Biocultural Lab for the study of Inequality and Social Stress (BLISS)

Delaney Glass, Principal Investigator and Lab Director

Dominick Roussel, Ph.D. Student​

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Dominick Roussel is an incoming PhD student in Evolutionary Anthropology under the supervision of Dr. Glass in the BLISS lab. She completed her Master’s in Evolutionary Anthropology under the supervision of Dr. Samson in the Sleep and Human Evolution Lab (SHEL) where she researched sleep in autistic individuals. She previously also completed her Honours Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto with a specialization in Evolutionary Anthropology and a major in Socio-Cultural Anthropology. Dominick is looking to improve sleep quality in adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder by using behavioural interventions to improve sleep and overall wellbeing.

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Alexa Fairclough, Undergraduate Member​

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Alexa Fairclough is a BA Candidate at the University of Toronto's Department of Anthropology. She has a background in implementation-focused research designed to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within academia. Previously, she was a research assistant at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education from 2021-2022 and 2023-2024, as well as a 2023-2024 fellow within the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. She is interested in community-engaged research, social disparities, ethnography, policy, climate change, vector ecology, archives, and visual culture.

Sana Ahmed, Undergraduate Member​

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Sana Ahmed is an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto. She is currently working towards an Honours Bachelors of Arts, double majoring in Socio-Cultural Anthropology with a focus in Medical Anthropology, and Environmental Geography. Her past experiences include volunteering in community programs, which has shaped her passion for understanding and contributing to bettering the social fabric. Additionally, her archaeology experience in the Castelo Archaeological Project has fueled her interest in understanding the relationship between biomarkers and sociality. As such, her research interests are focused on community-engaged research, ethnography, and the social determinants of health and illness. Sana is assisting with projects related to social safety and health among adolescents.

Melani Vevecka, Undergraduate Member​

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Melani is a third-year Anthropology and Political Science student at the University of Toronto, working toward her Bachelor of Science.  Her research focuses on bodily autonomy, U.S. constitutional law, and state governance. Having grown up in multiple different countries, she has seen firsthand how politics and governance shape not just national policies but also societal values and the way people think. This global perspective informs her research and fuels her passion for law, politics, and how legal systems shape personal and collective freedoms. Melani is working on an independent research project focused on bodily autonomy. 

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Lina Qtaishat, External Lab Affiliate​

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Lina Qtaishat is a researcher and research manager at We Love Reading, a program of Taghyeer organization in Jordan. Her work focuses on implementation science and community interventions, evaluating their effectiveness on child development, literacy, life-long learning, wellbeing, and empowerment. Specializing in participatory methods like fuzzy cognitive mapping and mental modeling, Lina also manages research projects that integrate biological and physiological measures to advance understanding of human flourishing and development.

Curtis Atkisson External Lab Affiliate​

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Dr. Curtis Atkisson is a Data Scientist at The University of Washington eScience Institute. His background is in evolutionary anthropology and computational social science. He is interested in how and why humans cooperate or do not cooperate and has extensive experience with qualitative and quantitative methodologies.. He is currently contributing his expertise as a social data scientist on projects with Dr. Glass about social safety and threat among adults and youth affected by conflict and displacement. 

Signe Svallfors, External Lab Affiliate​

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Dr. Signe Svallfors (they/them) is a Wallenberg postdoctoral scholar at the Department of Sociology and an affiliate of the Center for Innovation in Global Health at Stanford University. Signe applies mixed methods to examine the impact of conflict and crises on sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. Signe earned their PhD in Sociological Demography from the Department of Sociology, Stockholm University in 2021.

Hani Alsamawi, External Lab Affiliate​

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Hani Alsamawi holds a BS in Biology from the University of Washington, Seattle. His research interests include community health, health disparities, social determinants of health, and the impact of conflict and displacement on well-being. Hani's volunteer experiences in Syria, and with refugee populations in Turkey, and his work with the Iraqi Arab Health Board of Washington have strengthened his ability to provide compassionate care, adapt to resource-limited settings, and effectively communicate with diverse populations. Driven by his experiences and aspiring to become a physician, Hani is passionate about promoting health equity, advocating for better access to healthcare services, and developing culturally sensitive approaches to serve refugee and underserved communities.

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Risana Chowdhury, External Lab Affiliate​

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Risana Nizam Chowdhury is a biological anthropologist.  She obtained her Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology, M.S. Biomedical Anthropology, and M.A. in Anthropology from Binghamton University (SUNY). Dr. Chowdhury recently concluded a fellowship in Behavioral Medicine at the University of South Florida-Tampa. Her research interests include social determinants of health, health disparities, social support, stress and resilience, the embodied effects of environmental influences, biomarkers, neuro-degenerative disease, bio-archives, evolution and human health.