Heather Sheardown elected fellow of the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineers
Photo by JD Howell
BY Michelle Presse
March 6, 2019
Chemical engineering professor Heather Sheardown has been made a fellow of the American Institute of Biological Engineers.
Sheardown, who also holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ophthalmic Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Systems, is an expert in drug delivery, contact lens materials, IOLs, polymer chemistry and ophthalmic bioengineering.
Fellow of the AIMBE are considered to be in the top two per cent of people in the field.
“Being a Fellow means receiving recognition of the work we’re doing and the things we’ve done previously, but also, the group has a fairly significant lobbying initiative that goes on trying to promote science to lawmakers and to the general public,” says Heather. “I see that as a huge part of our role as professors. I’m really pleased to take on that as part of my mandate.”
Sheardown took the time to answer 15 questions about her personal and professional life (What was she like in university? What’s the most challenging thing about her research? What’s her favourite 80s song?).
