The Lakehead University Meal Exchange Chapter (LUMXC) is very excited to announce that we were successful applicants for the 2020 Rural and Northern Capacity Fund.

With the funds received we have been able to purchase $12,000 in gift certificates from local businesses (Maltese Grocery, The Cheese Encounter, Thunder Bay Country Market, Superior Seasons) that support local food producers. These gift cards are currently being distributed to Lakehead University Thunder Bay students who are facing food insecurity and are in need of assistance.

Janine Walker, MA in Social Justice student and a member of the LUMXC Executive team said, "The cliché that post-secondary students can thrive on a diet of macaroni and cheese and ramen noodles is outdated, unjust and inaccurate. Adequate nutrition is essential to learning and to fulfilling one's potential.

"As with many others, the pandemic has served to increase need in the student population. In combination with other systemic factors, the reality that multiple sectors which traditionally provide employment for students are the ones that have been hardest hit by the pandemic, means many students have been left without the employment income needed to enable them to pay their bills. As a result, students find themselves cutting back where they can, including on groceries. Studies have shown that hunger and food insecurity are real problems for post-secondary students."

One student recipient of gift card support wrote to LUMXC saying, "I got to put my gift cards to use this weekend and did all my grocery shopping at the market and Maltese! All of my roommates were so happy to be able to actually buy food at these places instead of just our usual walk around and buying a small treat. You've made such an impact and I'm really grateful for the work you've done."

This is why LUMXC is so grateful to be able to do this work. Knowing what we do has helped even one student and knowing that students are able to purchase healthy food that can sustain them makes the work worthwhile. We're so thankful that we've been able to make even a small difference in these students' lives.

At LUMXC we anticipate that we will be increasing the number of grant applications that we will be making in the coming year. In doing so, we hope to be able to support more students dealing with food insecurity. We will also continue our work with our parent charity, Meal Exchange, to increase awareness and to address systemic issues which create inequities that lead to post-secondary student food insecurity. Only when food insecurity is eliminated for all and food literacy is enhanced for all will our work truly be done.

If you are a Lakehead University student in the Thunder Bay area who needs assistance, please contact us at LUMXC@mealexchange.com or follow us on Instagram at @lumxc for upcoming dates when and locations where we'll be distributing gift cards on campus. Additionally, we are always looking for students who want to help out with our initiatives - especially as we are hoping to expand our presence on campus in the new school year. If you're interested in joining us, please contact us through one of the channels listed above.

LUMXC partnered with Meal Exchange and the Lakehead University Student Union Food Resource Centre for the grant application. We're grateful for the support of Food Banks Canada in awarding us this grant, with funding provided by the Government of Canada through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Emergency Food Security Fund.

The Winter 2021 FOBA Newsletter has been published.

Catch up on what's been happening with our alumni, students and faculty by reading the newsletter here. 

The March 2021 newsletter for the Department of Health Sciences is now out!

Our vision is to be a leader in applied health research and comprehensive health education that enables and supports individuals and communities to achieve optimal health. 

As the Department of Health Sciences continues to grow, so too does our desire to celebrate our faculty and student achievements.  We sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this latest update, which includes shared stories, success and news.

Read the latest edition of our newsletter here.

Congratulations to Lindsey Holmstrom, a student in the Collaborative BScN program, who is one of the 2021 Registered Nurses' Foundation of Ontario (RNFOO) award winners.

Lindsey has won a Regina Borowska Scholarship. The Regina Borowska Scholarship is awarded to individuals who wish to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing, with preference given to post-diploma RNs, RPNs, and applicants whose professional career goals enable them to contribute to the advancement of nursing.

Congratulations Lindsey!

Congratulations to Dr. Thangarajah Akilan, Assistant Professor in Software Engineering, for being selected to be the guest editor of a special issue called Efficient Deep Learning Models for Resource-Limited Learning for Journal of Imaging.

More information about the special issue is available here.

Here are some of the stories featured in this issue.

Voyage of Discovery

Many people dream of someday embarking upon a bucket-list adventure – like selling everything and hitting the open sea to circumnavigate the globe. Alumna Jennifer Smith (HBSc’85) actually did it.

Changemaker and Risk-Taker

Quentin Evans (HSW’14) is passionate about helping others achieve their goals. He’s currently a community impact project liaison at Georgian College’s Centre for Changemaking and Social Innovation.

Hunger Strike for Health Care

Researcher Dr. Travis Hay explores the implications of Chief Josias Fiddler’s 1988 hunger strike for basic health care in Sandy Lake First Nation in his forthcoming book – The Science of Settler Colonialism.

Canadian Bobsledder Stephanie Drost

Thunder Bay firefighter Stephanie Drost is cool as ice on the bobsled track. The 27-year-old is competing on the European circuit for Team Canada Bobsleigh and she has her sights set on the Olympics.

Trekking to the South Pole

Adventurer Scott Kress (BSc’93/HBOR’93) knows what it’s like to live life on the edge. Scott is the 51st Canadian to summit Mount Everest and he has skied 1,000 kilometres, unsupported, to the South Pole.

Dementia Dialogue

The Dementia Dialogue Podcast – funded by Lakehead’s Centre for Education and Research on Aging & Health – inspires, advocates, dispels misconceptions, and gives a voice to those with dementia.

March 4, 2021 – Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ont.

Lakehead University held its Research and Innovation Awards of Excellence reception virtually on Thursday, March 4 to celebrate the exceptional achievements of professors, partners, and students.

Lakehead named Dr. Edward Rawana and Dr. Mitchell Albert the 2021 Distinguished Researchers for their work in social science and science, respectively.

Dr. Rawana, a Professor in the Department of Psychology and at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, is also the Director of the Centre of Education and Research on Positive Youth Development and a child and adolescent psychologist.

He started at Lakehead University as a Sessional Lecturer in the Department of Psychology in 1985, became an Adjunct Professor in 1987, and began a tenure track position as Assistant Professor in 2004.

Dr. Rawana’s career in psychology has been a continuous and colourful journey toward the subject he is most passionate about: strengths. He is highly active in exploring and promoting the assessment of psychological strengths and incorporating this information into practical methods that address issues of education, addiction, and mental health. 

His research has three goals: to impact the theoretical/research literature pertaining to the influence of psychological strengths on the development of children, adolescents, and adults; to develop psychometric instruments for use in the assessment of psychological strengths of individuals; to focus on the assessment of psychological strengths in the Canadian population of Indigenous children and adults, especially students at Lakehead University receiving services through the Office of Indigenous Initiatives.

Dr. Rawana co-created a psychometric tool called the Strengths Assessment Inventory (SAI) for children and adolescents, which has been used more than 3,000 times and is featured on its own website at strengthassessment.ca. It has attracted considerable attention from a wide range of professionals who also work with youth in varying capacities throughout Canada and internationally. 

Dr. Rawana also provides training and consultation to teachers, parents, and clinicians on the implementation of these strength-based methods, with an emphasis on providing a framework for utilizing strengths in addressing behavioural challenges in children and youth.

His work in the growing area of strengths involving children, adolescents, and their families has resulted in the authoring or co-authoring of over 30 academic and professional publications on the subject. 

This includes the foundational book Reshaping School Culture: Implementing a Strengths-Based Approach in Schools, which lays out fundamental concepts of a strengths-based approach and its application within the educational system. His most recent co-authored book is a companion manual, Strengths and the Ontario Language Curriculum: Strengths-Based Lessons for Grades 4-6.

“My research is focused on the concept of psychological strengths developed by individuals to enhance their self efficacy and to address life challenges,” he said in his acceptance speech.

“It has been gratifying to see this concept be adopted in our community and elsewhere to enhance the mental health, well being and academic achievements of students in the schools.”

Dr. Rawana thanked his family, the Office of Research Services, and other colleagues for their contributions to this important research, including Dr. Keith Brownlee, and the staff and graduate students at the Centre of Education and Research on Positive Youth Development for their significant contribution to his research.

Dr. Albert is a Professor in Chemistry, a Lakehead University/Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) Chair in Molecular Imaging and Advanced Diagnostics, and a Scientist with TBRHRI. He joined Lakehead University and TBRHRI in the spring of 2011.

Dr. Albert is also an Adjunct Professor in Biology, Health Sciences and Physics at Lakehead University and an Adjunct Professor at the Northern Ontario Medical School.

He is a pioneer in the field of hyperpolarized (HP) noble gas magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) since its beginnings in the 1990s, when he co-invented this technology during his graduate studies at Stony Brook University.

Dr. Albert’s HP gas MRI invention changed the course of the pulmonary imaging field since it provided, for the first time, a way to directly visualize the ventilation and gas exchange in the lungs, which is something that other imaging modes cannot readily provide.

“This is important because gas exchange in the airways and lungs is paramount to etiology and understanding of small airway diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung fibrosis, and other diseases of the lungs,” Dr. Albert said.

For this contribution to research, he was awarded the US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers by President Clinton in 1999. He also received a prestigious US National Science Foundation Career Award for his contributions to the development of this technology and contributions to training of highly qualified personnel in this field.

Dr. Albert and his team recently began using HP xenon MRI to study the brain, and imaged the brain of participants with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) for the first time using HP xenon MRI. They went on to demonstrate the use of HP xenon MRI to acquire functional MRI (fMRI) images of the brain with superior sensitivity and signal strength compared to conventional methods.

During Dr. Albert’s career, his research innovation, scientific rigor, and insight has been amply rewarded in terms of funding awards totaling approximately $16.5 million.

Over the past 10 years at Lakehead University, he has been awarded 18 grants totaling approximately $6.6 million to support his research.

His research involved an investigator-initiated clinical trial at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute, and he is happy to see that his imaging invention has recently been approved for clinical use in the UK and is close to approval in the US and Canada.

“It is gratifying that our dream from 30 years ago is starting to be used in clinics at hospitals,” Dr. Albert said during his acceptance speech.

“Although I am receiving this award today, it was my students, staff and collaborators who did all the hard work. A hearty thank you to all of them, and thanks for choosing me to receive this award.”

Dr. Andrew P. Dean, Lakehead’s Vice-President, Research and Innovation, said he was exceptionally proud of the University’s researchers.

“Congratulations to Dr. Rawana and Dr. Albert, and to all Lakehead University researchers,” Dr. Dean said. “This has been a very different R and I Week with it being entirely online. I would like to thank everyone who participated, including the general public, students, faculty and staff, and all of our speakers as well.”

Award Recipients

Three-Minute Thesis

• Third Place: Shadiya Aidid, Master of Health Sciences (Supervisors: Dr. Charles Levkoe and Dr. Lindsay Galway
• Second Place: Taha Sadeghi, PhD in Biotechnology (Supervisor: Dr. Leila Pakzad)
• First Place: Ashley Faulkner, Master of Science, Biology (Supervisor: Dr. Ingeborg Zehbe)

Graduate Studies Research Excellence Awards

Natural Sciences and Engineering Category

• Oleksandr Grynko, PhD in Chemistry and Material Science, (Supervisor: Dr. Alla Reznik) 

Social Sciences and Humanities Category

• Keri-Lyn Durant, PhD in Educational Studies (Supervisor: Dr. Pauline Sameshima)

Canadian Institutes of Health Research Category

• Rebecca Tzalazidis, PhD in Clinical Psychology (Supervisor: Dr. Kirsten Oinonen)

Graduate Student Conference Poster Winners

• Winner Engineering Category: Joseph Higginson, MSc in Chemical Engineering (Supervisor: Dr. Ehsan Behzadfar) 
• Winner NSERC Category: Jocelyn Bel, PhD in Biotechnology (Supervisors: Dr. Neelam Khaper, Dr. Simon Lees)
• Winner SSHRC Category: Cassandra Burgess, PhD in Educational Studies (Supervisors: Dr. Sonia Mastrangelo, Dr. Alex Lawson)
• Winner CIHR Category: Jessica Allingham, PhD Chemistry and Material Science, (Supervisors: Dr. Michael Campbell, Dr. Wely Floriano)

Indigenous Partnership Research Award

Award recipients are Dr. Chris Murray, Department of Sustainability Sciences, Orillia campus, and Nancy Assance, Department of Education, Beausoleil First Nation for their research project, “Agaaming – Across the Bay: Beausoleil First Nation Wind and Water Monitoring Project.”

Ingenuity Award

• Nehikhare Patrick Igbinijesu, Master’s student in Social Justice Studies for his company “Manilla”

Community-Engaged Research Award

• Dr. Kathryn Sinden, School of Kinesiology in partnership with Thunder Bay Fire Rescue/Thunder Bay Professional Firefighters Association for the research project, “Protecting those who protect us: Supporting development of a mental health management strategy for Thunder Bay Fire Rescue.”

Canada Research Chair Award

• The Canada Research Chair holder is Dr. Lindsay Galway, Department of Health Sciences.

Senate Research Committee Awards

 Contribution to Research Award

• Dr. Amir Azimi, Civil Engineering
• Dr. Salimur Choudhury, Computer Science
• Dr. Max Haiven, English

 Distinguished Researcher Award

• Dr. Mitchell Albert, Research Chair and Professor in Chemistry
• Dr. Edward Rawana, Psychology 

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8177 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings; as well as included in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2020 World Universities Rankings for the second consecutive year, and 98th among 766 universities from around the world in THE's 2020 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca. 

February 12, 2021 – North Bay, Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ont.

The presidents from Lakehead University, Confederation College, and Canadore College signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) via Zoom on Friday, February 12 to encourage and facilitate educational opportunities for Indigenous transfer students.

Click here to watch the virtual signing event.

The five-year MOU comes after these post-secondary institutions collaborated on several recent projects funded by the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) exploring the enhancement of wrap-around supports for Indigenous transfer students. These are team-based supports that ensure the post-secondary institutions understand each student's strengths and provide a network of holistic support.

“It’s great to see colleges and universities finding ways to work together to support students in the north,” said the Honourable Ross Romano, Minister of Colleges and Universities. “With support from ONCAT, the ability for Indigenous students to transfer easily and gain a post-secondary credential will strengthen the well-being and economy of Indigenous communities.”

“ONCAT is thrilled to collaborate with our partners at Lakehead University, Canadore College, and Confederation College to improve access to programs and degrees — and reduce cultural barriers to success — for Indigenous transfer students,” said Yvette Munro, Executive Director of ONCAT. “This unique partnership will find new and better ways to support Indigenous students and enrich our learning as a transfer system.”

Specifically, projects led by Lakehead University’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives, Confederation College’s Negahneewin Research Centre (formerly Centre for Policy and Research in Indigenous Learning), and Canadore College’s First Peoples’ Centre have listened to learners, support staff, influencers, and community members.

“We are always pleased to partner with fellow post-secondary institutions that share our vision of excellence in education and support of student success,” said Kathleen Lynch, President of Confederation College. “Through our formalized relationship with Canadore College and Lakehead University on this project, we look forward to reducing barriers and increasing supports for Indigenous transfer students.”  

The MOU outlines how the schools intend to collaborate in planning for, developing, and establishing a seamless transfer agreement to strengthen retention of Indigenous transfer students at each school.

“Canadore has a proud history of commitment to Indigenous students by offering programs and services based on cultural values and practices,” said Canadore College President and CEO George Burton. “This partnership carries on that tradition and creates exciting new educational opportunities for Indigenous learners.”

The schools intend to explore the cultivation of inter- and intra-institutional academic and cultural support for Indigenous transfer students.

“Lakehead University’s commitment to social responsibility recognizes the importance of our role as a regional university in making a difference to all the communities we serve," said Lakehead University President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Moira McPherson. "This MOU further demonstrates our continuing and collective commitment to encouraging and facilitating education opportunities for Indigenous learners."

The first point of contact for student-transfer-focused collaboration will be the Coordinator of Indigenous Outreach and Recruitment, Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead University, the Registrar and Director, Strategic Enrolment Services at Canadore College, and the Registrar at Confederation College.

The schools will establish an internal and external working group. The external working group will consist of the Vice-Provost, Indigenous Initiatives, the Coordinator of Indigenous Student Services Centre, and the Coordinator of Indigenous Outreach and Recruitment at Lakehead University, who will meet with designate(s) from Canadore College and designate(s) from Confederation College to make progress on the principles of the MOU.

– 30 –

Media are invited to reach out to the contact(s) listed below to request more information or an interview from each institution:

Lakehead University

Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate

(807) 343-8177

mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca

Confederation College

Ashleigh Quarrell, Manager, Communications and Public Relations

(807) 632-5296

aquarrel@confederationcollege.ca

Canadore College

Cindy Males, Public Relations and Communications Specialist

(705) 475-2538

cindy.males@canadorecollege.ca

ONCAT

Ana Skinner, Manager, Funding Programs
(647) 637.8501
askinner@oncat.ca

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings; as well as included in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2020 World Universities Rankings for the second consecutive year, and 98th among 766 universities from around the world in THE's 2020 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca. 

Confederation College has been serving the citizens of northwestern Ontario since 1967 meeting the educational needs of students in a catchment area of some 550,000 square kilometres. Along with its main campus in Thunder Bay, Confederation College has eight regional sites located in Dryden, Fort Frances, Greenstone, Kenora, Marathon, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake and Wawa. Confederation College delivers exceptional education and training to an average of 7,000 combined full- and part-time students per year and currently has over 850 full- and part-time employees. Confederation’s regional economic impact and contribution is currently valued at $643.4 million annually. Visit www.confederationcollege.ca.

Canadore College trains people through applied learning, leadership and innovation. It provides access to over 80 full-time quality programs and has outstanding faculty and provides success services to students from nearly 400 Canadian communities and 15 international countries. The College, its students, and alumni add in excess of $244 million to the Nipissing Parry Sound service area economy. Approximately 1,000 students graduate from Canadore each year, and they join 46,000 alumni working across the globe. Canadore receives less than 50 per cent of its traditional funding from the provincial Ministry of Colleges and Universities and relies on its own innovation and entrepreneurial endeavours and generous donors for the balance.

Established in 2011, the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) was created to enhance academic pathways and reduce barriers for students looking to transfer among Ontario’s public colleges, universities, and Indigenous Institutes. Working with our network of Ontario’s 45 colleges and universities, Indigenous Institutes, students, government, guidance counsellors, as well as other stakeholders provincially and nationally, ONCAT is building a culture and understanding of transfer so that students can pursue a more seamless and affordable post-secondary education. ONCAT is funded by the Government of Ontario. For more information, please visit www.oncat.ca.