Dr. Heather Sheardown is Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, a Professor of Chemical Engineering, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ophthalmic Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Systems. An expert in contact lens materials, IOLs, polymer chemistry, bioengineering and drug delivery in the ophthalmic space, Dr. Sheardown serves as scientific director of C20/20, an incubator for biomedical technologies. She is the first woman to lead as dean of engineering at McMaster.

Dr. Heather Sheardown is Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, a Professor of Chemical Engineering, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ophthalmic Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Systems. An expert in contact lens materials, IOLs, polymer chemistry, bioengineering and drug delivery in the ophthalmic space, Dr. Sheardown serves as scientific director of C20/20, an incubator for biomedical technologies. She is the first woman to lead as dean of engineering at McMaster.

Dr. Kathryn Grandfield is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Microscopy of Biomaterials and Biointerfaces in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering and the School of Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University.

She also serves as Associate Dean, Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Engineering, where she provides strategic leadership and guidance for all graduate programs, fosters academic excellence, supports graduate students’ professional and research development, and works closely with student societies and faculty to enhance the overall graduate experience.

Her research focuses on the development of advanced biomaterials and the use of correlative multi-scale microscopy to study biointerfaces and mineralized tissues. Dr. Grandfield has received numerous awards for her contributions to research and teaching, including the 2017 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award, the 2018 Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research, Science and Innovation, and the 2019 McMaster Faculty of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award.

In addition to her research, she has played active leadership roles in the scientific community, serving on the board of the Canadian Biomaterials Society and as the inaugural Director of User Operations for the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy. She served as President of the Microscopical Society of Canada from 2021 to 2023.

Dr. Kathryn Grandfield is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Microscopy of Biomaterials and Biointerfaces in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering and the School of Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University.

She also serves as Associate Dean, Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Engineering, where she provides strategic leadership and guidance for all graduate programs, fosters academic excellence, supports graduate students’ professional and research development, and works closely with student societies and faculty to enhance the overall graduate experience.

Her research focuses on the development of advanced biomaterials and the use of correlative multi-scale microscopy to study biointerfaces and mineralized tissues. Dr. Grandfield has received numerous awards for her contributions to research and teaching, including the 2017 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award, the 2018 Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research, Science and Innovation, and the 2019 McMaster Faculty of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award.

In addition to her research, she has played active leadership roles in the scientific community, serving on the board of the Canadian Biomaterials Society and as the inaugural Director of User Operations for the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy. She served as President of the Microscopical Society of Canada from 2021 to 2023.