Camila Cavalli obtained her PhD in Psychology at the University of Cordoba, Argentina, studying the sociocognitive abilities of therapy dogs. She joined the UBC Animal Welfare Program in 2022 to continue her research with therapy dogs, focusing on their welfare during Animal Assisted Interventions. She is now moving into a new position at UBC as a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology!
What was your work at the Animal Welfare Program?
During my time as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the AWP, I worked with dogs at the Human Animal Interaction (HAI) lab led by Dr Sasha Protopopova. My research projects focused on how to maximize the welfare of therapy dogs, exploring different handling strategies in sessions with children, as well as how to assess their preferences for different types of interaction. I also collaborated with some of the AWP graduate students in other dog studies, such as investigating the effects of positive experiences on stress resilience, the impact of generalization and discrimination training on cognitive bias, breed effects on food motivation, and the bond dogs have with their guardians. During my time as a Postdoctoral Fellow, I also developed a course on Animal Cognition that I really enjoyed teaching in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems APBI program.
What were your most memorable moments at the Animal Welfare Program and UBC?
I really enjoyed the lunch meetings in room 180 and being able to learn more about the different types of research; many of these research topics were very far removed from my own work, but still connected through our shared interest in animal welfare. I am very grateful to many members of the AWP community who came in to help with our dog research whenever we needed extra hands. It was great to have them join us briefly and get a glimpse of what we do in the HAI lab.
What are your aspirations for the future? Where are you headed now?
I am moving into a new position at UBC as a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology. Psychology was my home during both my undergraduate and PhD, and while I have spent a lot of time working in interdisciplinary spaces, it feels good being able to return to a psychology department while bringing in my experience with animal behaviour and welfare.