
Congratulations to CSMB Vice-President Imogen Coe, who will receive the 2019 Angela Hildyard Recognition Award in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
Dr. Imogen R. Coe was the founding dean of the Faculty of Science at Ryerson University (2012-2018). She is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology, and an affiliate scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Keenan Research Centre, at St. Michael’s Hospital, where her research group studies the biology of drug transporters which are proteins that facilitate the entry into cells of anti-cancer and anti-viral drugs. She is also the Vice-President of the Canadian Molecular Biosciences Society.
In addition to her work as a research scientist, Dr. Coe is internationally recognized as a Canadian thought leader in the area of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
She has advised academia, government and industry on best practices and approaches to improve EDI in STEM, particularly in the Canadian post-secondary education (PSE) sector. She has written and spoken about these issues extensively for platforms such as the Globe and Mail, iPolitics and the CBC. She has also given a TEDx talk on gender equity in science and is much in demand by academia, industry and government as a speaker and panelist. She sits on the advisory boards of Science Rendezvous and Ingenium, as well as the board of directors for the Michael Garron Hospital and as a member of the Canadian Mining Innovation Council. In fall 2016 she was recognized by WXN as one of Canada’s Top 100 Women, in the Trail Blazer category for her advocacy work promoting equity in STEM and in 2017, she was one of the “Canada150 Women” in the best-selling publication of the same name. In March of 2018, she received the Ryerson University’s, Alan Shepard Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Employee Award, for her outstanding achievements as a senior leader in the Ryerson University community, who advances equity, diversity and inclusion at the university and beyond.
This award is given by the Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada. This organization was founded in 1987 to provide a forum and a collective voice for women in senior administrative ranks in Canadian universities, colleges and technical institutes. The primary purpose of SWAAC is the promotion of female leadership in Canadian universities, colleges and technical institutes through:
- Developing and enhancing leadership skills
- Mentoring future leaders
- Recognizing exceptional leaders
- Networking and communicating
- Promoting equity, diversity and inclusion
The award will be presented to the recipients at the gala dinner of the annual conference hosted by the University of Waterloo, Conestoga College, and Wilfrid Laurier University, on Friday evening, April 26th .