Kat Munley, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology (starting July 2025)

NIGMS F32 NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California Los Angeles (2022-Present)

Ph.D., Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, Indiana University (2022)

Broadly, Kat is interested in how environmental context, including social and seasonal cues, is integrated via the brain and endocrine system to drive adaptive social behavior. Kat is currently finishing a NIGMS F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California Los Angeles, where she is studying the neural and molecular regulation of subordinate social status by androgens in the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni in the lab of Beau Alward. Previously, she received her Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior at Indiana University, where she examined how the hormone melatonin regulates seasonal aggression in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) in the lab of Greg Demas. Kat is thrilled to start her lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta in July 2025!

Fun Fact: In Summer 2024, Kat received her 200-hour registered yoga teacher (RYT) certification! She practices yoga every day and enjoys sharing her passion for yoga with others through teaching.

Chandler Carr

M.S. Student, Graduate Program in Psychology (Comparative Cognition and Behaviour)

B.A., Biology and Neuroscience, Ohio Wesleyan University

Broadly, Chandler is interested in understanding the mechanisms underlying individual variation in animal behaviour. For their Masters work, Chandler is studying the neural and hormonal regulation of individual differences in repeatable behaviours in subordinate Astatotilapia burtoni. Chandler completed their undergraduate degree at Ohio Wesleyan University, where they conducted three independent research projects on: 1) the repeatable nest building preferences of female wrens, 2) the effect of aesthetics on cognitive task performance in humans, and 3) co-expression patterns in response to gravity in plants. Outside of the lab, Chandler likes to watch Hermitcraft, play video games with their friends, and oil paint. 

Fun Fact: Chandler’s mom says that she knew Chandler would get into science when they, at the age of two, stuck a metal spoon in an electrical outlet TWICE in the same week to make sure the power going out wasn’t a fluke the first time.