People

Lab Director

Dr. Luke Clark is a global expert on the psychology of gambling. He joined UBC’s Department of Psychology as the inaugural Director of the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC in 2014. Before moving to UBC, he held a tenured appointment in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Clark’s research examines the cognitive and behavioural basis of gambling, and the relevance of these processes to gambling harm and behavioural addiction. His research is distinctive in considering both the personal risk factors for gambling problems, and the psychological effects of modern gambling products. His work combines in lab and online data collection, behavioural analysis, and measurement of psychophysiological responses, including brain imaging. He has published over 200 papers in leading peer-reviewed journals in addiction science, cognitive neuroscience, and mental health, and he has given keynote talks at conferences in Australia, Germany, UK, USA and Sweden. His contributions have been recognized by the Scientific Achievement Award from the International Center for Responsible Gaming (2015) and a UBC Killam Research Award (2021). He holds federal funding from NSERC. In 2023, he was appointed Co-Editor-in-Chief at the journal International Gambling Studies.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Charlotte Eben Charlotte is an experimental psychologist interested in emotional and physiological responses to gambling episodes. She has done her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Frederick Verbruggen and Dr. Joel Billieux at Ghent University in Belgium. During her PhD, she investigated cognitive (control) mechanisms and their role in gambling. She specifically investigated changes in response speed (speed of play) after sub-optimal outcomes such as errors or losses in the broader context of impulsivity. She also had a 1-year postdoc with Dr. Frederick Verbruggen in Ghent before joining the CGR.

Graduate Students

	Xiaolei Deng Xiaolei is a PhD student in UBC Psychology’s clinical program. He graduated from UBC with an MA in psychology in 2017. Xiaolei’s research centers on the prediction of problematic gamblers using machine learning algorithms with applications of big data. Xiaolei is interested in using behaviour variables to predict gamblers who are at risks of developing gambling addiction. The machine learning model can serve as a useful benchmark for other measures of problematic gambling and help refine the definition of problematic gamblers. Xiaolei also hopes that this line of research can provide policy makers with applicable information, leading to better community protection and harm reduction.
	Fiza Arshad
	Lucas Palmer Lucas is a PhD student in the Cognitive Area of the Psychology department. He completed in his BA (Hons) at Carelton University. His research is centered around understanding the structural characteristics of modern technologies that promote addictive behaviours. For example, during his master’s degree he studied how features of online slot machine gambling increased people’s spending behaviour. In another line of research he has studied how engaging with specific features of video games (e.g., loot boxes) promotes conventional gambling behaviour.
	Raymond Wu Raymond is a PhD student in Cognitive Science at UBC. He completed his BSc (Hons) at University of Toronto. Excessive consumption of activities like gambling and video gaming can place a tremendous burden on life and society. To address this, Raymond's research uses a combination of large-scale survey, behavioural, and physiological data to gain insights into decision-making, digital technology use, and addiction in humans
	Hin Fu Hin is a PhD student in UBC Psychology’s cognitive science program. He had previously completed his B.Sc at McGill University. His current research focuses on using big data techniques to identify risk factors that predict problem gambling. In this field of study, he analyzes large datasets to uncover patterns and correlations that may provide insights into the factors contributing to problem gambling. This research could have implications for understanding and preventing gambling addiction, as well as informing public health policies and interventions related to gambling behavior.
	Claudia Fu Claudia is a MA student in UBC Psychology's cognitive science program. She completed her BA at UBC. Claudia's research focuses on the risks associated with emerging forms of gambling and advertisement exposure, particularly how young people’s experiences of non-monetary wins shape their subsequent beliefs about gambling.

Lab Assistants

Kyle Turner Lab Assistant

Undergraduate Project Students

	Clara Saad Honours Student		Zaina Alkurdi Honours Student
	Buyang Daffa Research Assistant WLIURA RA (2023-2024)		Paul Weston NSERC USRA Honours Student (2022-2024)
	Adam Chun Research Assistant		Erika Delorme Research Assistant PSYC 240 Student (2022-2023)
	Amanda Ding Research Assistant		Matthew Fetterly Research Assistant
	Anushka Gulani Research Assistant Honours Student (2023-2024)		Joy Idrissi Research Assistant
	Jay Joo Research Assistant WLIURA Research Assistant (2023-2024)		Jolie Lin Research Assistant
	Ethan Ngu COGS 402 Student		Velika Kristianto Research Assistant Honours Student (2022-2023)
	Marshall Martin Research Assistant (Capilano University)		Harresh Thayakaanthan Research Assistant