We have so many educational opportunities in this issue - most of which are free for health and social care providers working in Northwestern Ontario. Don't miss out on these events! Read the edition here.

The Research and Innovation Bulletin is distributed weekly every Tuesday by the Office of Research Services and includes information on research funding opportunities, events and workshops and updates from our funding partners.

Checkout the latest version of our Bulletin, by clicking here.

Check out the latest Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences newsletter for updates on our recent activity and upcoming events.

Check out the latest Lake Superior Living Labs Network (LSLLN) newsletter for updates on our recent activity and upcoming events. The LSLLN serves as a platform to connect academics and community groups to develop new partnerships and collaborative initiatives across the Lake Superior watershed. For more information visit www.livinglabsnetwork.org.

Lakehead Leader Awards ceremonies were held with 26 students in Thunder Bay and 14 students in Orillia receiving awards. Award recipients were recognized for their achievements in one or more of the following categories: Community Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion, Innovation, Sustainability, Academic Excellence, and Rising Star. In addition, nine students (five in Thunder Bay and four in Orillia) were recognized with a Lakehead Luminary award in recognition of achievements spanning multiple categories. Congratulations to all of the award winners!

The 2024 Lakehead Arts Integrated Research (LAIR) resident artist is Paul Edmonds. His painted stained glass series is featured on the LAIR website. Paul is a self-taught artist who started painting in the 1980s, as a means to convey hope, resiliency, and beauty in the face of adversity.

Paul is known worldwide as the “City of Hope Patient”. He is one of five people who have been cured of HIV. Of this very rare group, Paul is the eldest and had HIV the longest. Through a life-saving stem cell transplant of a rare genetic mutation that makes the body resistant to HIV, Paul is now cured and he no longer takes HIV medication.

Paul serves on the Community Advisory Board for RID-HIV, one of 10 Martin Delaney Collaboratories funded by the National Institutes of Health. He also works tirelessly, speaking at events and raising awareness of HIV cure research. He believes that art has the power to inspire, heal, and bring people together.

While stem cell transplantation is not an accessible cure, the five cured patients have provided scientists with an increased understanding of the virus. The World Health Organization reports that in 2022, 39 million people were living with HIV and 630,000 people died of HIV-related illnesses. WHO contends that “HIV continues to be a major global public health issue”. Through collaborative scientific research and community engagement efforts, HIV research awareness is growing. See related HIV arts integrated efforts in the LAIR Gallery.

The LAIR Galleries regularly feature juried artworks and artists, promoting the power of the arts in research and education. 

Pictured is Stained Glass No. 6, Paul Edmonds, 2023

Enactus Lakehead represented Lakehead University’s Thunder Bay campus at the Enactus Canada Central Region Regional Exposition in Mississauga on March 7 and 8. A team from the Orillia campus also participated this year for the first time.

Each year, Enactus Canada runs a series of regional and national expositions allowing teams to display their work from the past academic year. Enactus Lakehead was recognized as the runner-up in the TD-Entrepreneurship Challenge, an award last won by Enactus Lakehead in 2019.

This year, the team developed a new project called Brain Blitz, which focuses on educating high school and university students on the basics of entrepreneurship and soft skills through numerous activities such as speaker series, soft skills workshops, and hackathons. Enactus Lakehead would like to thank all the students who participated in these events and the faculty and staff who supported our activities! In total, since starting this project in June 2023, Enactus Lakehead impacted over 580 students.

Thanks to many different sponsors, four different competitions were run. The team participated in the Desjardins Youth Empowerment Challenge, TD Entrepreneurship Challenge, and the Innovation and Impact Challenge Powered by Enactus Alumni. At the regional exposition, 29 teams competed for the title of regional champion in their given challenge.

Before the competition, our team ran a Pre-Regionals Community Showcase that was attended by numerous entrepreneurship mentors from across Thunder Bay. The showcase provided the team with valuable practice and feedback on their presentation.

Thanks to all this practice, Enactus Lakehead was recognized as the Runner-Up in the TD-Entrepreneurship Challenge, an award not won by Enactus Lakehead since 2019. Morgan Gordon, the project manager of Brain Blitz, expressed, “it is amazing to be recognized for our hard work and dedication to serving the student community of Lakehead University.”

At the regional exposition, the team also had the opportunity to network with upwards of 1,400 other university students with the same goal.

The Thunder Bay Enactus team will be traveling to the Enactus Canada National Exposition in May to compete with the same project, with the goal of being crowned National Champion, and the honour of representing Canada in the World Cup!

Enactus Lakehead would like to thank all the students, faculty, and staff who have volunteered numerous hours to advise and assist the team throughout all of its activities. Without the support of these individuals as well as our sponsors, inspirational trips like these would not be possible!

March 1, 2024 – Thunder Bay, Ont.

Students, employees and the Thunder Bay community are invited to gather in celebration of Indigenous culture and dance at the Indigenous Cultural Traditions Club's (ICTC) 34^th Annual Powwow.

The annual Powwow takes place in the CJ Sanders Fieldhouse at Lakehead University from March 8 to 10. ICTC is honoured to have Rolling Thunder as the Host Drum.

Warm-ups will be held on Friday, March 8 from 6 to 8 pm. The Grand Entry will take place at 1 pm and 6 pm on Saturday, March 9. A traditional feast will be served at 5 pm. The Powwow will wrap up for the day around 9 pm. On Sunday, March 10, the Grand Entry will take place at 12 pm and the Powwow will end at 5 pm.

The annual Powwow is ICTC’s signature event that showcases tremendous talent and entertainment, free of charge, while reinforcing traditional aspects of Indigenous culture such as drumming, dancing, singing, and giving thanks. 

ICTC (formerly the Lakehead University Native Student Association) is a volunteer LUSU club. The club’s goal is to promote the spirit of unity among Indigenous students at Lakehead through social, cultural, and recreational events in addition to promoting cultural awareness between club members and the greater student population.

Agenda

Friday, March 8
Warm-ups, 6 to 8 pm

Saturday, March 9
Grand Entry, 1 pm and 6 pm
Traditional feast, 5 pm

Sunday, March 10

Grand Entry, 12 pm

Closing ceremonies until 5 pm 

Master of Ceremonies: Todd Genno
Arena Director: Brad Fyfe
Spiritual Advisor: Carmela Moses
Host Drum:  Rolling Thunder

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Media: For further information or to arrange an interview, contact Jaclyn Bucik, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at 705-330-4010 ext. 2014 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 9,000 students in THE’s 2023 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

Check out the latest Lake Superior Living Labs Network (LSLLN) newsletter for updates on our recent activity and upcoming events. The LSLLN serves as a platform to connect academics and community groups to develop new partnerships and collaborative initiatives across the Lake Superior watershed. For more information visit www.livinglabsnetwork.org.

This month, CERAH has so many amazing events, learning opportunities and updates for you! If you are a future health or social care provider, there are a number of free events and educational opportunities coming up. Click here to access: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/CERAH-E-Blast---April-2024.html?soid....