Laboratory
Sydney Mitchell - Research Coordinator
Sydney (she/her) joined Dr. Christopher Mushquash’s research program as the Research Coordinator in February 2026. She is a Lakehead University alumni and graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2020. Before moving into research coordination, she spent three years working in a clinical setting providing ABA therapy for children with Autism. This clinical background sparked her interest in the research process and led me to my current role at Lakehead.
As the Research Coordinator, she manages the daily operations and administrative needs of the lab. Her responsibilities include coordinating large scale professional engagements, managing schedules, and maintaining CVs and publication records. She also supports the lab’s team of researchers to ensure that community-led initiatives and academic projects run smoothly.
Beyond my administrative role, she is actively expanding her research experience. She is currently contributing to multiple scoping reviews for the grad students in this lab. Having grown up in a city with a large Indigenous population, she is grateful for the opportunity to deepen her understanding of Indigenous cultures and wellness through the lab's community focused work.
Outside of the lab, Sydney makes most of the long Thunder Bay winters by skiing. During the warmer months, she enjoys hiking and exploring the local nature. She also has an interest in rowing and hopes to join a team in the future. She is a major fan of all things spooky and loves watching horror movies, with Halloween being her favourite time of year.
Dr. Jocelyn Bel - Manager, Research Portfolio
Working closely with both Drs. Chris and Aislin Mushquash, Dr. Bel supports both the operational and administrative sides of the research program and helps keep our projects running smoothly, making sure our research continues to support community wellness. Dr. Bel supports team operations by assisting with hiring, onboarding, training, and long-term planning, managing project logistics, coordinating research activities, identifying funding opportunities and preparing applications and reports. Her role also includes analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, creating visual summaries, and helping to share the group’s findings through reports, articles, presentations, and knowledge translation events.
Dr. Bel joins the team as a four-time Lakehead Alumn having graduated with an HBSc in Applied Bio-Molecular Science, an MBA, an MSc in Biology, and a PhD in Medical Biotechnology. With an array of experiences in the research world, including supporting research operations and grant administration Lakehead University, Dr. Bel is excited to support the important work of Dr. Mushquash’s research group!
In her free time, Jocelyn enjoys spending time with her family and two dogs.
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Join Our Team
Dr. Mushquash is seeking undergraduate and graduate students with a broad interest in qualitative and quantitative Indigenous health research on topics including, but not limited to, mental health and substance use. For a summary of his past research, please see the “Publications” sections of this website.
Students interested in being supervised at the undergraduate or graduate level by Dr. Mushquash should email him (chris.mushquash@lakeheadu.ca) with their CV, unofficial transcripts, and a summary briefly indicating the ways in which they believe their research interests align. Students interested in volunteering as research assistants in the SURG laboratory should email the Laboratory Coordinator (surg@lakeheadu.ca).
