Dr. Moriah Sokolowski
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Biography:
Dr. Moriah Sokolowski is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at 91福利 and an Adjunct Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest. She completed her MSc (2015) and PhD (2019) in Psychology in the Cognitive, Developmental, and Brain Sciences area at Western University. She subsequently completed her postdoctoral training at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, supported by a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship (2020鈥�2022) and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022鈥�2023).
Dr. Sokolowski鈥檚 research program seeks to understand how the developing mind supports complex learning. Because mathematical thinking is a learned skill that builds on core competencies and previously acquired knowledge, it serves as an ideal model for exploring how we learn complex concepts. Dr. Sokolowski studies the development of the learning brain using diverse methodologies, including behavioural and brain-imaging techniques, in children, adolescents, and adults. In addition to conducting basic science, she is passionate about linking her findings to real-world outcomes that support individual wellbeing and population-level innovation. In a related stream of research, she examines how individual differences in core competencies (e.g., visual imagery, spatial thinking, and memory) relate to outcomes such as academic achievement and occupational success. Two key goals of Dr. Sokolowski鈥檚 research are to uncover the basic building blocks of mathematical competence and to identify early cognitive, emotional, and neural markers that predict which students are likely to select鈥攁nd succeed in鈥攕cience, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Dr. Sokolowski鈥檚 research has been supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), and CIFAR. She is also a co-applicant on research funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). She awarded the from the Jacobs Foundation (2026-2028) and was named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science in 2025.
Selected Publications
Hawes, Z., King, V., & Sokolowski, H. M. (2026). The mind鈥檚 eyes: Distinct neural correlates of spatial and object imagery. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 185, 106640.
Sokolowski, H. M., Yeung, R. C., Yu, J.-C., Fan, C. L., Daker, R. J., Lyons, I. M., Zeman, A., Abdi, H., & Levine, B. (2026). Visual imagery and STEM occupational attainment: Gender matters. Personality and Individual Differences, 250, 113552.
Lau, N. T. T., Ansari, D., & Sokolowski, H. M. (2024). Unraveling the interplay between math anxiety and math achievement. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 28(10), 937鈥�947.
Yu, J.-C., Sokolowski, H. M., Rao, K. S., Moraglia, L. E., Khoubrouy, S. A., Abdi, H., & Levine, B. (2024). Visualization of latent components assessed in O*NET occupations (VOLCANO): A robust method for standardized conversion of occupational labels to ratio scale format. Behavior Research Methods, 56(1), 417鈥�432.
Sokolowski, H. M., & Levine, B. (2023). Common neural substrates of diverse neurodevelopmental disorders. Brain, 146(2), 438鈥�447.
For a complete list of publications, see my
Public Scholarship & Media:
Brookman-Byrne, A. (2026). . BOLD. [Interview with Moriah Sokolowski]
Lau, N. T. T., & Sokolowski, H. M. (2024) If . Psyche.