Highlighting Dr. Anna M. Czepiel’s 2025 UTM Postdoctoral Leadership Award

By Aiya Farhan, undergraduate student at the LAMA Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga.

The LAMA Lab is proud to recognize Dr. Anna M. Czepiel for receiving a University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) Postdoctoral Leadership Award. This distinction honours both her research accomplishments and her leadership within the scientific community. Her work, which explores the intricate relationship between the brain, speech, and music, continues to push the boundaries of how communication and cognition are understood.

For Dr. Czepiel, this recognition is as much about mentorship and growth as it is about research excellence. She reflects that the award serves as “a reminder that research isn’t only about significant scientific results, but also about creating time and space for leadership, mentoring, and supervision.” This perspective highlights the collaborative environment that characterizes her work, one shaped by the example of supportive mentors and her own dedication to guiding future researchers.

One of the ceremony’s most memorable moments for her came during the panel discussion when postdoctoral scholars were asked if they would have done anything differently in their journeys.

“All three of us said no,” she shared. “Every challenge helped us grow.”

Meeting and hearing from the other award recipients, she noted, was deeply inspiring, a moment of connection among peers who share both ambition and curiosity.

Dr. Czepiel’s unique background in music continues to influence how she approaches science. She likens research to musical practice: the repetitive tasks that refine skill and technique ultimately make way for creativity and discovery. “To move the field forward,” she explains, “you often have to do things that haven’t been done before.” That creative mindset continues to guide her as she designs novel experiments and explores new approaches to studying the brain.

Looking ahead, Dr. Czepiel is most excited about an upcoming project using mobile EEG technology to study language learning beyond the lab, an innovative collaboration with researchers across the GTA. With this new chapter, her work exemplifies what the Postdoctoral Leadership Award celebrates: curiosity, mentorship, and the courage to pursue research that expands both possibility and perspective.