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, and community-based/led research. Brittany is a Vanier scholar and supported by the CIHR. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, travel, cycling, yoga, cooking vegan food, and slow walks with her senior pug, Daisy.

Andrea Raynak is the Director, Nursing Practice at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Within her role, she advances the practice of nursing organizationally and creates and maintain programs and practices that support, promote and evaluate nursing practice. She facilitates the integration of research into practice and further, progresses a learning culture. Her research interests include identifying knowledge/health system gaps and proposing sustainable solutions to enhance the nursing profession and further, guide organizational and academic policy. She also works as a Contract Lecturer for Lakehead University. Andrea began the PhD Health Sciences program in 2020. Her research involves examining nurse’s attitudes towards patients with substance use difficulties in the hospital setting in order to propose pragmatic approaches to care for this patient population. Her work is supervised by Dr. Mushquash and supported by a CIHR Doctoral Student Research Award. In her free time Andrea enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, reading fiction novels and running!

Publications:

Raynak, A. & Wood, B. (2021). The clinical nurse specialist role and its relevance to vascular access: a Canadian perspective. Journal of the Association for Vascular Access, 26(2), 1-6

Raynak, A., Paquet, F., Marchionni, C., Lok, V., Gauthier, M. & Frati, F. (2020). Registered nurses knowledge on routine care and maintenance of adult vascular access devices: a scoping review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 00:1-17

Vandenhouten, C., Owens, A., Hunter, M. & Raynak, A. (2020). Peripheral Intravenous Education in North American Nursing Schools: Call to Action. Journal of Nursing Education, 59(9), 493-500

Broadhurst, D., Cernusca, C., Cook, C., Hill, J., Naayer, K., Paquet, F., Raynak, A., (2019). CVAA occlusion management guideline for central venous access devices (CVADs). Canadian Vascular Access Association, second edition, Vascular Access, 13, supplement 1

Hunter, M., Vandenhouten, C., Raynak, A., Owens, A. & Thompson, J. (2018). Addressing the Silence: A need for Peripheral Intravenous Education in North America. Journal of the Association for Vascular Access, 23(3), 157-165

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) started her PhD in the Clinical Psychology program at Lakehead University in 2023. Her MA thesis examined the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and suicide-related behaviours in First Nations adults accessing a substance use treatment program. Moving forward, her PhD dissertation will examine facilitators and barriers for the implementation of land-based wellbeing programs supporting First Nations adults accessing substance use treatment programs. Her doctoral research is funded by a three-year CIHR CGS-D Research Award. Lydia is also interested in research exploring social determinants of health, as well as research applying decolonial methodologies. Aside from her research, Lydia enjoys reading, knitting, and doing pretty much anything outdoors with her dog, Fitz. 

Publications: 
​​https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1073817/full

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

Kristy is an Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan and PhD student. Kristy's research interests include culturally relevant mental health treatments for Indigenous people, substance use as a form of self-medication, resilience in childhood and adolescence, as well as behavioural addictions in diverse communities. Her dissertation research examined the development, implementation, and evaluation of a transdiagnostic group intervention for First Nations children, relying on cultural skills and practices as a medium for intervention. Kristy’s work is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Doctoral Award from the Institute of Indigenous Peoples Health and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Grant. Kristy has collaborated with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, as well as Thunderbird Partnership Foundation on research projects. Kristy completed her pre-doctoral residency in the 2022 - 2023 year with the Northwestern Ontario Residency Psychology Internship Consortium in Thunder Bay, Ontario.  In her leisure time, Kristy enjoys spending time with family, snowboarding, gardening, crafting, and walking her dog.

Publications

4. Mutti-Packer, S., Kowatch, K., Steadman, R., Hodgins, D. C., el-Guebaly, N., Casey, D. M., . . . Smith, G. J. (2017). A qualitative examination of factors underlying transitions in problem gambling severity: Findings from the leisure, lifestyle, & lifecycle project. Addiction Research & Theory, 25(5), 424-431. doi: 10.1080/16066359.2017.1307967

3. Toombs, E., Kowatch, K.R., & Mushquash, C.J. (2016). Resilience in Canadian Indigenous youth: A scoping review. International Journal of Child and Adolescent Resilience, 4(1), 4-32.

2. Kowatch, K.R., & Hodgins, D.C. (2015). Predictors of treatment-seeking for gambling disorder from the transtheoretical model perspective. International Gambling Studies, 15(9), 450-469. doi: 10.1080/14459795.2015.1078391

1. Kowatch, K., Whalen, J. M., & Pexman, P.M. (2013). Irony comprehension in action: A new test of processing for verbal irony. Discourse Processes, 50(5), 301-315. doi: 10.1080/0163853X.2013.799934    

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.