THE WiNTER LAB
Meet Our Team
The Hearts and Brains of the Lab
Gavin Winston is a clinician scientist and neurologist/epileptologist who leads the WiNTER Lab that he established at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology in 2015 and moved to Queen's University from 2019. His research interests lie in the use of multimodal information and computational approaches including neuroimaging, neurophysiology, robotics and machine learning to the diagnosis and treatment of people with epilepsy, with a strong focus on clinical translation. He trained and worked in the UK (University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and University College London) for a couple of decades before moving over to Canada with his family. On the rare occasions he is not working, he is interested in music (including playing the organ), hiking, swimming and is perfecting his skating/skiing for the Canadian winters.
Karla earned her BSc in Nuclear Engineering, MSc in Medical Physics and PhD in Bioinformatics (Neuroscience) from the University of Havana, Cuba. Karla’s research involved computational modelling and analysis of multi-modal neuroimaging data. She joined the WiNTER Lab in 2023 as a postdoctoral fellow where her work focuses on brain connectivity, network analysis and neuroimaging biomarkers of cognitive dysfunction in people with epilepsy.
Maddie Hopkins is a student at Queen’s University enrolled in a combined BSc (Hons) in Life Sciences and MSc in Neuroscience. In her spare time, Maddie enjoys listening to music, going for hikes with her dog Billie, and spending time with her family and friends. Her research interests include clinical neuroscience, neuroimaging, and disorders of the nervous system such as epilepsy.
Maddie is currently working on a research project that involves neuroimaging in patients with epilepsy. This project is enhancing her understanding of functional MRI, and presurgical assessment before epilepsy surgery. In the future Maddie hopes to attend medical school with the aspiration of translating her research experience into clinical practice.
Adam Falah is a graduate student in the Centre for Neuroscience at Queen's University. His research interests involve temporal lobe epilepsy, cognition, neural coding, robotics, machine learning, and seizure control. His current graduate research is focused on establishing robotic technology to assess sensorimotor and cognitive impairment and disability in people with epilepsy. The main goal of Adam’s research is to replace the current assessment approach by using robotics to provide a faster, more sensitive, and inexpensive assessment method. When he is not working on his research, Adam likes to spend his time in the gym, with family and friends or listening to podcasts.
Andrea took her undergrad at Queen's in Life Sciences with a specialization in biomedical discovery. She is currently a Master's student with research interests in data analysis, neuroimaging, and neurological disorders such as epilepsy.
​
Her current project utilizes fMRI data and computation neuroimaging methods to implement multimodal data integration in the assessment and planning of epilepsy surgery. The goal is to create a clinically useful pre-surgical protocol of several neuroimaging methods which can be implemented by epilepsy centers around the world to benefit patient management and lead to better surgical planning. In her spare time, you can find Andrea playing chess, hanging with friends and spending as much time outdoors as possible.
Brooke graduated from Queen's University in the spring of 2022 with a BSc (Hons). She majored in Life Sciences and minored in Psychology, with an interest in neuroscience. Upon graduation, she joined the WiNTER Lab where she is currently working on two translational research projects. The first project is focused on improving neuropsychological assessments of cognitive dysfunctions in people with epilepsy through the use of robotics. The second project is focused on developing a multimodal predictive model of seizure recurrence to inform the treatment of patients after an unprovoked first seizure. Brooke's research interests include cognitive neuroscience, neurology, and clinical neuropsychology. In her spare time, Brooke enjoys hiking, travelling, spending time with friends and family, and immersing herself in music, books, and films.
Dhruv Patel is a first-year medical student at the Queen’s University School of Medicine. His research interests involve looking at medical applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence, with previous projects in medical imaging and genomics. Currently, Dhruv is working on designing clustering algorithms to distinguish between cognitive impairment subtypes in people with epilepsy, using cognitive assessment data collected from the KINARM robot. The main goal of this research is to provide an efficient method to determine cognitive impairment among epilepsy patients with robotic assessment, decreasing the need for pen-and-paper assessments. Outside of research, Dhruv enjoys playing racquet sports like badminton and table tennis, as well as reading books and watching movies.
Danielle is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Health Sciences at Queen's University. Her interest in neurology stems from working with patients in the transitional care unit at her local hospital and volunteering with the KFL&A Alzheimer's Society Peer Support Groups. These experiences fostered an interest in learning about quality improvement initiatives in healthcare. Currently, she is undertaking a role as an undergraduate volunteer with the WiNTER Lab, where she will be working on projects to understand further the referral and management process used by adult First Seizure Clinics across Canada. Her efforts will contribute to progressing the Quality Improvement Initiative for the Kingston Health Sciences Center's First Seizure Clinic. Danielle enjoys indoor cycling, teaching at the Kingston School of Dance, and trying new recipes.
Our Alumni
Queen's University
1 / MADELINE HOPKINS
BSc (Hons), Arts and Sciences - Life Sciences, LISC595 Independent Research Project (May 2022 - Jun 2023)
2 / THEODORE ALIYIANIS
MSc in Neuroscience, Centre for Neuroscience Studies
(Sep 2021 - Aug 2023)
3 / GAVIN HUGHES
BHSc (Hons) - Health Sciences, Research Volunteer
(Sep 2021 - Jun 2023)
4 / VISHAL CHOTARA
Masters of Biomedical Informatics, School of Computing
(Sep 2021 - Jun 2022)
5 / MADELEINE FALBY
BSc (Hons) Arts and Sciences – Life Sciences, NSCI499 Project (Sep 2021 - Jun 2022)
6 / LAUREL CHARLESWORTH
Sleep Fellow (Jul 2021 - Jun 2022)
7 / SIMON BESHARA
Neurology Resident (Apr 2021 - Present)
8 / MAHSA AGHAEEAVAL
Masters of Biomedical Informatics, School of Computing
(Sep 2020 - Jun 2021)
9 / RICHARD LIU
Neurology Resident (Jul 2020 - Jun 2021)
10 / NINA (XINYU) WANG
Master of Management in Artificial Intelligence, Smith Business School (Jun 2020 - Sep 2020)
11 / JERRY LIU
Master of Management in Artificial Intelligence, Smith Business School (Jun 2020 - Sep 2020)
12 / NATHANIEL BENDAHAN
Neurology Resident (Jan 2020 - Jun 2021)
13 / ANDREA PERERA-ORTEGA
Bachelor of Computing (Hons) – Computing, School of Computing (Jan 2020 - Apr 2020)
14 / JONAH ISEN
Bachelor of Computing (Hons) – Biomedical Computing
(Jan 2020 - Apr 2020)
15 / SPENCER FINN
MSc in Neuroscience, Centre for Neuroscience Studies
(Sep 2019 - Jun 2021)
16 / LAYLA YAGI
BSc (Hons) Arts and Science – Life Sciences
(Sep 2019 - Apr 2020)
17 / ANDREW KAO
BSc (Hons) Arts and Science – Life Sciences
(Sep 2019 - Apr 2020)
University College London
Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Faculty of Brain Sciences
18 / BARIS KANBER
Post-Doc in Machine Learning (June 2018 - Dec 2020)
19 / CLIO HARMAN
Research Nurse (Feb 2018 - Apr 2019)
20 / MAHA ELBADRI
MSc in Clinical Neurology (Oct 2017 - Sep 2018)
21 / ERNO LASZLO
MSc in Clinical Neuroscience (Oct 2016 - Sep 2017)
22 / ROMINA SANCHEZ HERNANDEZ
MSc in Clinical Neuroscience (Oct 2016 - Sep 2017)
23 / SAMIRA KASHEFI
MSc in Advanced Neuroimaging (Oct 2016 - Sep 2017)
24 / SUMIT DEY
MSc in Clinical Neuroscience (Oct 2016 - Sep 2017)
25 / MONIKA CZECH
Research Nurse (Aug 2016 - Sep 2017)
26 / ZANIB IAYAZ
MSc Advanced Neuroimaging (Oct 2015 - Jan 2017)
27 / SILVANA SOBRAL DOS SANTOS
MSc in Advanced Neuroimaging (Oct 2015 - Sep 2016)
28 / LORENZO CACIAGLI
PhD in Neuroscience (May 2015 - Jul 2019)
Medical Physics and Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences
29 / CRISTIANA-EUGENIA TISCA
MSc Natural Sciences (Neuroscience and Medical Physics) (Jun 2017 - Jul 2017)
30 / MEI IOK CHIANG
MSc Physics & Engineering in Medicine (Oct 2015 - Sep 2016)
31 / ANNELINDE BUIKEMA
MSc Medical Physics (Jun 2015 - Oct 2015)
EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Medical Imaging
32 / OSCAR BENNETT
MRes in Medical Imaging (Sep 2015 - Jun 2017)