Ph.D. Joel Lopata

Dr. Joel Lopata is a multi-award-winning Professor of Psychology and Creativity at Sheridan College where he designs and teaches courses on Creativity and Creative Thinking.

Joel holds a Ph.D. in Educational Studies, specializing in Applied Psychology, from Western University, as well as a M.Ed., a B.Ed., and a BFA (Film and Video Production). Joel’s scholarly work spans the domains of cognitive neuroscience, creativity studies, and learning cognition, and his current research focuses on how contemporary neuroscience informs the teaching and learning of creativity. Joel’s research on creativity neuroscience has been published in top-tier international journals (Neuropsychologia, 2017), and has been presented at prestigious international venues including at Buffalo State University (2021), The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (2019) Harvard University (2017), and at The Art Institute of Chicago (2015). Additionally, his work has been featured in popular science magazines such as New Scientist, and popular websites such as Forbes and Big Think.

Joel has held teaching positions in Western University’s Faculty of Education and has been Research & Evaluation Director of his own consulting company where he led research for government and not-for-profits in the education, training, and child-care sectors.