Funding for Lakehead University graduate students leads to important research

Image of a Rubik's Cube

Shakira Mohammed, a PhD student in Psychology, is receiving a $105,000 Canada Graduate Scholarship
from SSHRC to study how perfectionism is associated with depression and other symptoms in university students
over three years.

December 19, 2022 – Thunder Bay, Ont.

Lakehead University graduate students are receiving more than $410,000 in grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Shakira Mohammed, a PhD student in Psychology, is receiving a $105,000 Canada Graduate Scholarship from SSHRC to study how perfectionism is associated with depression and other symptoms in university students over three years.

Photo of Shakira Mohammed

Her research will address limitations in the literature by advancing knowledge in post-secondary research using methods such as a daily online survey over seven days. The results may inform post-secondary education programming aimed at enriching student experiences.

“University life can be a volatile and stressful time,” Mohammed said.

“I am passionate to understand contributing factors that increase the risk for negative outcomes that can occur during this stage of life. This research may help to support university students who may be struggling with adjustment difficulties.”

She believes an emphasis on supports that address the risk factors for students who experience maladjustment when entering university may improve academic success outcomes for students and student retention across Canadian post-secondary education settings.

Christine Green, a master’s student in History, is receiving a $17,500 Canada Graduate Scholarship from SSHRC to explore community museums in Northwestern Ontario for one year.

Photo of Christine Green

Green will analyze Indigenous representation in their activities over the past six years, investigating the status of these museums and the obstacles smaller museums face in working towards compliance of the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Museums play an essential role in the creation of national identity, and critical assessments of museums in Canada have pointed to museums strengthening class distinctions and glorifying colonial subjugation of Indigenous peoples.

As part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, the Canadian Museum Association was tasked with collaborating with Indigenous peoples to undertake a national review of museum policies and best practices to determine the level of compliance with the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to make recommendations.

“It is my hope that this project provides a starting point for further examination of museum practices in Ontario and Canada in relation to Indigenous representation at the community level,” Green said.

“The pursuit of this project will provide me with the opportunity to begin answering these questions,” she said.

“It will also provide me with the skills to research and produce a lasting volume that will contribute to the ongoing work within many institutions in the region that responds to Call to Action #67, which calls for federal funding for a national review of museum policies and best practices.”

Dr. Chander Shahi, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, congratulated all of the award recipients.

“I am so thrilled to hear about the incredible success of our graduate students receiving the Tri-Council awards,” Dr. Shahi said.

“I am extremely proud of our graduate students, who inspire by having such ambitious goals, and then putting in the hard work to achieve them.

“This amazing accomplishment is just one step in their journey, and their ability to relentlessly search for solutions to problems and find innovative ways to improve the world is the key to their success and many more to come.”

 

Graduate Student Awards 2022 - $412,500

Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s program:  $17,500 – One-Year Grants

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

  • Lydia Hicks, Department of Psychology, “The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Suicide Related Behaviours on Substance Use in Indigenous Populations”.
  • Micaela Sheinin, Department of Psychology, “Investigating Cannabis Use Among Canadian Women Experiencing Menstrual Cycle Distress”.

 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

  • Bianca Boboc, Department of Psychology, “The Role of Hormones and Negative Emotions in Facial Emotion Processing”.
  • Tristen Brown, Department of Civil Engineering, “Wind-induced Pounding of Tall Structures in Proximity”.
  • Conor McGovern, Department of Chemistry, “Solid Phase Radiofluorination of Amines”.

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

  • Jaidyn Charlton, Department of Psychology, “A Daily Diary Approach to Examining the Coping Methods of the Dark Tetrad in Response to Everyday Stressors”.
  • Christine Green, Department of History, “Exploring Cultural Representation in Public History: Indigenous Representation in Northwestern Ontario Community Museums”.
  • Chelsea Noel, Department of Psychology, “Are Youth Differentially Impacted by Cannabis Advertising? An Ecological Momentary Assessment of Demographic and Psychosis Risk Factors in a Canadian Post-legalization Context”.
  • Mila Popovic, Department of Psychology, “Is the Stigma of Mental Illness Separable from the Stigma of Self-Harm?”
  • Haileigh Riddell, Department of History, “Eugenics in Canada: New Insight Through A Comparison of Two Eugenic Bodies”.
  • Stephanie Skelton, Department of Archeology, “Assessing Proteomic and Stable Isotopic Analyses of Archaeological Ceramics”.
  • Brooklyn Wilson, Department of Social Work, “Queerness as a Gift from God: The United Church of Canada’s Religious Leaders' Opposition to Conversion Therapy”.
  • Jillian Zitars, Department of Psychology, “Matching Mobile Crisis Models to Communities: Examples from Northern Ontario”.

The Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral Program (SSHRC CGS-D) – $105,000 – Three-Year Grant

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

  • Shakira Mohammed, Department of Psychology, “Perfectionism From the Inside and Outside: Clarifying the Role of Intra- and Interpersonal Processes in Predicting Maladjustment Using Multi-Source Longitudinal Methods”.

SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Program – $80,000 – Four-Year Grant

  • Karin Onno, Department of Psychology, “Motivations to Forgive: Examining Pathways of Change”.        

 

 

 

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8110 ext. 8372 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 nine faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2023 World Universities Rankings for the fourth consecutive year, and the number one university in the world with fewer than 10,000 students in THE’s 2022 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.