Lauren Sykes (she/they)

Lauren has worked in the nonprofit sphere developing, coordinating, and growing educational programs for over eight years. They founded IRES in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for virtual programs in scientific literacy and research, especially in experiential learning. Lauren is also an OCT certified high school teacher and holistic nutritionist who is passionate about alternative education and meeting the needs of students while preparing them for our adapting workplace and economy. Lauren’s background is in the arts and humanities and they have also conducted research in the fields of education and scientific literacy. Lauren has big plans for IRES and is excited to move forward and continue to grow the programs and increase their access.

Lindsay Woo (she/her)

When IRES was founded in 2020, Lindsay was brought on as their research programs coordinator and has been working to build IRES ever since. Volunteering for many years supporting students in learning basic research and transferable skills, Lindsay is thrilled she gets to share her passion for research and making it accessible through her work at IRES. Her background is in research and the sciences and she has conducted research in topics including immunology, astrobiology, and clinical research. Lindsay is excited about science literacy and communication and is always looking for new ways to innovate our programs.

Dr. Kirti Mittal (she/her)

Kirti is an experienced researcher in the field of medical science and genetics. She began volunteering as a research mentor during her post-doc at the University of Toronto. She published many research papers and is currently managing a lab in the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital where she continues to be involved in science promotion and communication through various volunteer ventures. Kirti joined IRES in 2022 and has been instrumental in our development and new initiatives.