Shad Lakehead

Program Director

Gabriel Oba, PhD

Associate Professor, Chemistry

Gabriel (he/him) graduated from the Université Paul Sabatier in the southwest of France. He then moved to the US for a couple postdoctoral positions, in Clemson, South Carolina and then in Columbus, Ohio. He worked mainly in Organic synthesis, targeting structurally interesting alkaloids. Gabriel had the first opportunity to teach when he was in Columbus. He did not really know what to expect. The experience was so rewarding when he received feedback from students that he decided to lean more towards teaching.

When he moved to Canada in 2010, his first teaching position was at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC and then in 2013 at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, ON, where he is associate professor of chemistry.

For many years, Gabriel has been involved in many outreach activities, not only with local high school students, but also with Aboriginal youth from remote locations. During these events, the students had the opportunity to work on a series of visually interesting hands-on experiences. Gabriel really enjoys working with young people because he believes it’s important to make them aware of the immense opportunities of science. The goal is to generate excitement and more interest in science in general (chemistry in particular). During his free time, Gabriel likes to watch movies, sports (Go Raptors) and also listen to music.