Camila Cavalli obtained her PhD in Psychology at the University of Cordoba, Argentina, studying the sociocognitive abilities of therapy dogs. She joined the Animal Welfare Program at UBC 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?
I have been a Postdoctoral Fellow at the AWP since 2022, where I worked with dogs at the Human Animal Interaction (HAI) lab. 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. Besides that, I collaborated 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 at LFS, I also developed a course on Animal Cognition that I really enjoyed teaching in the 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 that are so different from mine, but still connected through our shared interest in animal welfare. Besides that, I am also very grateful to the people from the program 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. My background is in psychology for 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.