Who we are

Dr. Theresa Pauly

Assistant Professor

Dr. Theresa Pauly is an Assistant Professor, Canada Research Chair, and the Lab Director for the Lifelong Health & Wellbeing Lab at Simon Fraser University. Dr. Pauly completed her PhD at the University of British Columbia in 2020. Her research program broadly assesses how psychosocial contexts get under our skin to influence health and well-being in old age.

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Dr. Victoria Michalowski 

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Victoria Michalowski is a Postdoctoral Fellow, working with the COPE Study at the Lifelong Health & Wellbeing Lab at Simon Fraser University. Dr. Michalowski earned her PhD in Health Psychology at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests broadly include determinants of positive aging, health behaviour change, and stress & coping. She has expertise in advanced quantitative data analysis and ambulatory assessment methods. Dr. Michalowski’s current research is focused on investigating everyday facilitators and barriers to coping with extreme heat events (e.g., heat waves, heat domes) among older adults.

Elahe Koushkestani

Research Project Manager

Elahe Koushkestani is a research project manager for the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Lab at Simon Fraser University, where she collaborates with the team to investigate approaches for enhancing older adults' preparedness for extreme heat. She completed her Master's in Political Science at SFU with a specialization in environmental policies and marginalized populations and holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from the University of Tehran. Elahe is driven by a strong commitment to environmental justice and research in this field.

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Gabriella Bodanese

MA student

Gabriella Bodanese is a gerontology master's student. She has a degree in psychology from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) and specializes in High Complexity Care at the Polydoro Hernani of Sao Tiago Hospital (Brazil). She developed her career as a hospital psychologist in a cardiology hospital, where she had the opportunity to intensify her contact with older adult patients. She has always been interested in studying the mental health of older adults and intends to do her thesis in this area, bringing together multidisciplinary aspects and thinking of old age as a biopsychosocial process.

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Aryana Mohammed

MA student

Aryana Mohammed is a performing artist, and former high school drama teacher from Trinidad and Tobago. Aryana is currently pursuing her MA in Gerontology at SFU with a research focus on understanding how group storytelling can be used to promote psychological resilience and wellbeing among older individuals experiencing psychological trauma. Aryana holds a BSc Psychology (Special) degree from the University of the West Indies and a BFA in Performing Arts (Acting) degree from the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Her aim is to use her expertise in mental health and the performing arts to advocate for social prescribing among the older adults.

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