Ali is a PhD candidate in psychology, supervised by Associate Professor Kristin Gainey. His PhD research project centres on elucidating the role that a history of childhood emotional abuse plays in emotion regulation trajectories that underlie internalizing symptoms in adults. This research project investigates the role of childhood emotional abuse through a meta-analysis of a wide range of emotion regulation traits, daily life emotion regulation strategy use and effectiveness, and shame dysregulation in adult populations. Ali’s prior experience in health psychology and clinical psychology areas was focused on psychosocial factors contributing to mental and behavioural health outcomes, including suicidal ideation, medication adherence, self-care behaviours, psychological distress, quality of life, etc., in a wide range of populations. Thus, he is committed to incorporating life concerns into his scientific endeavours. Drawing from a developmental and life history perspective, his PhD goal is to crystalize how the well-known detrimental impact of adverse childhood experiences can be captured into a set of transdiagnostic cognitive and behavioural processes that are effectively malleable to trauma-focused interventions.