Team - BEACON Lab | SickKids Research Institute

Research staff

Dr. Louise Gallagher

MB BCh BAO MRC Psych PhD

Principle Investigator

Dr. Louise Gallagher is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and a researcher in the areas of genomics and neuroscience. She trained in undergraduate medicine at University College Dublin prior to core training in psychiatry and specialist training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Ireland.

Louise’s research interests are particularly focused on the application of genomics and neuroscience to personalised medicine approaches and therapeutics for neurodevelopmental conditions. As an active clinician, she has always been committed to advocating for improvements in services for child and youth mental health.

Learn more about Dr. Gallagher

Dr. Thomas J. Dinneen

PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Bio & Current Research Projects

Thomas joined the research team in August 2023 after completing his PhD in Trinity College Dublin in June 2023 under the supervision of Dr. Louise Gallagher. His PhD studies focused on the combined effects of rare and common genetic variants on an individual's cognitive and neurodevelopment outcomes. He also holds a B.A. in genetics from Trinity College Dublin. His current work at SickKids as part of the Beacon Research Group is focused on understanding the genetic factors driving variable clinical outcomes in individuals with NRXN1 deletion as part of the RaDiaNT study and R2D2-MH project. The study is funded by the McLaughlin Accelerator Fund 2024. In December 2024, Thomas was awarded the SickKids Restracomp Fellowship Fall 2024. His Fellowship project focuses on investigating inflammatory mediators of neuropsychiatric genetic variants as potential targets for drug re-purposing.

Relevant pages

ORCid
Google Scholar
Github
LinkedIn

Leanne Ristic

Psychometrist

Bio

Leanne Ristic is a psychometrist at the Centre for Brain and Mental Health at the SickKids Research Institute, where she supports clinical and research programs through comprehensive cognitive, behavioural, and developmental assessments. She brings extensive experience working with children with neurodevelopmental and rare genetic conditions. Before joining SickKids, Leanne worked as a research coordinator and research assistant on interventional and observational research studies, where she coordinated participant recruitment, managed data collection and ethics procedures, and supported interdisciplinary teams to ensure high-quality and meaningful research outcomes. In addition, she worked as an Intensive Behaviour Interventionist, gaining hands-on experience delivering individualized behavioural programs and collaborating closely with families, educators, and clinicians to support children’s developmental and behavioural goals.

Leanne earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Victoria and her professional interests include neurodevelopmental assessment, early development, and the ways in which genetic conditions influence learning, behaviour, and everyday functioning. She is passionate about contributing to research that supports earlier identification, better intervention pathways, and improved quality of life for children and their families.

Relevant pages

LinkedIn

Solene Wang

PhD Candidate

Bio

Xuetong (Solène) became one member of the research team in 2025 as a PhD student in Medical Science at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Louise Gallagher. She previously earned her Bachelor of Medicine (M.D. equivalent) and M.S. in Surgery degrees from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, where she received multiple scholarships and one early-career research grant. Her prior research focused on genetic syndromes with manifestations of craniofacial anomalies, which sparked her interest in the lab’s work on rare genetic disorders with neurodevelopmental conditions. At SickKids, Xuetong’s research centers on integrating eye-tracking and clinical assessment data to investigate social cognition and attentional bias in children with Prader-Willi syndrome, and to compare these patterns across other rare genetic conditions.

Hira Zahid

M.Sc. Student

Bio

Hira joined the team in September 2025 as a graduate student under the supervision of Dr. Louise Gallagher. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, where she studies how genetic risk profiles shape mental health multimorbidity. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in biology.

Jessica Agbolade

Research Assistant

Bio

Jessica joined SickKids in July 2025 as a Clinical Research Project Assistant. She holds an Honours B.A.Sc. in Applied Psychology in Human Behaviour from McMaster University, where her undergraduate research explored auditory perception and cognitive load.

In the BEACON research group, Jessica supports studies on neurodevelopmental and genetic conditions, including the PWS Database Survey, PWS Insight, and RaDiaNT projects. She coordinates participant involvement, manages research data, and administers eye-tracking and behavioural assessments.

Jessica is interested in how insights from neurodevelopmental and behavioural research can inform child and adolescent mental health policy, inclusive education, and early intervention practices that promote positive developmental outcomes.

Relevant pages

LinkedIn
Linktree

Kimberly Mak

Research Student

Bio

Kimberly joined the research team as a volunteer in August 2025. She is an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto pursuing an Honours B.A.Sc. in Neuroscience and Psychology, with a strong interest in the clinical and behavioral aspects of neurodevelopmental conditions. Within the Beacon Research Group, Kimberly contributes to the PWS Insight and RaDiaNT projects, which investigate the neurocognitive factors underlying key behaviors in Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), with a focus on hyperphagia and cognition.

Renée Smith

Research Analyst

Bio

Renée joined the research team in June 2025 after completing her MHSc in Medical Genomics at the University of Toronto. She also holds an Honours BSc in Genetics and Biochemistry with a Minor in Psychology from Western University. Renée works jointly with the Beacon Research Group and the Pharmacogenomics (PGx) Program at SickKids, where her work focuses on advancing precision medicine in psychiatry through PGx education and research. Within the Beacon Research Group, Renée contributes to the inflammatory mediators project, supporting efforts in computational genomics and pharmacology.

Past Members

Dr. Sarah-Marie Feighan – Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Paige Stockley – Research Student
Claire Christoff – Research Student
Adam Miles – Research Assistant
Dr. Kathy Liu – Research Intern
Camryn Walker – Summer Research Intern
Kelsey Gao – Summer Research Intern