2023 DONALD O. HEBB DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTION AWARD WINNER: DR. JO-ANNE LEFEVRE

The following is excerpted from the letter Dr. Erin Maloney wrote for Dr. LeFevre’s nomination for the Donald O. Hebb Distinguished Contribution Award

Dr. Jo-Anne LeFevre is the Chancellor’s Professor of Cognitive Science and Psychology, and the Chair of the Department of Cognitive Science at Carleton University. She is also the Director of the Centre for Applied Cognitive Research. She earned her B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. at the University of Alberta. In 1987she accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Winnipeg. In 1988 she then moved to Carleton University which she has continued to call home ever since.

Dr. LeFevre is a world-leading expert in the field of mathematical cognition and learning, having published over 90 articles in refereed journals and an H-index of 50. Her work on numerical and mathematical cognition, which has been cited more than 16000 times, laid the groundwork for the emerging field. Dr. LeFevre has published in the top journals in our field (e.g., JEP:LMC, JEP:G, JEP:HPP, Cognition) and including grants on which she is either the PI or a Co-I, has been the recipient of a whopping $38,000,000+ in competitive research funding. These grants have come from, among other sources, NSERC, SSHRC, and CFI. In addition to being a leader in theory development, Dr. LeFevre has mobilized her many theoretical advances into deliverables with relevance to the K-12 education system within Canada. Indeed, based on her 40 years of research, Dr. LeFevre has created an early numeracy sc reener (the EMA@school), used in 2021 and 2022 in the province of Alberta to help screen children at risk of mathematical delays at kindergarten entry. To date, tens of thousands of Canadian children have completed, and benefited from, the screener.

In addition to her global recognition for her ground-breaking science in the field of mathematical cognition and learning, Dr. LeFevre also has an extensive track-record for training Highly Qualified Personnel, having trained 5 Post-Doctoral Fellows, 24 Ph.D., 29 Masters, and 83 Honours thesis students since1988. Not only has Dr. LeFevre supervised a large number of HQP’s, she is also recognized as an exceptionally strong mentor, having won two awards for mentorship, one from Carleton University and one from Women in Cognitive Science – Canada. It is not at all surprising that she has been the recipient of mentorship awards as a quick look at her track record indicates that her students have been successful both within and outside of academia.

Dr. LeFevre has maintained a close connection to CSBBCS throughout the entirety of her career. She has authored 6 articles in the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, served as a guest Editor (with M. Sénéchal) of a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology on Early Literacy and Early Numeracy, and has been invited to again serve as a guest Editor on a special issue in memory of Dr. Jamie I.D. Campbell. Dr. LeFevre has authored 66 presentations at annual meetings of the CSBBCS – often in symposia that she herself organized. Dr. LeFevre has also served as the Representative of the CSBBCS on the board of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) from 2012 – 2014. Thus, not only has Dr. LeFevre been a leader within the field of numerical and mathematical cognition, she has been a leader within cognitive science in Canada.

Dr. Jo-Anne LeFevre’s career is one to be respected and celebrated. She is a pillar of scientific research in Canada, a lighthouse to many junior scholars, and is undoubtedly deserving of the honour of the Donald O. Hebb Distinguished Contribution award.