Rachel Dickenson

TEAL Lab Manager (2026-)

Anthropology M.Sc. Student (2023-25)

Bio​​

Originally from Keswick, ON, Rachel completed her B.Sc. (Hons) in Forensic Science at Trent University and then joined TEAL to complete her M.Sc. in Anthropology, which she successfully defended in September 2025 with her characteristic Starbucks pink drink in-hand (light ice and no inclusions, of course). Driven by her intense FOMO, she returned to TEAL shortly after her M.Sc. defense to make history as TEAL’s first official lab manager. Rachel takes this role very seriously, maintaining a safe and productive lab environment while striving to ensure that all TEAL members have the support they need to be successful. Two of her primary tasks as lab manager include chauffeuring M.Sc. student Em Diemer to and from campus while blasting the Hamilton soundtrack and coordinating rigorous scientific experiments to answer the important questions in life, like “what can you throw further – naan bread or a baguette?” Rachel’s favourite TEAL memory is the look on P.I. Paul Szpak’s face when she was finally outed for spilling an entire Costco-sized box of baking soda in the lab sink… Two. Years. Later. Rachel is the lab's resident private investigator - whenever there is need to do some deep googling on one of the authors of a paper we've read in lab meeting, she can quickly sniff out what kinds of pets they have, which acapella group they sang in, and every other detail of their personal and professional lives. Outside the lab, her hobbies include reading, being nosey, shopping at Winner’s, and hard-core hating on all sauces except alfredo. Rachel maintains a healthy lifestyle by balancing her pursuit of the perfect girl dinner with yoga, pilates, and rock-climbing, and is actively seeking to improve her legendarily poor geography skills. Bio by Hazel McMillan. 
 

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TEAL Awards and Honours

🏆 2023 Corrie Hyland Award for Positivity (shared with Julia McCuaig)

🥇 2024 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Bone Cutting

🏆 2024 Highest δ15N Value

🏆 2024 Corrie Hyland Award for Positivity (shared with Dorothy Buatsi)

🏆 2024 Eric Guiry Award

🥇 2025 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Reagent Weighing