Dr. Diana Parvinci

My research interest is primarily on understanding the cognitive, neural, and emotional mechanism of behaviour and applying this knowledge to inform practice and intervention research.   

 My PhD work was on eye movement patterns in children with Tourette Syndrome and its comorbid conditions of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Following my graduate work, I joined a group of researchers and clinician at SickKids Hospital and took lead on a private/public-initiated project between a commercial partner, the Ontario Brain Institute (OBI), SickKids Hospital. The major aim of my research at SickKids was to apply cognitive training methods to develop a software-based intervention program for children with ADHD. Following this work at SickKids, I was awarded the Lawson fellowship at McMaster University, where I began my work in functional imaging and focused on research concerning the relationship between brain structures, function, and cognition in children with disabilities such as those with autism and cerebral palsy. From 2017-2019, I worked at York University with my primary endeavour focused on the delivery and supervision of a large CIHR funded randomized clinical trials on a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy based emotion regulation intervention. Following the successful completion of this project, I continued my research at McMaster University at CanChild examining the validity of a tool aimed at classifying social communication in children and youth with autism (the Autism Classification System of Functioning: Social Communication; ACSF:SC). My most recent work has been on resiliency and resiliency enhancing interventions in children, youth, and young adults with disabilities at Redeemer University and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.