The Lab Team

Read about the people on our team

People

The Indigenous Experiences Lab is a new lab at TMU directed by Dr. Iloradanon Efimoff. Dr. Efimoff is seeking to build the lab to include a team of undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students as well as volunteers and postdoctoral fellows.

  • All Members
  • Graduate Students
  • Research Assistants

Lab Director, Assistant Professor at TMU

Dr. Iloradanon Efimoff

Dr. Iloradanon Efimoff (she/her) is the Director of the Indigenous Experiences Lab and an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).

Dr. Iloradanon Efimoff is Haida and European settler from the northwest coast of British Columbia. After completing her BA (Hons.) in Applied Psychology at Douglas College in New Westminster, BC, she worked as a research assistant with the DUDES Club, an Indigenous men’s health organization in Vancouver. Dr. Efimoff later completed her SSHRC-funded MA in Applied Social Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan, focusing on perceptions and attitudes towards White-presenting Indigenous peoples. She completed her Vanier-funded PhD in Social and Personality Psychology at the University of Manitoba. Through her mixed-methods dissertation, Dr. Efimoff created and experimentally tested an educational approach to help combat anti-Indigenous racism in Canada. She finished her Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the Research for Indigenous Social Action and Equity (RISE) Center and Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. At RISE, she focused on the identity experiences of multiracial Indigenous people, a growing and understudied group in Canada.

Dr. Efimoff primarily studies the impact of education on reducing anti-Indigenous racism. Her other research interests include reconciliation, Indigenization (particularly in the context of psychology and postsecondary institutions), and Indigenous well-being.

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Volunteer Research Assistant

Argo Basembe

Argo Basembe (they/them) is a volunteer research assistant in the Indigenous Experiences Lab.

Argo Basembe was previously an undergraduate research practicum student in the Indigenous Experiences Lab (Winter 2025) and an Undergraduate Research Opportunity (URO) grant recipient (Summer 2025). They are currently a volunteer research assistant in the Indigenous Experiences Lab.

Argo is a Black, trans*, queer fourth-year undergraduate psychology student and a volunteer at the Indigenous Experiences Lab. They are currently completing their Honours Thesis—on the self-perceptions of authenticity among racialized trans* folks—in the Social Perception and Intergroup Relations Lab (SPIRAL) under the supervision of Dr. Jason Deska and his graduate students. Argo has many research interests, including 2SLGBTQIA+ (especially trans*) experiences, BIPOC experiences, prejudice and discrimination, social inequality and oppression, social/meta/self perceptions (and much more!). They strive to continue facilitating and participating in critical research frameworks to progress social-structural change and to uplift marginalized voices. As such, Argo hopes to further their career in academia by pursuing graduate studies.

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Volunteer Research Assistant

Danielle Castelhano

Danielle is a volunteer research assistant in the Indigenous Experiences Lab.

Danielle Castelhano is a fourth-year psychology student and volunteer at the Indigenous Experiences Lab. Her research interests lie at the intersection of psychology and social justice, with a focus on prejudice, discrimination, gender, and sexuality. Danielle is committed to supporting research that drives meaningful social and institutional change and is keen to deepen her understanding of Indigenous experiences. Currently, she is completing a thesis on stranger sexual harassment in another lab and aspires to pursue graduate studies.

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Master's Student

Savannah Marshall

Savannah Marshall (she/her) is a clinical psychology master’s student in the Indigenous Experiences Lab and Clinical Psychology program at TMU.

Savannah Marshall is a second year master’s student in the Indigenous Experiences Lab and Clinical Psychology program at TMU. Savannah is a European-Canadian settler from Lindsay, Ontario. She obtained her B.A. (Hons.) in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour with a mental health specialization and minor in Indigenous Studies from McMaster University. She is interested in research related to using a critical historical education framework to reduce anti-Indigenous racism in clinical settings.

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Volunteer Research Assistant

Saeeda Saadat

Saeeda Saadat (she/her) is a volunteer at the Indigenous Experiences Lab and an incoming third-year undergraduate psychology student at TMU.

Saeeda Saadat is a volunteer at the Indigenous Experiences Lab and an incoming third-year undergraduate psychology student at TMU. She is also working in the Cognitive Aging Lab as a lab manager and research assistant under the supervision of Dr. Lixia Yang. Saeeda finds the field of psychology fascinating and is interested in pursuing graduate studies!

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Volunteer Research Assistant

Jesse Shewfelt

Jesse Shewfelt was an Honors student in the Indigenous Experiences Lab (2023-2024). He is currently a volunteer research assistant.

Jesse Shewfelt is a British-Canadian settler from southern Ontario. He previously obtained a BAH in English Language and Literature, and is interested in how entertainment shapes and influences intergroup perspectives and self-concept. He is currently in his final year of Undergraduate Psychology at TMU.

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Masters Student

Mary Kate Schilke

Mary Kate is a first year MA student in the Indigenous Experiences lab.

Mary Kate Schilke (she/her) is an MA student in the Indigenous Experiences Lab and Psychological Science program at TMU. Mary Kate received a BA (Hons.) from Tyndale University and an MA in Counselling and Spirituality from Saint Paul University. As a Registered Psychotherapist she has worked with diverse client populations on issues relating to identity, grief, and anxiety. Mary Kate’s background is European settler and Dominican immigrant, and she grew up in Southern Ontario. Her research interests include moral justification — specifically how we morally justify prejudiced attitudes and behaviours.

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Volunteer Research Assistant

Joey Vong

Joey is a volunteer research assistant in the Indigenous Experiences Lab.

Joey Vong (she/they) is a queer first year psychological science Master’s student at TMU working under Dr. Caroline Erentzen in the Psychology, Law & Justice (PLJ) Lab. Exploring various tenets of social psychology throughout undergrad, Joey found particular passions in studying topics of social identity, queerness, gender and sexuality using critical and reflexive lens. Using intersectional and feminist perspectives, their master’s thesis will explore the unique ways in which young queer racialized women in the GTA navigate their intersectional identities and find belonging and community within queer spaces. In the IEL Lab Joey is excited to learn more about Indigenous perspectives in psychology and contribute to projects that aim to uplift Indigenous perspectives and research.

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Alumni

Lilith (Lilly) Werner was a practicum student and volunteer research assistant in the Indigenous Experiences Lab (2023-24). 
 
Tyra Sequeira was a volunteer research assistant in the Indigenous Experiences Lab (2023-24).