Lakehead Researchers Work on the Frontlines to Reduce Barriers to Personal Identification

Originally published in the Chronicle Journal on July 5, 2025

By EMILY DONTSOS

Having a birth certificate is something most of us take for granted. But what happens if you don’t have one? 

As two Lakehead University researchers have discovered, this is a scenario faced by countless people across northwestern Ontario—and the consequences can be devastating.

“Many people can go a long time without needing a birth certificate or other ID, but when an emergency happens—like needing access to healthcare, housing, or essential services—they need it urgently. And it can be much more difficult to obtain than many people realize,” says Dr. Chris Sanders, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology. 

Ten years ago, Dr. Sanders and Dr. Kristin Burnett, a professor in the Department of Indigenous Learning, became aware of the full scope of this issue when they were asked to evaluate the Awenen Niin Identification Program being run by Kinna-aweya Legal Clinic in Thunder Bay. The program had been launched in response to the high number of low-income individuals in need of services but without the required ID.  

“From that evaluation, we found that lack of ID is much more widespread and complex than previously thought,” Dr. Burnett says. “It affects people who are unhoused, but also those who are disconnected from their families, people raised in the child welfare system, those experiencing financial barriers, and many others.” 

Wanting to explore the issue further, the two researchers successfully applied for funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and connected with the Thunder Bay ID Action Group—a coalition of grassroots and frontline service organizations working together to address lack of ID among people experiencing vulnerability. 

“It was an issue we realized we could not only investigate to better understand, but that we could actually contribute to solving,” says Dr. Sanders. 

Making a Difference through “Action Research”  

In 2019, Drs. Burnett and Sanders began actively participating in and evaluating ID clinics run by the Thunder Bay ID Action Group across northwestern Ontario. 

Their aim is to identify the key barriers to obtaining identification and put forward recommendations to Service Ontario and other government bodies to help reduce those barriers. But they’re also working day in and day out to help people access ID. 

“I like to call it ‘action research’ because we’re not just conducting conventional research; we’re working directly with people in the community to navigate the systemic barriers they face,”  Dr. Burnett says. 

Over the years, they have helped thousands of people obtain birth certificates and other forms of ID so they can access healthcare, housing, essential services, and education—work that is directly aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #10, which focuses on reducing inequalities. But the obstacles they’ve encountered along the way have been numerous and complex. 

“Service Ontario can only help with typical applications where all of the necessary information is available,” Dr. Burnett says. “But individuals with complex or incomplete applications are often sent away and have to try to get help from other agencies; many people end up waiting years to get their ID sorted out.” 

Calling for Change 

With years of first-hand observations and data analysis behind them, Drs. Burnett and Sanders are now focused on pushing for systemic change.  

Their top recommendations have been compiled into a series of six calls to action—including a demand to eliminate application fees for birth certificates, which can be a critical barrier for people living in poverty. 

The two researchers are also writing a book on the issue, which will be published later this year, and they’re in the process of creating a website to share their knowledge, insights, and resources as widely as possible. 

Ultimately, they hope to share the message that reducing barriers to identification is an issue we should all care about—especially the government. 

“It means that people who have low incomes or have been marginalized will get access to the same services that everyone else is entitled to,” Dr. Sanders says. “This is something the government can do to create a more equitable society.” 

Research in Action highlights the work of Lakehead University in various fields of research.

By EMILY DONTSOS

With an unemployment rate that’s significantly lower than the provincial average, Northwestern Ontario has a lot of jobs to offer.

The problem? With a population that isn’t growing fast enough, “we actually don’t have enough people to meet our job needs,” says Dr. Kathy Sanderson, an associate professor of human resources and organizational behaviour at Lakehead University. 

Dr. Sanderson says the key to closing that gap lies in attracting newcomers to northwestern Ontario. But many employers find it difficult to retain newcomer employees, leading to a cycle of instability and uncertainty. 

Several years ago, Dr. Sanderson—who also serves as the associate director of EPID@Work, a research institute at Lakehead focused on workplace wellness—decided to tackle this challenge. 

“We started with the question, ‘How can we make sure newcomers want to stay in northwestern Ontario?’ And from there, we asked: ‘How can we make newcomers feel more welcome?’” 

Opening Doors to Welcoming and Belonging

With funding from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development, Dr. Sanderson and an interdisciplinary team of researchers and graduate students launched a research project seeking to understand how newcomer men and women experience welcoming and belonging in the workplace. 

As a community-based study, the team worked closely with the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association and the Community Economic Development Corporation to recruit newcomer participants and receive ongoing guidance and support. 

The main finding from this study is striking. 

“We discovered that newcomers were looking for friendships within the community, to understand workplace culture and norms, and feel safe, while employers were more focused on cultural competence training and short-term integration,” Dr. Sanderson says. “This points to serious gaps that can cause newcomers to feel disconnected from their communities and workplaces.”  

Based on these initial findings, the team turned its attention to the experiences of newcomer women, who face unique barriers to labour participation and belonging. 

“Rates of labour participation and income for newcomer women lag behind both Canadian-born men and women as well as newcomer men,” Dr. Sanderson says. “We wanted to find out exactly what their experiences are and what supports they need to feel a higher degree of belonging and job security.” 

The team found that many newcomer women struggle with a lack of information—and they’re often unsure how to make lasting friendships in a Canadian context. 

“Many of their challenges relate to limited information on Canadian workplace norms and cultures, occupational health and safety standards, and human rights—many of the things that Canadian-born employees are familiar with and take for granted,” Dr. Sanderson says. 

When it comes to building relationships, newcomer women shared that while their Canadian colleagues are friendly towards them, those friendships often don’t extend beyond the workplace. 

“This can cause newcomer women to feel quite isolated,” Dr. Sanderson says. “They aren’t feeling that full sense of belonging in the community, which can make it really hard to adjust to their new life.”   

Now that this three-year study has wrapped up, the team is focused on harnessing its findings to change northwestern Ontario’s labour landscape—including the development of an online training program designed to introduce newcomer women to workplace norms and culture.

“This was one of the key recommendations that emerged from our research,” Dr. Sanderson says. “We are now seeking additional funding to create this program, which would be available to employees throughout northwestern Ontario. We’ll then evaluate its impact on workers’ sense of welcoming and belonging.” 

A New Area of Focus: The Impacts of Artificial Intelligence and Digitization 

In addition to ongoing studies related to welcoming and belonging, Dr. Sanderson has recently received funding to explore another area of critical concern for newcomer women and for the region: the emerging impacts of AI and digitization. 

“We’re already seeing that AI and digitization will first target the most precarious jobs, and most of those jobs are held by women—both newcomers and Canadian-born women alike,” she says. 

Dr. Sanderson’s new study will look at how technology is affecting employment in northwestern Ontario, and what these impacts mean for the future of the labour market and community well-being in the region. 

“Ultimately, this work relates to my original research interest—how are we going to retain people in northwestern Ontario? If technological advancement renders certain positions obsolete, our labour market will face substantial challenges.” 

Dr. Sanderson says her new project aims to identify the most vulnerable occupations and develop strategies that enable workers to enhance their adaptability. “This will help ensure they maintain viable employment alternatives in an evolving job market.” 

Building a Strong and Thriving Future 

Dr. Sanderson says that her research as a whole—which directly contributes to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including gender equality, decent work and economic growth, and reduced inequalities—aims to help northwestern Ontario communities truly thrive, today and long into the future. 

“I hope that as we enhance our capacity to ensure all employees feel valued and develop a sense of belonging, we’ll see a more stable and flourishing labour market and stronger communities,” she says. “There are many areas of recruitment and retention where I think improved approaches to welcoming could be beneficial for our region.”

Research in Action highlights the work of Lakehead University in various fields of research.

A version of this article was originally posted in The Chronicle Journal on June 20, 2025

By EMILY DONTSOS

A unique research partnership between Lakehead University and the City of Thunder Bay is keeping city workers safe from injury while on the job. 

Led by Dr. Kathryn Sinden, an associate professor in Lakehead’s School of Kinesiology, and fourth-year undergraduate student Morgan Howell, the project was facilitated by CityStudio Thunder Bay—an innovative pilot initiative bringing together multiple stakeholders to address key issues through hands-on research opportunities for students. CityStudio Thunder Bay is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Karen Kerk, coordinator of CityStudio Thunder Bay, says the project took shape when the city’s Human Resources Division approached her about the need to address the risk of injury for workers with physically demanding jobs. 

“They were looking for an understanding of the injury-risk metrics associated with jobs in areas like transit, operations, and emergency services, and they wanted an injury-risk management strategy in the form of a stretching program,” she says. 

Kerk approached Dr. Sinden about designing a student-led research project to address this need. Dr. Sinden immediately recruited Howell, a kinesiology student with a special interest in ergonomics and workplace safety, and the project took off. 

The Benefits of Stretching 

Howell and Dr. Sinden began by thinking about what information they’d need to develop an evidence-based stretching routine that could be used by a wide range of city workers. 

Together, they determined the best place to start would be to identify sectors with the highest frequency of injuries—a topic that became one of Howell’s primary research questions. 

They acquired that data with direct support from the City of Thunder Bay.

“The city provided us with anonymous injury claims data for all injuries that came about due to overexertion,” says Howell. “By analyzing this data, and through a collaborative process with city stakeholders, we identified five key high injury claims groups to highlight.” 

Next, the researchers went into the field to observe workers on the job in those five claims groups, document their roles and responsibilities, quantify the physical demands of their jobs, and identify potential hazards. 

Using the information they gathered, Howell conducted a quantitative analysis and developed a detailed report breaking down risks by factors like body area, posture, duration and frequency of a specific movement, and even whether specific seasons impact the risk of injury. 

“We found that gluteal injuries were present to varying degrees across all of the groups, and the back was disproportionately affected in all injuries,” Howell says. “Posture and forceful exertion were two of the biggest risk factors for all types of workplace injuries.” 

From there, Howell developed a poster showcasing the project’s initial findings, which he has presented at various conferences as well as to the City of Thunder Bay. 

The next step will be the development of a stretching program rooted in the specific needs and risk factors identified through Howell’s research. 

“Once that’s developed, we will create posters and handouts about the stretching program that will be shared with workers,” Dr. Sinden says. “And then we’ll look at strategies for ensuring workers know how to use the tool, whether it’s effective, and how it can be improved.” 

An Invaluable Opportunity 

Howell, who is undertaking this project as part of a full-year course in his final year at Lakehead, says the opportunity to engage in hands-on research has been invaluable. 

“I’ve gotten to really step out and basically operate as a registered kinesiologist,” he says. “The amount of applied experience I’ve gained is massive. I can’t speak about how amazing this project has been for me as a fourth-year undergraduate student.” 

With so much work yet to be done on the stretching program and future research, Howell is looking forward to continuing with the team: he will be staying on at Lakehead as he pursues a graduate diploma in kinesiology.  

Dr. Sinden says the research project aligns directly with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—solidifying Lakehead’s role as the research partner of choice for the City of Thunder Bay. In particular, the project addresses SDG #3: Good Health and Well-being and SDG #4: Quality Education.

Research in Action highlights the work of Lakehead University in various fields of research.

Originally posted in The Chronicle Journal on June 6, 2025.

By EMILY DONTSOS

Several years ago, Dr. Jodie Murphy Oikonen was conducting a series of studies on unfounded sexual assault—cases of sexual assault that are not believed by the police—when she noticed a concerning trend. 

“We found that while most victims of sexual assault are women, members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community are assaulted at higher rates relative to their population size and they’re less likely to disclose their assault. Yet there’s very little research being done to understand why this is happening and the barriers they face to justice in the wake of sexual assault,” says Dr. Murphy Oikonen, Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Lakehead University.  

The limited research that exists tends to group sexual and gender identities together. 

“When research is collected on sexual assault among this community, it’s collected as if 2SLGBTQ+ is one singular identity rather than looking at sexual assault among two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals separately,” says Dr. Murphy Oikonen. 

“This means the risk factors and nuances specific to each identity group are being lost, preventing truly meaningful action from taking place.” 

With sexual assault among the 2SLGBTQ+ community approximately three times higher than the general population, Dr. Murphy Oikonen knew there was no time to waste. 

Together with her research team—Dr. Karen McQueen from the School of Nursing, Health Sciences PhD student Ainsley Miller, and Dr. Lori Chambers from the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies—she successfully applied for funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to explore the issue of sexual assault among sexual and gender minorities. 

Now in its third year, the study’s findings have the potential to transform strategies around prevention, care, and support for 2SLGBTQ+ community members who have experienced or are at risk of sexual assault. 

Findings highlight issues of identity, consent, and stigma 

With a goal to collect information rooted in the lived experiences of people across Canada, the researchers focused on three separate groups: individuals who identify as lesbian or gay, those who identify as bisexual or pansexual, and people who are gender diverse, identifying as trans, non-binary, gender fluid, or gender questioning. 

Findings from the gender-diverse group, the first to be analyzed, reveal that an individual’s gender identity is in itself a risk factor for sexual assault.    

“Many gender diverse individuals are disenfranchised from their families and their loved ones due to their identity, which isolates them from the home environment and can put them in situations where they could be targeted for assault,” Dr. Murphy Oikonen explains. 

Lack of sexual education aligned with their identity, blurred lines around consent, and intense stigma also emerged as crucial factors that put gender-diverse people at risk of sexual assault—and prevent them from seeking help. 

“On the issue of consent and compliance, all of the individuals we spoke with (except for one) knew the perpetrator of the assault,” she says. “This made it harder for them to identify that what happened to them was assault, even though it met the Criminal Code definition of sexual assault.” 

Even when they realized that an assault had occurred, asking for help presented its own barriers. 

“These individuals face a lot of stigma and discrimination,” Dr. Murphy Oikonen says. “They are always grappling with the question of whether it’s safe to disclose to certain individuals and whether they’ll be believed.” 

Dr. Murphy Oikonen points to one participant who shared that they reported their assault to the police, only to be told it couldn’t have been assault because the perpetrator was the individual’s girlfriend. 

“The bottom line is that they feel police are very biased toward the queer community, they don’t feel safe, and they don’t feel they would be taken seriously.” 

Working toward a future of equity and justice for all 

While the team works on analyzing data and prepares to publish their findings, they are also developing strategies to raise awareness of the risk factors and barriers facing members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community when it comes to sexual assault. 

“It’s so important to understand the unique risk factors these individuals face, so that prevention and intervention initiatives can be designed with their unique needs in mind,” Dr. Murphy Oikonen says. 

Closely aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality (#5), reduced inequalities (#10), and peace, justice, and strong institutions (#16), this body of work is set to create an impact around the world. 

In the months ahead, the team plans to share their study outcomes with the academic community and service providers across Canada, host in-person and virtual information sessions, and present their research internationally. 

Dr. Murphy Oikonen says her ultimate goal is to change harmful mindsets about who can be a victim of sexual assault.

“We need people, and especially service providers, to understand that sexual assault can happen to anyone, and that everyone is deserving of support and assistance when assault happens to them. No matter how you identify, it doesn’t make you less human or any less a victim.”  

Research in Action highlights the work of Lakehead University in various fields of research.

Originally posted in The Chronicle Journal on February 27, 2025.

By EMILY DONTSOS

It’s a painful reality: young people in Northwestern Ontario are experiencing an unprecedented mental health crisis. 

Over the past decade, emergency departments in the region have recorded a significant increase in visits from young people due to self-harm, and the youth suicide rate is four times higher than the provincial average.  

But even as the crisis deepens, serious gaps in youth mental health services are putting the well-being — and the lives — of far too many young people at risk. 

Dr. Aislin Mushquash, a clinical psychologist and Lakehead University’s Research Chair in Youth Mental Health, says the problem can be boiled down to one key issue: “Up here, there are just less options.” 

Dr. Mushquash says that in Northwestern Ontario, wait lists are long for the few organizations offering youth mental health support. And the services that do exist often struggle with high staff turnover, making it hard for youth to find consistent, trusted support. 

As a leading youth mental health researcher, Dr. Mushquash is focused on finding innovative technology-based solutions to help fill these critical gaps. 

One of those solutions is JoyPop, a groundbreaking new mobile app designed to improve access to mental health support for young people. 

Originally designed with youth, clinicians, and researchers at McMaster University, the app offers science-backed suggestions and activities — including a journal, drawing pad, breathing exercises, sleep tips, and more — to help improve emotional regulation and well-being based on how a young person rates their mood.  

Together with her team, Dr. Mushquash has been spearheading a series of studies to assess the app’s impact on young people in Northwestern Ontario — and the findings so far are promising. 

An evidence-based solution 

Starting in 2018, initial studies focused on the app’s effectiveness as a mental health tool for young people transitioning to university. 

“For those who used it, we saw that the amount of use was directly linked to improvements in their emotional regulation abilities, especially for those with difficult early childhood experiences,” says Mushquash. 

Those early findings led to the launch of partnerships with Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, Children’s Centre Thunder Bay, and other mental health providers to study the app among a broader population of youth, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. 

The research team is now overseeing a formal, full-scale clinical trial with funding from Brain Canada, the Hospital for Sick Children, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). 

Together with additional partner sites throughout the region, they’re exploring the app’s effectiveness for different groups of youth based on age, ethnicity, and other factors. They’re also looking at the economic benefits of the app, including whether the availability of JoyPop reduces young people’s reliance on emergency departments, crisis response services, or even their family physicians. 

Although they’re still enrolling young people in the trial, they have already noted an unprecedented milestone: 100 percent of all youth enrolled so far have continued to participate. 

“That’s basically unheard of in any randomized control trial, especially for ones like this that work with more vulnerable populations,” says Dr. Mushquash. “I attribute so much of this success to our partnerships with local youth mental health organizations and a master’s student on my team who has been working hard to maintain relationships with our partners and support the youth they serve.” 

With a growing evidence base showing that JoyPop is helping youth manage their mental health, the team plans to continue building partnerships with mental health providers across Canada and around the world to ensure young people everywhere can access its benefits. 

They’ve already celebrated a major achievement: the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) recently chose JoyPop as one of the few promising, evidence-based apps in Canada to go through the new app evaluation system. With its passing score, it will be included in a national library of vetted apps set to be released by the MHCC in the months ahead. 

As JoyPop continues to reach more young people nationwide and across the globe, it will play a vital role in uplifting their lives and futures — directly contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 10, good health and well-being and reduced inequalities. 

Looking ahead to a more hopeful future 

Ultimately, Dr. Mushquash believes that JoyPop, and other innovative technologies like it, may hold the key to improving youth mental health in Northwestern Ontario and right across Canada. 

“What bothers me most is that when youth are finally ready to seek support, which takes a lot of courage, they often can’t get it very quickly,” she says. “Technology can help fill that gap when service providers can’t be there in the moment.”  

Research in Action highlights the work of Lakehead University in various fields of research.

Lakehead University is pleased to become a member of Academics Without Borders and join its network of Canadian post-secondary institutions. 

AWB’s Network, Canada’s universities and colleges in support of global development, is a consortium of Canadian post-secondary institutions that support AWB’s mission to work with volunteer academics to help low and middle-income countries build the capacity of their post-secondary institutions to drive development and improve the quality of life in communities around the world.

Through its membership in the Network, Lakehead faculty and staff will have special access to partnership opportunities provided by AWB through the organization's existing relationships with institutions and countries around the globe. Faculty will also be able to propose projects to AWB in conjunction with their post-secondary partners in the developing world. 

“Lakehead University is dedicated to using our skills, knowledge and resources to support our colleagues working in post-secondary institutions in the developing world who face serious barriers and disadvantages to doing the work that many of us here in Canada may take for granted,” says Dr. Gillian Siddall, President and Vice-Chancellor of Lakehead University. “Joining the Academics Without Borders Network is one more way that we are putting our commitments to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion into action. I encourage the Lakehead community to get involved in this enriching and important work.” 

Membership in the Network will provide Lakehead with new resources to support and coordinate ongoing work with international partners. By building capacity at post-secondary institutions across the developing world, Lakehead and AWB look forward to changing lives both at home and abroad.

“It is a real pleasure to welcome Lakehead University to the AWB Network of Canadian universities and colleges. The knowledge and experience that Lakehead’s faculty and staff can offer as volunteers is invaluable to the colleges and universities we collaborate with in the developing world - it will make a real difference. In addition, the AWB Network links the campus to like-minded institutions across Canada and builds connections in other parts of the world that will enrich its programs and the student experience,” says Nancy Gallini, AWB’s Executive Director.

Members of the Lakehead community are encouraged to attend a webinar with Corrie Young, Associate Executive Director of AWB, who will be joined by previous volunteers to share their experience. The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 21, from 2 to 3 p.m. (register HERE). Faculty and staff may also sign up for e-mailings from AWB by sending an email to inquiry@awb-usf.org or filling out the form at the bottom of any page on our website.

-----

About Academics Without Borders

Academics Without Borders is a Canadian nonprofit that works with universities in the most disadvantaged countries building their capability to educate the professionals and leaders essential to the strong societies they justly desire. AWB does this by coordinating professional staff and academics who donate their time to work on projects that originate with its partner universities, reflecting the most pressing needs of their communities.

The skeletal remains of a senior officer of Sir John Franklin's 1845 Northwest Passage expedition have been identified by researchers from the University of Waterloo and Lakehead University using DNA and genealogical analyses.

In April of 1848 James Fitzjames of HMS Erebus helped lead 105 survivors from their ice-trapped ships in an attempt to escape the Arctic. None would survive. Since the mid-19th century, remains of dozens of them have been found around King William Island, Nunavut.

The identification was made possible by a DNA sample from a living descendant, which matched the DNA that was discovered at the archaeological site on King William Island where 451 bones from at least 13 Franklin sailors were found.

“We worked with a good quality sample that allowed us to generate a Y-chromosome profile, and we were lucky enough to obtain a match,” said Stephen Fratpietro of Lakehead’s Paleo-DNA lab.

Fitzjames is just the second of those 105 to be positively identified, joining John Gregory, engineer aboard HMS Erebus, whom the team identified in 2021.

“The identification of Fitzjames’ remains provides new insights about the expedition's sad ending,” said Dr. Douglas Stenton, adjunct professor of anthropology at Waterloo.

In the 1850s Inuit told searchers they had seen evidence that survivors had resorted to cannibalism, shocking some Europeans. Those accounts were fully corroborated in 1997 by the late Dr. Anne Keenleyside who found cut marks on nearly one-quarter of the human bones at NgLj-2, proving that the bodies of at least four of the men who died there had been subject to cannibalism.

Fitzjames’ mandible is one of the bones exhibiting multiple cut marks, demonstrating that after his death his body was subject to cannibalism. “This shows that he predeceased at least some of the other sailors who perished, and that neither rank nor status was the governing principle in the final desperate days of the expedition as they strove to save themselves,” said Stenton.

19th century Europeans believed that all cannibalism was morally reprehensible, but the researchers emphasize that we now understand much more about what is known as survival or starvation cannibalism and can empathize with those forced to resort to it. “It demonstrates the level of desperation that the Franklin sailors must have felt to do something they would have considered abhorrent,” said Dr. Robert Park, Waterloo anthropology professor. “Ever since the expedition disappeared into the Arctic 179 years ago there has been widespread interest in its ultimate fate, generating many speculative books and articles and, most recently, a popular television miniseries which turned it into a horror story with cannibalism as one of its themes. Meticulous archaeological research like this shows that the true story is just as interesting, and that there is still more to learn,” said Park.

The remains of Fitzjames and the other sailors who perished with him now rest in a memorial cairn at the site with a commemorative plaque.

Descendants of members of the Franklin expedition are encouraged to contact Stenton. “We are extremely grateful to this family for sharing their history with us and for providing DNA samples, and welcome opportunities to work with other descendants of members of the Franklin expedition to see if their DNA can be used to identify other individuals.”

 “Identification of a Senior Officer from Sir John Franklin's Northwest Passage Expedition” by Stenton, Fratpietro and Park was published in the “Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.” The research was funded by the Government of Nunavut and the University of Waterloo.

Story posted @ uwaterloo.ca/news

Originally posted in the Chronicle Journal on July 4, 2024

By JULIO HELENO GOMES

Growing up in rural Alberta, Tristen Brown saw first-hand the difficulties faced by Indigenous communities when it comes to affordable and well-maintained homes. It's these wretched images of substandard houses, unhealthy overcrowding, and the need for major repairs that underpin the work being done at Lakehead University as part of a wider effort to find innovative solutions for habitats that can better withstand Canada's unforgiving climate.

“Driving by these communities you see the siding of the house completely torn off, big holes in walls, windows blocked off and covered with wood,” says Brown, a member of the Sturgeon Lake Cree First Nation who lived in Edson, Alberta, in the vicinity of a half-dozen First Nation communities. “Then there's no proper ventilation, moisture starts occurring. Then you have mould growing, which deteriorates the structure. Then when these families have a house, the grandparents move in and you start to have three or four generations of a family in a two- or three-bedroom house. You have 10 or 12 family members living in a single house and the body heat from all those people starts moistening the whole house inside. That's when mould starts occurring again.”

Brown is part of a group under the direction of Dr. Ahmed Elshaer, developing modular housing for Indigenous communities that have to deal with extreme weather as well as transportation and other difficulties.

“When it comes to housing, we are trying to build them to be resilient enough for the conditions where they are located,” says Elshaer, an associate professor in Lakehead's department of Civil Engineering. “Typically, Indigenous communities are located in northern regions where they experience substantially higher wind loads and higher or severe cold climate. This would require special planning and design when we are developing housing solutions.”

Damaging windstorms occur in Toronto, for example, every 50 years; in northern communities it's every three years. And with global warming, it's only getting worse. The issue is even more pressing for remote communities, which are distant from major cities, lack access to skilled trades, and face a short building season.

“The remoteness of these communities is a major issue,” says Brown. “When you're trying to find something affordable it becomes extremely difficult because you have to transport all these goods and services up to those communities.”

“We need to find a solution,” Elshaer adds, “that can be easily transported, easily assembled, lightweight, and resilient to those severe cold climates.”

The answer lies in modular housing -- putting structures together outside, transporting them to their destination disassembled and then joining them up on-site.

“I describe it as 'Ikea-like' buildings,” Elshaer says. “You have a building in a box and you assemble it using some bolt connections. It doesn't require a lot of knowledge to put them together, or even heavy machinery. It just needs simple lifting tools.”

This project started in the fall of 2021 and is supported by a five-year grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Partners include Lakehead, Coastal Steel and other collaborators.

Elshaer's team at the Structural and Wind Engineering Research Laboratory (SWERL), which includes undergraduates, graduate assistants and post-doctoral fellows, is concentrating on different elements of modular housing, specifically on special connections and to boost thermal insulation.

Along with Brown, the researchers include:

• Magdy Alanani: a post-doctoral fellow, focusing on structural optimization for the modular houses;

• Mostafa Elhadary: a PhD student, working on developing innovative connections for hollow structural sections to withstand flexural moments;

• Amir Ali: a PhD student, creating innovative thermal insulating materials using waste paper pulp and aerogel; and

• Raghdah Al-Chalabi: a PhD student, studying wind pressure distributions.

Wind impact and distribution testing has taken place at Toronto Metropolitan University. RWDI, a multi-national engineering firm specializing in wind evaluation, is also on board.

“They are helping us, providing historical wind and climate data for different areas of northern regions,” Elshaer says.

His team has already developed an easy-to-assemble beam, column and bolt connection. He hopes to have a full-scale prototype, measuring 2.5 x 3.5 x 6 metres, available for testing in the next year. The units, made of timber with steel connections, would be pieced together to complete a home.

“The house would not be just formed of one of these modular units. They are made of a number of them,” Elshaer says. “The key is we can easily assemble all of these units together.”

Brown was originally attracted to engineering while working as a labourer for a landscape company. After obtaining a diploma from Lethbridge College, he transferred to Lakehead. His master's studies was on wind behaviour for tall structures. For this project, he's looking at weather station reliability for these far-flung communities.

“The wind can become unpredictable in certain regions,” he says. “Usually when you design for a structure you want it to withstand cold climates and wind, so you design for a 1-in-100-year return period or a 1-in-250-year return period. So when you only have 10 years of data you have to forecast and add a reliability factor to this wind data. That's my goal: to understand how vulnerable the wind data is, and then should it be justified further when designing these buildings.”

Brown, who is in the PhD program, recently received a prestigious national prize. The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship comes with $150,000 in support of his doctoral studies.

“I'm very pleased to have been awarded this,” says Brown, the first Civil Engineering student at Lakehead to do so. “It's exciting and an honour to have this title.”

Brown first came in contact with Elshaer as an undergraduate researcher and worked with him while finishing his master's degree.

“When Dr. Elshaer asked if I wanted to continue into my PhD and work on the topic related to my own culture, I was more than pleased to accept,” he says. “It never entered my mind that I could put my own imprint on my culture and that I could make a difference by conducting research in this field. It made me very happy to know that I could make a difference.”

 Lakehead University civil engineering Dr. Ahmed   Elshaer (centre back row) is joined by members of his   team at the Structural and Wind Engineering   Research Laboratory (SWERL). From left: Magdy   Alanani, a post-doctoral fellow; Mostafa Elhadary,   Amir Ali, Tristen Brown and Raghdah Al-Chalabi, all   PhD candidates 

Research in Action highlights the work of Lakehead University in various fields of research.

-- 30 --

Use of xenon gas in MRI scans offers earlier and more precise detection of cancers and brain disease

Published on TBnewswatch.com Tuesday, April 23, 2024

By JULIO HELENO GOMES

A technique being refined by researchers in Thunder Bay that provides razor sharp images of the lungs and blood flow images of the brain could revolutionize the future of personalized medicine, leading to earlier and more precise detection of different types of cancers and brain-related diseases.

The approach, referred to as hyperpolarized (HP) xenon-129 molecular imaging, promises more detail and sensitivity than other imaging techniques and does it instantaneously.

“It's potentially a very powerful technique,” says Dr. Mitchell Albert, a Lakehead University professor in chemistry and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) research chair in molecular imaging and advanced diagnostics.

Albert's primary research is in the use of xenon in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. As a graduate student in the 1990s, he co-invented a technique to boost the MRI signal using HP xenon gas, for which he received several awards, including a U.S. Presidential Award from Bill Clinton. He then spent 15 years at Harvard Medical School, improving the use of HP xenon as a diagnostic tool to detect small airway diseases such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma, and cystic fibrosis. In 2011 he came to Thunder Bay, where he continues to work on these innovative imaging technologies.

This specific area of research – the imaging of blood flow in tissue, a process called “perfusion” – involves a patient inhaling xenon, a colourless, odourless gas used as a contrast agent for the imaging of soft tissues. The xenon is specially prepared in a polarizer to boost the MRI signal and is dispensed in a bag. With the subject holding their breath, the MRI monitors how the xenon dissolves and moves through blood vessels. This technique was used to examine patients who suffered from “long COVID”, with symptoms ranging from breathlessness to “brain fog,” including headaches and dizziness. Utilizing xenon MRI, researchers were able to determine that not enough oxygen was getting into the red blood cells and, from there, to other organs.

“The job of the lungs is to deliver oxygen to the body, so people that had COVID had an impairment of that process,” Albert explains. “That means they have a deficiency of getting oxygen into the bloodstream. That's why they have poor ventilation. That's why they were breathless. That's why they had fatigue – their muscles, their cells weren't getting enough oxygen. So we were able to get clues using our technique to help solve the mystery.”

At the same time, Albert and his team at TBRHRI started doing brain imaging, since that's the organ with the highest blood flow. Focusing on people with Alzheimer's disease, xenon imaging revealed that these patients had lower cerebral blood flow, as well as indicating atrophy or shrinkage of the grey matter. As a result, Albert's team has proposed a biomarker that could monitor these types of diseases.

“We were able to make perfusion images of the brain, which is very important in all sorts of diseases of the brain, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, stroke and brain tumours,” Albert says.

A member of Albert's research team, Dr. Yurii Shepelytskyi, has helped conceptualize a xenon biosensor for molecular imaging. A native of Ukraine, Shepelytskyi studied applied physics at the national university in Kyiv, with a focus on microwave electrodynamics. While still in Kyiv, Shepelytskyi attended a lecture by Dr. Alla Reznik, a Thunder Bay-based researcher developing technology to spot early-stage breast cancer. This intrigued him to check out the research taking place in the city.

“I looked up the research conducted by Dr. Albert’s group, and its novelty and tremendous potential impact piqued my interest immediately,” he says.

Shepelytskyi moved to Thunder Bay and three years ago, obtained a PhD in chemistry and material sciences. He continued his research as a post-doctoral fellow and was recently appointed an adjunct professor in Chemistry. His work has involved programming the clinical MRI scanner, developing a mathematical model for xenon perfusion imaging, performing image reconstruction, data analysis and statistical analysis of the acquired data. Currently, he continues developing and optimizing the performance of novel contrast agents for molecular MRI imaging as well as developing passive frequency-selective inserts for MRI that can substantially improve the quality and resolution of the acquired images.

“Hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI paves the way for modern MRI into the realms of functional and molecular imaging,” Shepelytskyi says, explaining that identifying a specific type of cancer non-invasively reduces the amount of false-positive diagnoses and cuts down on the need for biopsies.

“This gives hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI a unique opportunity to become a potential pillar for future personalized medicine and early-stage disease detection. Future development in this field can revolutionize modern health care and diagnostics,” he says.

In simple terms, the technique increases the xenon signal by several factors of magnitude. And by directing xenon in and out of the centre of large molecules, called “supermodular cages,” they could offer more detailed images of metabolic processes as they're occurring.

“At the molecular imaging level the technique is so sensitive that we can see very, very small tumours and early-stage metastases wherever they go in the body,” Albert states. “This xenon molecular imaging has the sensitivity of positron emission tomography or PET. PET is very sensitive but PET doesn't have the good spatial resolution or localization. We're doing it with MRI, which has excellent spatial resolution and anatomical localization. It only takes a fraction of a second to make the images, meaning we can catch things developing in real time.

“So it offers the best of both worlds: it has very, very high sensitivity and at the same time high spatial resolution. It's also fast. All these elements are very important.”

Much of this work has been supported by grants from, among others, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Ontario Research Foundation, the Ministry of Health, and Mitacs. This molecular imaging technology is still at the experimental stage and is now in pre-clinical testing, Albert says, adding that his team is also collaborating with specialists in respirology and neurology for testing on patients with different ailments.

“It's a game-changer for imaging lung function and brain function, absolutely, and has the potential to revolutionize molecular imaging.”

Research Matters highlights the important work of researchers at Lakehead University.

Photo (below): Dr. Mitchell Albert has been working on a medical imaging technique that uses xenon in MRIs. Here, Albert, right, is shown in front of an MRI scanner with Dr. Yurii Shepelytskyi. Photo submitted by Julio Heleno Gomes.

Published in The Chronicle Journal on Tuesday, February 13, 2024.

BY JULIO HELENO GOMES

How does the workers’ compensation board treat injured workers? What do injured workers  experience when seeking medical care? What challenges do they face when returning to the workplace?

These are some of the topics that will be addressed in a new study by Lakehead University researchers and the Canadian Injured Workers Alliance. They will try to understand the shame and obstacles injured workers face in various aspects of their journey.

“We want to understand what’s currently known about structural stigma,” explains Dr. Amanda Maranzan. “We're thinking about 'structural stigma' in terms of system inequities -- the unfair policies and procedures that exist within these larger systems that can cause harm to injured workers and perpetuate harm.”

Maranzan, an associate professor and director of clinical programs in Lakehead's department of psychology, is leading the project. With $25,000 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and additional funding support from the Enhancing the Prevention of Injury and Disability at Work (EPID@Work) research institute, she will oversee a systematic review of the literature and host stakeholder engagement. An advisory team of eight people representing injured workers, health-care providers, employers and partners in the disability field has met to fine-tune the project's objectives.

“The advisory team really lets us centre the needs and experiences of injured workers in the project, essentially making sure the project design and the research question and implementation is relevant to their needs,” Maranzan says.

The next phase is a systematic literature review by research assistant Lauren Reynolds. A master's student in clinical psychology, Reynolds will read existing papers, conduct quality appraisals and extract relevant data.

“The work is ongoing,” she says. “But so far it’s clear that stigma is an under-recognized factor in the literature written about injured workers, despite the prevalence of the stigma experiences being described.”

Having contributed to other projects involving mental health and stigma, Reynolds was drawn to this effort after meeting and hearing about people who've been injured on the job and the social disgrace they may have lived through.

“This particular research will benefit the community at large by shedding light on the nature of injured worker stigma and its impact,” Reynolds says. “We hope this will support longer-term changes in thinking and behaviour that will improve how injured workers are perceived, treated and supported.”

With a framework in place, Maranzan expects the systematic review will present the advisory team with critical information, such as how structural inequalities exist in employment practices as well as workers’ compensation and the health-care field.

“What we would like the advisory team to do is give us feedback on the relevance of it, we'd like to understand what are some of the gaps in the literature, what is missing based on what we've found, and identify what the next steps are, in terms of research and awareness building to address injured workers stigma,” Maranzan says.

The Canadian Injured Workers Alliance is a co-investigator in this endeavour, bringing the perspective of injured workers to the table and providing input to drive the project forward. Indeed, the advisory team is actively involved in setting the project's goals and will play a role in sharing the information with their constituents.

“It's a unique opportunity to centre the knowledge and experience that community partners have in the research process,” Maranzan says.. “The benefit is that the information we gain from this project is directly relevant because the people who are going to be using the information have been involved in the project all along.”

Research in Action highlights the work of Lakehead University in various fields of research.