Lab Members

Jessica Kay Flake, PhD (Principal Investigator)

@jkayflake

CV

JK Flake received a BS in Psychology from Northern Kentucky University in 2010, an MA in Quantitative Psychology from James Madison University in 2012, and a PhD in Measurement, Evaluation, and Assessment from the University of Connecticut in 2015. From 2015 to 2018 she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in quantitative psychology at York University and educational psychology at the University of Virginia. In 2018 she started her lab in the Quantitative Psychology area of the Department of Psychology at McGill University. JK Flake is also the Assistant Director for Methods at the Psychological Science Accelerator, and a member of the Technical Advisory Panel of the Enrollment Management Association. Her research interests include the development and application of latent variable models for use in educational and social psychological research and the improvement of measurement practices in psychology more broadly. 

When she isn't estimating variances, she is a casual powerlifter and chef. 

Raymond Luong (PhD Student)

@RayLuongQuant | raymondluong.ca

Raymond received his HBSc with a specialty in psychology and minor in applied statistics at the University of Toronto. He aims to improve replicability in psychology by bridging gaps between methodologists and substantive researchers on issues concerning measurement and statistical power. He is also interested in applying principles from social psychology to reduce cognitive biases and from environmental psychology to increase pro-environmental consumer behaviours.

Raymond is an avid fan of the rhythm games Dance Dance Revolution and In the Groove.

Mairead Shaw (PhD Candidate)

@maireadkshaw | github

CV

Mairead obtained her BSc in psychology at McGill University in 2019. Her research interests include measurement equivalence in multi-group data sets and the role of measurement practices in replication. She is also interested in developing open-source software to aid researchers in applying methods.

In her free time, Mairead enjoys podcasting, reading, and exercising.

Lindsay Jane Alley (PhD Student)

@l_j_alley |LinkedIn

Vita

Lindsay received a BA Honours in Psychology from Simon Fraser University. She is interested in technical and philosophical issues related to measurement validity, including construct definition, the integration of various sources of validity evidence, and the application of latent variable models. In a previous life, she received a degree in acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Off campus, Lindsay enjoys singing and playing the ukulele, hiking, and playing Dungeons and Dragons (Tiefling Ranger/Rogue).

Jake Plantz (PhD Candidate)

LinkedIn

Resume | CV

Jake received his Master’s degree in Psychology from Arizona State University. He is interested in issues related to measurement validity and the communication of technical topics and information to broad audiences. He is also a big fan of coding and structural equation modeling.

In his free time, Jake enjoys climbing, playing guitar, generally being outdoors, and exploring Montreal.

Briana Oshiro (Post Doctoral Researcher)

CV

Briana received her PhD in Research Methods, Measurement, and Evaluation from University of Connecticut in 2022. Her research interests include factor analysis, measurement invariance, and secondary data analysis. She is also interested in developing analysis pipelines for applied social science researchers.

In her free time, she casually plays video games such as Fallout 76, Valorant, and games in the Zelda franchise.


Cole Johnson (PhD Student)

Cole received his BA in Honours Psychology with a minor in Religion from Carleton University. He is interested in measurement issues concerning classroom motivational climate, as well as examining how peers can motivate and demotivate one another in shared learning environments. He is also interested in developing practical tools and strategies that can assist educators in preparing personalized teaching approaches for their students. 

Cole devotes most of his spare time to creating original music, nurturing his vinyl record addiction, and studying chess. 


Amanda Pruss (Graduate Research Assistant)

Amanda received her BA in Psychology with a minor in Microbiology & Immunology from McGill University in 2022. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Neuroscience with an interest in visual perception and learning, and memory. She is also equally interested in multilevel modeling, and utilizing these statistical techniques in the analysis of her experimental data.

Amanda also enjoys the arts (including drawing, dancing, and making music), as well as

playing video games, and bouldering.  


Célia Bergé (Research Assistant)

Célia Bergé received her B.A. in Psychology from McGill University. She also studied Law and Society at Dawson College. Given her background, her interests are focused on Legal Psychology, more specifically police and prison systems.

In her free time, Célia enjoys singing and horror movies. 



Alumni

Lola (dog)

Lola completed her PhD and took a permanent position cheering every graduate student on in perpetuity. 

Sophie Hu (undergraduate student)

Sophie completed a project about student motivation under Dr. Flake’s supervision. She went on to continue her work as a research assistant at Mcgill.

Leonie Cloos (graduate research trainee)

@ljrcloos

Leonie visited as a graduate research trainee and worked on measurement invariance related studies. She went on to a PhD program in methods at KU Luven.

Sasha Elbaz (undergraduate volunteer)

Sasha went on to pursue his PhD in organization psychology at UQÀM after working with the lab on projects related to the types of validity evidence non-cognitive assessments report.

Tanoulu Li (undergraduate volunteer)

Oulu completed a project on measurement invariance in the Flake Lab. They continue to explore their interests in quantitative psychology and plan to pursue graduate programs in quantitative methods.