The Current Lab

Laurie M. Wilcox

I am a Professor in the Department of Psychology, and member of the Centre for Vision Research at York University, Toronto, Canada. I hold the York Research Chair in 3D Vision and am the Scientific Director for the VISTA CF-REF program.

I completed my graduate degrees at the University of Western Ontario, and joined York University in 1996. In my basic research program, I use psychophysical methods to reveal properties of the neural mechanisms which underpin stereoscopic depth perception. A recurring theme in my basic research is the stereoscopic interpolation of surfaces and the impact of this on suprathreshold depth perception. I am also interested in how and when stereoscopic depth information is used in more complex environments (both virtual and physical). I also have a strong interest in industry collaboration and have a number of ongoing projects with companies (Qualcomm) and organizations (VESA, DRDC).

Bob Hou

I am a senior research associate at The Wilcox Lab. I am keenly interested in helping people enjoy science and am committed to making their lives easier.

Camille Proszanski

I am the lab research coordinator for the Wilcox Lab. I am responsible for assisting with ongoing studies and lab operations. I had previously completed my undergraduate honours and master's thesis in the lab on the effects of degraded binocular disparity on cue integration and on upper- and lower-field biases for 3D faces, respectively.

Brittney Hartle

I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Wilcox Lab. My current research focuses on the impact of perceptual biases on the accuracy of shape perception in virtual environments rendered in head-mounted display (HMD) systems. Given the potential of HMD systems as tools for vision science, clinical, and training applications, it is critical that content creators and users understand potential errors in shape perception due to constraints of human visual processing. I am also involved in a collaborative project with the University of Waterloo that focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of flight simulators to generate aviation-relevant visual illusions in pilot training. My previous applied research projects have focused on a variety of different industry sectors, including designing aviation-relevant perceptual tasks to assess binocular vision requirements in military aviation, preferences for depth and movement in 3D film, and measuring real-world visual distortions in augmented reality prototypes.

Xue Teng

I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Wilcox Lab and Virtual Reality and Perception Lab. I obtained her PhD from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. I specialize in perceptual distortions in VR, particularly in depth perception and motion gain adaptation. She my publications here: Google Scholar

Ryne Choi

I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Wilcox Lab. My research focuses on the perception of three-dimensional shape from motion. I study the prior assumptions and perceptual biases the visual system brings to the task of inferring shape from ambiguous input. In particular, I have investigated how a prior for convex shape can override assumptions of rigid motion. I also study systematic preferences over shape transformations and use visual psychophysics and computational modeling to understand how these constraints shape perceptual interpretation. I received my Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Rutgers University in 2025.

Domenic Au

I am a Ph.D. student in the Wilcox Lab. My current research involves assessing 2D and 3D interactions within augmented reality systems. More specifically, I am investigating how virtual information in AR systems are affected by stereo capture. I am also involved in a collaborative project with Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) and Qualcomm Inc. This project focuses on evaluating whether compression algorithms are visually lossy when applied to stereoscopic, HDR content.

Arleen Aksay

I am a Ph.D. student in The Wilcox Lab. My current research involves investigating binocular single vision and perceptual organization. More specifically, I am assessing diplopia thresholds using stimuli presented in cluttered scenes and natural environments. I aim to evaluate diplopia perception with stimuli presented within virtual environments (i.e., the stereoscope and Head Mounted Displays), and within more naturalistic environments using a Physical Test Environment (PTE) My research is generously supported by the Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) Doctoral Award.

Phoebe Lim Ching

I am a PhD student in the Wilcox Lab and Virtual Reality and Perception Lab. My research is at the intersection of vision science and human-computer interaction; I use vision science principles to understand and optimize user performance in XR tasks. My current project is about how cues for locomotion control are affected by XR interfaces. Before joining York University, I obtained two MPhil degrees from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Bioengineering and Industrial Engineering), where I studied dynamic image distortions (pupil swim) in virtual reality. My research is generously supported by the Connected Minds Doctoral Scholarship and Kenaidan Contracting Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

Iroshini Gunasekera

I am a Ph.D. student in the Wilcox Lab. I previously completed my master’s thesis in the lab on the contribution of monocular and binocular cues to size discrimination of 3D shapes using virtual reality. My overall research interests lie in the realm of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality, including investigating the perceptual and spatial errors that can affect user experience. My current research involves examining how two or more people collaborate in a shared virtual space and complete tasks involving 3D shapes. In a separate study, I am also investigating the effect of depth cues on shape constancy. My research is generously supported by the Connected Minds Doctoral Award.

Nathaniel Goldstein

I am a Master’s student co-supervised with Dr. Erez Freud. I joined the Wilcox Lab in 2021 as a undergraduate research assistant and completed my Honors thesis work here. As a current Connected Minds trainee, I am inspired by neuroscience research informed by modern technology, especially through machine learning (ML) and other data science tools.

Rachel Shum

I an the research coordinator for the Sharing Mixed Reality Project, a collaborative initiative led by Dr. Robert Allison and Dr. Laurie Wilcox.

CéAnn Marks

I an the research coordinator for the DRDC Project, a collaborative initiative led by Dr. Robert Allison and Dr. Laurie Wilcox.

Abtin Zaker

I am a 4th year Undergraduate student at York University. I joined the Wilcox Lab in 2023 as a Research Assistant, and I will be completing my Honours Thesis with Dr. Wilcox.

Samuel Fisher

I am a HBSc Neuroscience Work-Study student who joined the Wilcox Lab in the 2024-2025 academic year. I am responsible for conducting a wide variety of neuro-visual testing including those for the URPP (Undergraduate Research Participant Pool) where I measure visual depth perception and magnitude, as well as industry collaborators like VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association). I also assist fellow lab members and collaborators by pilot testing their experiments and providing feedback regarding user experience. My interests lie across Neuroscience as whole, in particular how visual perception can influence decision making.

Diana Salami

I am a Research Assistant in the Wilcox Lab. I'm also an undergraduate Neuroscience student with a strong interest in neuropsychology. In the lab, I help my fellow lab members with data collection for their research projects. I strive to be collaborative and to offer help in any area where I can contribute. More specifically, I'm involved in conducting studies to measure depth perception at varying IPD (interpupillary distance) settings using VR.