Animals have been a constant in the life of Lakehead student Zhawanoogbiik (Zee) Riley. She's grown up surrounded by ducks, turkeys, chickens, dogs, and cats. More recently, horses and a cockatiel have joined her menagerie.

Photo Credit: Leylâ/Pexels

"My grandmother taught me how to rear domestic and wild animals by hand," Zee says. "I raised two geese in my bedroom until they were four months old. I had to clean my room four times a day until they were diaper trained."

Her rapport with animals made becoming a veterinarian a childhood dream.

"It's what I've wanted to do since I was six years old," she says.

Zee recently completed Lakehead's eight-month Indigenous STEM Access Program (ISTEM). The program offers preparatory courses and support to Indigenous students who want to apply to Lakehead degree programs in the sciences and engineering fields.

"ISTEM has been amazing," Zee says. "It gave me a university experience while teaching me time management and research skills. It also introduced me to different university services and helped me form a supportive community before starting my Honours Bachelor of Science this September."

Spirit Woman of the South

When it comes to her favourite animals, Zee says that she "gravitates to eagles, because it's my clan. I know where their nests are, and I can identify different eagles. I'm also very drawn to horses because of the bond and understanding I have with them." Photo Credit: David Dibert/Pexels

When she's not at Lakehead, Zee is at her family home, Riley Ranch on Three Fires, in southwestern Ontario. Zee's community is an integral part of her identity, always introducing herself in her language as: Zhawanoogbiik indizhinikaaz. Miigizi indoodem. Deshkan Ziibing indonjibaa. Anishinaabekwe indaaw.

This translates to: My name is Spirit Woman of the South. I am from Eagle Clan. I come from Antler River/Chippewa Thames First Nation. I am an Anishinaabe woman.

Riley Ranch is also the place where Zee runs a thriving business. "Last year, we began providing equine-assisted therapy to help young people aged 15-30 who are struggling with PTSD, intergenerational trauma, autism, ADHD, and depression," Zee says.

"Horses have an innate understanding of humans and our body language. They know if you are happy, anxious, sad, or mad. Our clients are coming from tough spots in their lives and aren't able to trust people, but they can trust horses."

Zee has a miniature horse, a quarter horse, and a Haflinger horse. As part of her equine-assisted therapy, each client is paired with a horse. "They become a team that learns to navigate obstacles together," Zee says. "Caring for an animal and developing a relationship based on mutual respect is a big part of healing." Photo Credit: Richard Burlton/richardworks/Unsplash

Standing Up for Animals

In addition to her therapy work, Zee is a passionate animal-welfare advocate. During the pandemic in 2020, while in high school, she established a no-cost animal food bank at the Riley Ranch on Three Fires.

These services became necessary after COVID-19 caused economic hardships and health orders made it necessary to impose restrictions on who could enter the Chippewa of the Thames First Nation, making it difficult for some community members to access veterinary care. "Some people were forced to choose between feeding their families and feeding their animals," Zee says. "Packs of wild dogs on the reserve began to get aggressive because they were starving."

In 2022, Zee entered the Pow Wow Pitch entrepreneurship competition to raise awareness and money for her animal food bank. "I don't care what someone's financial situation is," Zee says. "If they need help for their animals, they'll get help." Photo Credit: RK Jajoria/Pexels

"We operate like a Tim Horton's drive-thru where people can pick up food for dogs and cats, but also hamsters, ferrets, and kangaroos," Zee continues.

"We even found food for a camel." Along with distributing food, Zee gives out free crates, leashes, and other pet supplies. Her animal-welfare activities extend to arranging at-cost spays, neuters, vaccinations, and other veterinarian services through her partnership with the East Village Animal Hospital in London.

Although Zee has just started her Lakehead degree, which is focused on animal sciences, she's already proven herself to be a fierce protector of all creatures, great and small.

As we launch into a new academic year, read about the many exciting opportunities that our students, alumni and faculty members are involved in!

https://mailchi.mp/72fdfc064146/making-an-impact-in-public-health-health-research?e=0274446d6c

Mohammed Kamel AbuFoul, a graduate student from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Lakehead University, has been awarded the AFCCE Scholarship for the fall 2025 semester by the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (AFCCE), Washington, D.C., USA. This scholarship recognizes academic excellence in communications engineering and is awarded to graduate students who demonstrate strong potential for a career in telecommunications engineering.

Mohammed Kamel AbuFoul is a PhD candidate at the Thunder Bay campus under the supervision of Dr. Salama Ikki. He specializes in physical-layer communication and integrated sensing in high-mobility environments, including 6G waveform design and OTFS performance analysis.

He is also a sessional instructor in the Software Engineering and Computer Science departments at Lakehead. Recently, he was awarded a research grant from Mitacs–Lab2Market for the project "AutoSAR: Autonomous UAV Search and Rescue Using Deep Learning for Emergency Response in Remote and Infrastructure-Free Regions" (Ontario, Canada, 2025). He has also served as a peer reviewer for leading journals such as IEEE Wireless Communications Letters and SCIENCE CHINA Information Sciences.

The Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (AFCCE) is a professional organization of individuals who are involved in the field of broadcast and wireless communications, many of whom regularly assist clients on technical issues before the Federal Communications Commission, FCC. In addition to its professional activities, AFCCE engages in charitable and educational activities, including the administration of this scholarship fund.

Amidst the bustle of campus life, the Wellness Path near the Faculty of Education offers a place to slow down—a quiet refuge from the stresses and demands of modern life. Open to individuals, families, and the university community, the labyrinth welcomes anyone who ventures its way.

"The labyrinth is a walking, meditative path," says Devon Lee. Its twists and turns are sometimes seen as a symbol of those we experience on our own life journeys.

Devon Lee (third from left) and her Philosophy of Education students (L to R): Arafat Alamgir Shanto, Shakil Zaman, and Ayoola Jegede at the entrance of the Wellness Path. Devon's work focuses on climate education, the environment, and folk schooling (non-formal education for adults). Devon also worked on Lakehead’s Labyrinth Learning Project as a graduate assistant and as Lakehead’s sustainability coordinator. 

Lee is a Lakehead PhD student in Educational Studies and a contract lecturer who has been closely involved with the labyrinth since its inception.

"People can experience deep emotions in the labyrinth, and it can be a powerful way to deal with grief. As a teacher, I've also used it to help people get to know each other and to answer complex questions. Labyrinths can be a pilgrimage in both a secular and a religious sense," she adds.

Labyrinths Versus Mazes

The Wellness Path (above) isn’t the only labyrinth on the Thunder Bay campus. There’s a second labyrinth next to the CASES building. This labyrinth has a dual purpose—to encourage contemplation and to act as a stormwater catchment area.

The words "labyrinth" and "maze" are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are different in both purpose and design.

Mazes often have multiple entrances and branching paths that lead to dead ends. They're a puzzle meant to confuse the walker. Labyrinths are a single path that takes the walker to their centre. You can never lose your way in a labyrinth.

A labyrinth is a walking meditation that encourages the walker to slow down and reflect.

"No one really knows where labyrinths originated," Lee says. "They're ancient and they're found in cultures all over the world that had little or no contact with each other."

A labyrinth etched into a rock face at least 11,000 years ago in Nevada and the French medieval labyrinth found in Chartres Cathedral are just two examples.

"Recently, labyrinths have gained traction in schools, hospitals, and churches as a wellness or mindfulness practice," Lee says. "K-12 schools are using them indoors and outdoors to help children decompress."

Welcome to the Wellness Path

Philosophy of Education students Nicholas McPherson, Natasha Nkrumah, and Portia Addai Adusei relax at the labyrinth after class. Besides walking labyrinths, there are also labyrinths that are painted on walls or printed on paper that allow people to trace their paths using their fingers.

Lakehead Professor Emeritus Dr. David Greenwood led the group that advocated for the construction of the Wellness Path. At the time, he was the university's Canada Research Chair in Environmental Education, within the Faculty of Education.

Dr. Greenwood worked with landscape architect Werner Schwar to design the labyrinth, which was completed in 2022.

It has 11 switchbacks and is modelled on the "Path of Peace" labyrinth form. It takes 5-20 minutes to complete, depending upon the walker's pace.

Some of the boulders in the labyrinth were quarried locally, including the two at the centre where people can sit once they've completed their journey.

Lakehead's labyrinth is also notable for fostering environmental wellness alongside human wellness.

"It's a place that was previously a monoculture of grass," Lee says. "Now, there's mountain ash, yarrow, coneflower, and other native plant species that are encouraging biodiversity."

Learning from the Labyrinth

 "I find that people are often a little bit reluctant to walk the labyrinth, but once they do it, they feel more comfortable and walk it again and again," Devon Lee says.

Lee uses the labyrinth as a form of holistic and embodied learning. "That means using movement, our whole body, and our senses to learn," she explains.

"My education students walk the path with a specific question in mind, which they then journal about," Lee says. "For one of my recent classes, their question was, 'How can educators promote the conditions for democracy to thrive?'

The sense of inquiry and contemplation is much greater than if they were sitting in a classroom or writing an essay on their computers."

The Wellness Path supports two United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being and SDG 13: Climate Action. Visit the Wellness Path beside the Faculty of Education on Oliver Road to discover the power of a labyrinth.

Forests around the world face unprecedented challenges from a rapidly changing climate, and a team of Lakehead University researchers is stepping up to lead solutions.

Thanks to $1.67 million in funding from the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation in Germany, seven professors from Lakehead University’s Faculty of Natural Resources Management will play a central role in a groundbreaking international research network dedicated to forest adaptation called FORSCALE: Scale Effects in the Forest Adaptation to Climate Change. The research will explore forest adaptation at many levels — from tree genetics and whole ecosystems to policy and land-use planning — and examine how biological, ecological, and social systems interact to shape forest health in a changing climate.

The Canadian arm of the international project is led by Dr. Brigitte Leblon, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Resources Management and principal investigator for Canada. Joining her from Lakehead are: Dr. Ashley Thomson, Dr. Brian McLaren, Dr. QingLai Dang, Dr. Michel Laforge, Dr. Seung-Il Lee, and Dr. Dzhamal Amishev. These seven experts bring deep expertise in forest ecology, remote sensing, fire management, genomics, entomology, forest operations, wildlife management, and ecophysiology. Lakehead is collaborating with leading institutions across Canada and Germany, including: Université TÉLUQ, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), University of British Columbia, and University of Freiburg (Germany) with project coordinator: Professor Thomas Seifert. Canadian partners include the Canadian Forest Service, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts du Québec, DOMTAR (Thunder Bay and Québec), and other forestry-sector organizations. The German side of the project is supported in part by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).

Over the next six years, 41 graduate students and post-doctoral researchers in Canada, along with 20 PhD students in Germany, will be co-supervised by professors in both countries. This collaborative model offers students immersive, hands-on research opportunities that span disciplines, borders, and perspectives.

“At the heart of this project is the chance to empower the next generation of forest scientists to make a real difference,” said Dr. Brigitte Leblon. “Our students will learn and contribute on a global scale, helping to shape climate solutions grounded in both science and collaboration.”

Lakehead University’s Faculty of Natural Resources Management (NRM) is a hub for hands-on learning and applied research in the heart of the boreal forest. Faculty and students work across forestry, wildlife, and environmental management, blending field training with advanced lab and data science to solve real-world problems. Partnering with governments, industry, communities, and Indigenous partners, NRM advances sustainable forest practices, climate adaptation, fire management, genomics, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem resilience while preparing the next generation of resource professionals and researchers to lead in a changing world.

As one of the first initiatives to examine forest adaptation through a cross-scale, international lens, FORSCALE represents more than just research; it’s a model for how science can guide resilience. For students, it’s a gateway to high-impact learning. For the planet, it’s a pathway to more adaptive, sustainable forest management.

Thunder Bay, Ont. – A national initiative to improve Indigenous youth mental health, co-led by local researcher Dr. Chris Mushquash, has secured an additional $10.8 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Dr. Mushquash, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction; Professor in the Department of Psychology at Lakehead University; Vice President Research at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre; and Chief Scientist at Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute, and Dr. Srividya Iyer, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Youth, Mental Health, and Learning Health Systems and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, are co-leading the four-year project focused on building a trust-based learning network across Canada to support culturally-grounded mental health services for Indigenous youth.

Indigenous youth in Canada face significant mental health challenges, such as intergenerational trauma, cultural disconnect, increased poverty, and limited access to health services, often due to geographic location and systemic barriers. Despite these challenges, Indigenous youth have strong connections to culture, community, and land, which are powerful protective factors that promote well-being.

As part of the ACCESS Open Minds Indigenous Youth Mental Health and Wellness Network, this initiative will strengthen capacity amongst Indigenous communities and integrated youth services (IYS) networks to deliver inclusive, high-quality, culturally and contextually relevant, and responsive mental health services with, and for, Indigenous youth. The project is guided by the strength of multigenerational teaching and brings together Elders, Knowledge Holders, youth, families, and community leaders, including Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, who serve 13 First Nations across northwest Ontario.

“This is an incredible opportunity for our network to help close critical gaps by cultivating a trust-based, collaborative learning environment across Canada,” said Dr. Mushquash. “With this investment, we can translate knowledge into real-life improvements for Indigenous youth, ensuring that services are more culturally grounded, accessible, and responsive to community needs. Being able to co-lead this work from northwestern Ontario, and specifically Thunder Bay, is deeply significant, as it reflects both the challenges and strengths of the communities we serve.”

The project will utilize various forms of data, including stories, lived experiences, cultural teachings, and images, to guide and strengthen its work. Its goals are to build community capacity, nurture the next generation of Indigenous and allied leaders, and weave Indigenous knowledge systems into service delivery. The interdisciplinary research team also aims to advance approaches rooted in Indigenous worldviews and values. Through these efforts, the network will help empower Indigenous communities and support partner organizations in delivering high-quality, culturally grounded care, while fostering sustainable development and ongoing learning.

"Lakehead University is committed to serving the communities we are proud to be part of, and that includes driving progress through research to improve health outcomes for Indigenous youth here in northwestern Ontario and across Canada,” said Dr. Langis Roy, Vice-President, Research and Innovation at Lakehead University. “This project demonstrates the vital role universities play in advancing knowledge, fostering innovation, and partnering with communities to create meaningful, lasting change in society.”

The Government of Canada, through CIHR and Indigenous Services Canada, and its partners, the Graham Boeckh Foundation (GBF) and Bell-GBF Partnership, is investing more than $30 million over four years in the Integrated Youth Services Network of Networks (IYS-Net) to strengthen and expand research across Canada. An innovative approach to youth-focused mental health, IYS provides youth with equitable access to a range of services and supports that contribute to health. This includes mental health and substance use services, alongside primary care, peer support, work and study supports, and more.

The ISSC is looking for student volunteers for the annual Fall Harvest on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students will learn from Elders while volunteering.

If you are interested in volunteering on google form https://forms.gle/DVqxNsRvpNJChit86 or contact the ISSC at adm.issc@lakeheadu.ca.

Dr. Abdelhamid Tayebi, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been named a Fellow of the International Core Academy of Sciences and Humanities. He was selected for this international recognition from his peers for his innovative research and outstanding commitment to the advancement of knowledge in his field.

The Fellowship of the International Core Academy of Sciences and Humanities is a prestigious and globally recognized honour, awarded to scholars who have attained the highest levels of excellence in their respective disciplines. Fellows are selected for their outstanding contributions across various fields, including natural sciences, engineering, technology, mathematics, social sciences, humanities, and the arts, with particular focus on their groundbreaking advancements in knowledge and innovation.

Becoming a Fellow of the CORE Academy is an exclusive distinction, granted by invitation only. Candidates must undergo a rigorous selection process, which includes thorough peer reviews conducted by divisional fellows, academic committee members, and executive board examiners, before being officially elected.

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.

Check out the latest version of our Bulletin by clicking here.

Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ont. – Lakehead University professors Dr. Christopher Mushquash and Dr. Sarah Olutola are joining the Royal Society of Canada’s Class of 2025, one of the country’s highest academic honours.

Dr. Christopher Mushquash, a leading figure in Indigenous mental health and addiction research, clinical care, and training, will be inducted as an RSC Fellow in recognition of his remarkable contributions to shaping policy and practice that improve systems of care across the country. His work integrates traditional knowledge with scientific approaches to ensure care for Indigenous peoples is culturally and contextually appropriate.

“To be recognized as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada is a tremendous honour made possible through the support and dedication of my family, friends, colleagues, trainees, and research team, but most importantly, the respectful collaboration with our community organization partners, Elders, youth, and communities that our team is dedicated to serving,” said Dr. Mushquash, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction and professor in the Department of Psychology.

A member of Pawgwasheeng (Pays Plat First Nation), Dr. Mushquash holds several key leadership roles, including Director of the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research at Lakehead, Vice President Research at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and Chief Scientist at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute.

Dr. Sarah Olutola, a rising leader in Black critical theory, African and African diasporic postcolonialism, and social justice, will be inducted into the RSC’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. Recognized as both a groundbreaking scholar and a leading voice in young adult literature, her work bridges academic research and creative writing to spark global conversations about race, gender, and youth culture.

“As a scholar, public intellectual, and novelist, I’ve designed the scope of my research and art to materialize the transformative potential of Black feminist scholarship, and I’m truly honoured that the College has recognized my work,” said Dr. Olutola.

An associate professor in the Department of English, Dr. Olutola brings together scholarship and creative writing to engage global audiences, exploring race and gender in popular media and youth culture. Writing under the pen name “Sarah Raughley,” she is the author of several young adult fantasy novels, including the bestselling Effigies series and the recently released The Queen’s Spade, which addresses themes of imperialism, humanitarianism, and adoption.

Lakehead president and vice-chancellor, Dr. Gillian Siddall, extended her congratulations.

“The recognition of Dr. Mushquash and Dr. Olutola by the Royal Society of Canada celebrates their significant contributions to understanding and advancing people, culture and society– building frameworks to support Indigenous youth and communities, and inspiring more inclusive futures,” said Dr. Siddall. “Congratulations to these exceptional researchers whose achievements are affecting real change for people and making a lasting impact on society.”

Dr. Mushquash and Dr. Olutola will be formally inducted into the RSC at a ceremony on November 14.