About Us

Interdisciplinary and Extraordinary

The REACHES Lab team is a group of graduate students at Lakehead University and University of Northern British Columbia, led by Dr. Rebecca Schiff. Our research investigates the health and social issues of marginalized communities across diverse urban, rural, and remote geographies. This includes a focus on determinants of community wellbeing, social service systems, and social aspects of sustainability, with an emphasis on community-engaged methodologies, community co-generation of knowledge, and integrated knowledge translation

Meet Our Team

Rebecca Schiff

Dean, Faculty of Human & Health Sciences

Dr. Rebecca Schiff is a trans-disciplinary university scholar and administrator, working across many health and allied disciplines including public health, Indigenous health, psychology, nursing, education, occupational therapy, and social work among others. Her research interests span diverse topics in health equity and sustainability, with a particular focus on rural and northern health and health care.

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Amanda Ruck

Health Sciences PhD Student (Lakehead University)

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Alycia Benson

Health Sciences PhD Student (Lakehead University)

Alycia is a doctoral student studying in the Health Sciences Department at Lakehead University. She is a graduate assistant and graduate researcher engaged in numerous projects.

Ashley Wilkinson

Health Sciences PhD Student (UNBC)

Ashley Wilkinson is a Health Sciences PhD student at the University of Northern British Columbia. She holds a Masters degree in Health Sciences with a specialization in Indigenous & Northern Health from Lakehead University. She is passionate about health equity, anti-racism, and the health of racialized communities.

Monique Lizon

Health Sciences PhD Student (Lakehead University)

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Crystal Hardy

MHSc Student (Lakehead University)

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Khater Muhajir

MHSc Student (Lakehead University)

Khater Muhajir is currently working as a research assistant with the department of health science at Lakehead university under the supervision of Dr. Schiff. He graduated with a BASc in Public Health from Wilfred Laurier in 2020 and is in his first year of the Master of Health Sciences Program at Lakehead.

John Menlah

MHSc Student (Lakehead University)

John is an MHSc. student and research assistant at Lakehead University specializing in the Social-ecological systems, Sustainability, and Health stream. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) degree in Development Planning at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where he worked on numerous public health projects at the School of Public Health such as the Typhoid Vaccine Trial and Reducing Child Mortality in Ghana as an Assistant Project Manager before pursuing his graduate study.

Trevor Krull

MEd Student (UNBC)

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Sophia Graham

MA Student (UNBC)

Sophia Graham is a Master of Arts student in the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies program at the University of Northern British Columbia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree in Sociology and Philosophy from the University of Alberta. Sophia has over six years of research experience working on projects relating to socio-political issues, social stratification, natural resource and environmental management, parks and protected areas, climate change, education and sustainability within Alberta, British Columbia and the Canadian North. She is passionate about social and environmental justice and has engaged with different labs, literatures, theories, and methods, which have allowed her to grow as an interdisciplinary scholar.

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Mandeep Sidhu

MHSc Alumni (Lakehead University)