Maya Low

Maya is a PhD Candidate in Cultural Psychiatry at McGill University, where her research examines structural violence and maternal mental health in West Africa. Maya holds a Master of Science in Global Health from McMaster University and a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Guelph, with a focus on child/youth psychology and international development. She has worked with institutions including the University of Cape Town, the Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, and the Society for Women in Science and Technology on projects spanning adolescent well-being, trauma recovery, and behavioural health interventions across sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

During her fellowship, Maya co-authored The Adaptation Dilemma with Dr. Sekoul Krastev, a review arguing that cultural fit and cultural safety are separate things in mental-health chatbots. A model can harm by imposing its own framing of distress on a user it doesn't fit, or by adapting so closely to the user's framing that it reinforces the patterns keeping them unwell. Both score well on satisfaction metrics, which is the problem.