CANADA'S INNOVATION LEADERS
CANADA'S INNOVATION LEADERS
 



PARTNER PERSPECTIVE
Research at Lakehead is always evolving
Dr. Andrew P. Dean
Vice-President, Research and Innovation
Lakehead University

Lakehead University is Ontario's only university west of the Great Lakes. We celebrate our 60th anniversary in 2025 and take great pride in our mission of being a truly comprehensive university. We want students in Northwestern Ontario to have academic offerings in just about every discipline that you would find elsewhere. Approximately two-thirds of Ontario's Indigenous communities are located within our region; and Lakehead University has the highest percentage of Indigenous students in comparison to other universities. The roots of the university lie in areas such as Forestry and Engineering and many of our students are in professional programs. But our programs are constantly evolving, and we offer some standout programs such as Law and Bioinformatics.

Lakehead University is a research-intensive university and with a funding intensity of $81,000 per full-time faculty, we can and do make significant contributions to research locally and on a global scale. Our research never stands still, and our faculty are continually working in new and exciting areas. We are leaders and a trusted source for research in areas that are aligned with our history and our region. These include research into critical minerals, northern agriculture, biorefining and social determinants of health. But our researchers, just like our university, are diverse and making impacts in many new areas. Some examples include; injury prevention, medical imaging, addressing homelessness, and palliative care. Our role as a comprehensive university has extended to almost all areas of research.

Lakehead University has the most publications in AI research in our peer category over the past four years. While a number of these publications are in the areas where you might expect them, such as computer science and software engineering, we also have researchers using AI in many exciting and unexpected areas. One such example is

Dr. Aislin Musquash. She is in the Psychology department and her research focuses on maladaptive coping and innovative approaches to develop adaptive coping with a particular emphasis on youth. One of her new projects is looking at how people are turning to AI for mental health support.

Another exciting project is the work of Dr. Abdulsalam Yassine, Associate Professor, Software Engineering, who is developing a platform for AI mapping of smart charging capabilities for electric vehicle (EV), creating a model similar to home sharing where EV owners can access charging stations from residents, which addresses the growing need for reliable electric vehicle infrastructure. In Northern Ontario the desire to move to more electric vehicles is somewhat tempered by the lack of infrastructure for charging. This novel approach to identify exactly where charging can occur may help to fill that gap.

Just like with the quick evolution of AI in society today we are seeing an equally rapid response and adoption of research at Lakehead University to this field. Some of our research is on AI research but most of it is on how AI can be used as a tool to enhance research in many areas. While AI has been around in several ways, for quite a while it is the recent advancements and ease of access to AI tools that has taken us by storm and perhaps caused us to reflect and question the ethics and our comfort with these new tools. In my opinion, AI is innovation and as with most innovations there is a direct link to productivity. I am convinced that this increase in productivity and perhaps creativity will propel many new and exciting research projects. Lakehead University researchers are embracing these opportunities and as always, our research continues to evolve.




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