This story is published in YFile’s New Faces feature issue 2025. Every September, YFile introduces and welcomes those joining the York University community.
The Faculty of Health welcomes three new full-time, permanent members this fall.
“Welcome to York’s Faculty of Health. You’re joining a vibrant and diverse community committed to advancing health and wellness, equity and social justice through research, teaching and partnerships that make a difference," says Dean David Peters. "We’re thrilled to have you on board as we build a healthier and more just world – together."
Candace W. Burton
Burton joined the York University School of Nursing as associate professor and director on July 1. Burton previously served as the associate dean for Advanced Education and director of Doctoral Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
She holds undergraduate degrees in studies in women and gender, and in nursing, from the University of Virginia, and a PhD in nursing research from the University of California, San Francisco.
Her research focuses on stress and trauma, particularly in the context of health disparities. She practices as a consulting forensic nurse, and her research has been funded in the U.S. by the National Institutes of Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation among others.
Eline Kupers
Kupers joins the Department of Psychology at York as an assistant professor in computational neuroscience.
Her research focuses on understanding how human vision works. Kupers’ studies explore how our eyes encode and transform light, and how our brains integrate, transform and interpret the signals sent by the eyes. She is also interested in how visual and cognitive brain processes interact to extract visual information flexibly and efficiently depending on the image and task.
To answer her research questions, Kupers combines brain and behavioural measurements, as well as computational modelling. She is excited to start her independent research program and to contribute to the vision science community at York University.
Kupers holds a PhD in psychology from New York University. Prior to joining York University, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University and the Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging at the University of Minnesota.
Sara Pishdadian
Pishdadian joins the Department of Psychology as an assistant professor in the clinical psychology, clinical neuropsychology program. She completed a PhD in both subjects at York University and a pre-doctoral residency in clinical psychology in the clinical neuropsychology stream at the Ottawa Hospital.
Prior to returning to York University, she worked as a staff clinical (neuro)psychologist at Centre for Addiction & Mental Health and West Park Healthcare Centre in Toronto, where she continues to collaborate with colleagues.
Her research focuses on cognition, assessment and rehabilitation in individuals with neurological and/or psychiatric difficulties. Populations of interest include older adults and individuals with dementia as well as schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. She is also interested in advancing best practices in neurocognitive assessment and intervention.
She is an active member of neuropsychology organizations including the International Neuropsychological Society Cultural Special Interest Group, American Psychological Association's Women in Neuropsychology group and is the Chair-elect of the Canadian Psychological Association’s Neuropsychology Section.