KOHLER VISUAL NEUROSCIENCE LAB

KOHLERLAB

KVNL

Peter J. Kohler (he, him, his) Peter J. Kohler Peter J. Kohler Principal Investigator Principal Investigator PI

Peter is originally from Denmark, but have lived and worked in North America since 2007. He received his PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience in 2013 from Dartmouth College, before becoming a post-doctoral scholar at Stanford University, working with Professor Tony Norcia. He joined York University as an Assistant Professor in 2019 and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2025. He is a Core Member of Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) and a member of the Center for Vision Research at York University. Download CV. Google Scholar. Publons.

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We are currently recruiting graduate students! For more information on applying to the graduate program in Psychology at York University, please see here. Please note that if you are interested in being supervised by Professor Kohler, you must select Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Sciences (BBCS) as your first choice area of specialization during the application process, otherwise he will not have access to your application.

We are also recruiting undergraduate students! Please get in touch if you are an undergrad at York who is interested in learning about using behavioral methods, EEG and functional MRI to study the human visual system.

Shaya Samet (he, him, his) Shaya Samet Shaya Samet Master’s Student, Psychology Master’s Student MA Student

Shaya is a Master’s student in the Psychology program. He graduated with a MA in 2025, and is now doing a second MA in Clinical Neuropsychology, supervised in by Prof. Shayna Rosenbaum. Before starting graduate school, he completed a Specialized Honours thesis under Prof. Kohler’s supervision on the roles of perceptual load and object salience in inattentional blindness. He then did an Individual Research Project, where he contributed to a study on working memory and symmetry, and was trained in collecting high-density EEG data from adult and infant participants. All of this prepared him well for his first MA thesis project, where he used EEG to study how local and configural information contributes to shape perception. He continues to collaborate with the Kohler Visual Neuroscience Lab, and his second thesis project will further investigate the role of symmetry in working memory. Shaya has presented his work at national and international conferences, and won the 2nd place award for best poster presentation at the Lake Ontario Visionary Establishment Conference in 2023.

Yara Iskandar (she, her, hers) Yara Iskandar Yara Iskandar Master’s Student, Psychology Master’s Student MA Student

Yara is a Master’s student in the Psychology program. Yara joined the lab as an undergraduate student, working on a project using EEG to probe the spatial mechanisms that mediate visual responses to symmetries in textures. For her Master’s thesis, she is building on this work using functional MRI, in a project that aims to relate symmetry sensitivity to the properties of receptive fields of distinct visual regions. Yara has presented her work at national and international conferences, including a talk at the Vision Sciences Society in Florida in 2023, for which she won the VSS travel award. In her free time Yara enjoys reading, exercising, and playing chess.

Shadi Ahmari (she, her, hers) Shadi Ahmari Shadi Ahmari Master’s Student, Biology Master’s Student MSc Student

Shadi is a Master’s student in the Biology program, with a solid background in biomedical engineering and a deep enthusiasm for brain research. Her primary focus is on identifying psychometric thresholds for symmetry and contrast detection in novel, three-dimensional objects. Shadi is dedicated to creative and interdisciplinary research, applying brain science to various fields. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, photography, and performance art, often visiting galleries to stay inspired.

Isimeme Okonofua (she, her, hers) Isimeme Okonofua Isimeme Okonofua Master’s Student, Biology Master’s Student MSc Student

Isimeme is a Master’s student in the Biology program, with a background in Biology and Psychology. Before joining the lab, she worked on various social psychology and mental health research projects. Her Master’s thesis is on the effect of visual cortex morphology on visual evoked potential spatiotemporal patterns, measured using EEG. Outside of the lab, she enjoys yoga, reading, and watching movies.

Aida Golshan (she, her, hers) Aida Golshan Aida Golshan Master’s Student, Biology Master’s Student MSc Student

Aida is a Master’s student in the Biology program, with a background in psychology and a deep fascination with the brain and perception. Her current research explores how people perceive visual symmetry, particularly within the blind spot. Aida is passionate about neuroscience and psychophysiology. Outside of research, she enjoys traveling, reading books, and staying active through exercise.

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