Lab Director
Victoria M. Esses, Ph.D.
Victoria Esses (Ph.D., University of Toronto) is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Network for Economic and Social Trends (NEST) and of the Centre for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations (MER) at Western University. She is Principal Investigator and Co-Chair of the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership, a national alliance dedicated to fostering welcoming communities and promoting the integration of immigrants in Canada. Victoria’s research focuses on immigration policy and practice, including determinants of public attitudes toward immigration and cultural diversity; promising practices in settlement and integration; factors promoting the settlement and integration of immigrants; and the measurement of community welcome-ability, immigrant needs, and immigrant outcomes. She has extensive experience conducting research in these areas, including invited work for federal, provincial, and municipal governments and for the settlement sector. Victoria is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).
Email: vesses@uwo.ca
Postdoctoral Fellows
Alina Sutter, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Alina received her M.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Zurich, Switzerland in 2012, and her Ph.D. from University of Western Ontario in 2017. Broadly, she is interested in researching the relationships between national identity, perceived threat and prejudice, as well as the underlying processes and consequences of the dehumanization of outgroups.
Email: asutter2@uwo.ca
Sami Coksan, M.A., Ph.D.
Sami received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye, at the end of 2021. He mainly focuses on intergroup relations, conflict, and conflict resolution, and seeks answers to the question of how we can live in a more harmonious society. His research interests include social identities, intergroup contact, irony of harmony, and support for prorefugee social policies. Sami currently studies the effect of collective punishment on ingroup consolidation among non-perpetrators in a cross-cultural context.
Email: scoksan@uwo.ca
Website: samicoksan.com
Graduate Students
Rama Eloulabi, Ph.D. Student
Rama is a PhD student in Social Psychology at Western University. She received her HBA in Psychology and Human Rights and Ethnic Studies at York University. Rama completed her MSc in Social Psychology, with a Collaborative Graduate Specialization in Migration and Ethnic Relations, at Western University. Her master’s thesis explored the ethnic identity and experiences of Arab youth in Ontario. Overall, Rama is broadly interested in research on the experiences of marginalized populations such as immigrants and refugees, and on topics related to discrimination and intergroup relations. She has received funding through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship and the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s.
Email: reloulab@uwo.ca
Shannon Mahony, Ph.D. Student
Shannon received her HBSc in Psychology from the University of Toronto in 2023 and her MSc from Western University in 2025. She is currently a PhD student in Social Psychology at Western University. For the entirety of her master’s degree, Shannon’s work was funded by the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). She is broadly interested in intersectional identity discrimination in Canada, bias in the housing market, and audit field-study methodologies.
Email: smahony2@uwo.ca
Research Assistants
Attira Cheema
Vitor Las Casas Celere
Elle Tomorad
Zain Ismail
ELSIR 