenxinran Shen at elise007@cs.ubc.ca or text me at 4379730599.

Reimbursement/Time: You and your family member will receive $80 in total via e-transfer for your commitment to the project, at a prorated amount. We will cover the transportation expense with a cap at $50.

Study End Date: Ongoing, posted March 29, 2023.

Emerging Adults’ Experience of Caring for Parents with Advanced Disease (Online Study)

Researcher: Eryn Tong, Dr. Abby Goldstein (PI)

Description: We are currently conducting a study to better understand the experience of emerging adults caring for parents living with an incurable, terminal illness. This study is being conducted at the University of Toronto. Interested individuals will be invited to participate in a one-to-one interview lasting approximately 60 minutes. We are hoping to recruit a range of individuals with diverse experiences.

Eligibility:

Between 18 and 29 years of age
Currently providing unpaid support to a parent living with an incurable, terminal medical condition
Living in Canada
Fluent in English

Location: Online (Microsoft Teams)

Contact Information: Please include “Caregiving Study” in the subject line; Eryn Tong eryn.tong@mail.utoronto.ca

Reimbursement/Time: The interview will last approximately 1 hour. Participants will receive a $20 gift card for their time.

Study End Date: Ongoing. Posted 2023 Feb 7

Advertise on the List

If you have paid studies you want to list on the mailing list/listserv, please send an email to Marisa Nelson (marisa.nelson@ubc.ca) with the following information. Please send your listing plain-text in an email with 1) ethics approval attachment; 2) “Paid study posting” in the email subject to ensure your email does not get lost.

Study Title: A unique title used to identify your study (Indicate if this is an online study or not)

Researcher: The grad student(s) and the primary investigator

Description: A few sentences or a short paragraph about what participants will do. You can use the Human Subjects Pool style as a guide.

Eligibility: Any restrictions, such as if you only want students, psych majors, a certain age, etc.

Location: Where the participant will take part in the study (e.g., Kenny building, UBC campus, Vancouver General Hospital, online). Please note that not all readers of the list are UBC students, and so if your location is a building on campus, we recommend you include a street address so participants can look up the location of the building.

Contact Information: A name, email address/phone number, a scheduling link (if eligible) so participants can organize a time to participate

Reimbursement/Time: What participants will be paid and how long will the study take

Study End Date: When the study will be removed from the list. Studies labelled ongoing will remain on the list for one year or until you contact Talia to remove them.

Please note: This list is a posting service only. All studies affiliated with UBC involving human participants are required to have a research ethics certificate before using this service and the use of this site needs to be specifically outlined in the research ethics application. It is the responsibility of the researcher to ensure proper ethics guidelines are being followed in using this list as an advertising space. For information on UBC Research Ethics, consult the Office of Research Ethics website. This list is hosted online by, but not affiliated with, the Psychology Graduate Student Council.