Brittany (she/her) began her PhD in clinical psychology at Lakehead University in 2025. She received her MA in clinical psychology from Lakehead University (2025) and HBSc in psychology and Indigenous Studies from the University of Victoria (2023). Brittany is originally from southern Ontario and is a member of the Mississauga’s of the Credit First Nation with European ancestry. Her research interests centre on the prevention of the incidence and/or progression of chronic illnesses among Indigenous populations, healthy brain aging and dementia, culturally safe care, and community-based/led research. Brittany is a Vanier scholar and supported by the CIHR. She co-leads the New Frontiers in Research Fund Project focused on dementia assessment tools and health guidance in the lab. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, running, travelling, yoga, swimming in gitchi gami, and cooking vegan food.

Genevieve started her PhD in clinical psychology in 2022. Her research interests include children’s mental health and trauma. Dr. Mushquash supervises her dissertation research that examines the relationship between compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and adverse childhood experiences in mental health professionals. Although presently inactive, Genevieve is registered as a psychological associate with the College of Psychologists of Ontario with competencies working with children and adolescents.

Lydia (she/her) is in her third year of the PhD in the Clinical Psychology program at Lakehead University. Her past research has examined a variety of topics, including: the cognitive benefits of natural environments; the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and suicide-related behaviours in First Nations adults accessing a substance use treatment program; housing stabilization programs for Indigenous youth navigating challenges related to homelessness; and clinical competencies related to supporting Indigenous individuals with drug-induced psychosis. Her current research examines how culturally-based interventions (e.g., land-based programming) and assessments (e.g., the First Nations Children Wellbeing Measure) are being used to support First Nation wellbeing in regional and national contexts. Her research is currently supported by a three-year CIHR CGS-D Research Award. Aside from her research, Lydia enjoys reading, knitting, playing guitar, and doing pretty much anything outdoors.

Publications: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1357633X241239715

Abbey Radford is a Métis doctorate student in the clinical psychology program at Lakehead University. Her research interests include examining Indigenous mental health and substance use, resilience and cultural connectedness, utilizing community-based participatory research frameworks. Abbey works on various research projects focused on topics such as child maltreatment, youth homelessness, vaccine hesitancy, peer interventions, e-health interventions, and transdiagnostic interventions for children. Her Master's research, investigating substance use motives and risky personality traits among First Nations adults seeking treatment for substance use, was supported by a Joseph-Armand Bombardier SSHRC scholarship, and a CIHR scholarship supports her doctoral work.

Publications

1. Lund, J. I., Toombs, E., Radford, A., Boles, K., & Mushquash, C. J. (2019). Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and executive function difficulties in children: A systematic review. Child Abuse & Neglect, 106.

Crystal entered the PhD in Health Sciences program at Lakehead University in 2023. Her research interests include Indigenous disease etiology, chronic disease and illness in remote First Nations, COVID-19, health equity, food security, and planetary health. Crystal’s dissertation research is supervised by Dr. Chris Mushquash and Dr. Helle Moeller and will be evaluating the impact of immediate lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic on the health status and health outcomes of Indigenous persons living with comorbid chronic kidney disease and diabetes in remote First Nations in Northwestern Ontario. She is currently working on a systematic review on upstream approaches to addressing Indigenous mental health and well-being in the context of climate change, and a literature review on comorbid chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and SARS-CoV-2. After completing her doctorate, Crystal intends to continue working collaboratively with First Nations across Ontario to address emerging health challenges. In her free time, Crystal enjoys working out, spending time with family and friends, hiking with her dog Pebbles, and hyper fixating on all things astrophysics.

Publications: 

Hardy, C. N., Schiff, R., & Mushquash, C. (2023). Tripartite Preparedness and Response During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A First Nations’ Perspective. Healthy Populations Journal, 3(3). 44. https://ojs.library.dal.ca/hpj/article/view/11776/10608

Schiff, R., Freill, H., & Hardy, C. N. (2021). Understanding Barriers to Implementing andManaging Therapeutic Diets for People Living with Chronic Kidney Disease in Remote

Indigenous Communities. Current Developments in Nutrition, 5(nzaa175).https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzaa175

Lauren (she/her) is completing her PhD in the Clinical Psychology program at Lakehead University, supervised by Dr. Chris Mushquash. Her research centers around substance use disorders and improving intervention effectiveness and cultural fit for First Nations people. Lauren's dissertation focuses on identifying individual and group-level factors that can improve outcomes for First Nations adults attending an inpatient substance use treatment program. This project involves developing and testing a psychological measure for the purpose of improving program decision-making and outcomes. Her research has been supported by the St. Joseph's Care Group Award in Applied Health Research and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. Lauren is currently completing her residency year at the University of Manitoba in the Health Psychology stream. In her free time, Lauren enjoys being outdoors and exploring! Usually this means she spends lots of time snowboarding, rock climbing, mountain biking, camping, and playing ultimate frisbee.

Trent began the PhD Clinical Psychology program at Lakehead University in 2023. Being Mi'kmaq, his research aims to foster mental wellness among First Nations youth. His dissertation research which is supervised by Dr. Mushquash, aims to develop and test a culturally-adapted substance use prevention program for First Nations youth. In his free time, Trent enjoys playing guitar, camping, and going to the gym.