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• Kibret Mequanint elected fellow, biomaterials science and engineering

Kibret Mequanint elected fellow, biomaterials science and engineering

Kibret Mequanint has been elected as fellow by the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUSBSE).

Mequanint, a professor in the department of chemical and biochemical engineering and acting director of the School of Biomedical Engineering, is the very first researcher from Western University to earn this honour. 

It is the highest distinction the global biomaterials community can bestow on outstanding scientists. Mequanint will join a group of fewer than 500 of the most respected biomaterials scientists elected in the past 30 years world-wide.

“This is a fantastic achievement and well-deserved for Kibret,” says Western Engineering Dean Ken Coley. “Western Engineering being represented in this very select group of biomaterials scientists and engineers is an incredible honour for the faculty.”

The honorary status of “Fellow, Biomaterials Science and Engineering” was established in April 1992. Fellows are recognized for their excellent professional standing and high achievements in the field of biomaterials science and engineering. Elections are held every four years and only three researchers from Canadian universities are eligible for election each cycle. 

“I am thrilled to be recognized and elected to the company of the international biomaterials science and engineering elites, some of whom are my role models and former mentors,” says Mequanint.

Mequanint is an internationally renowned innovator and researcher in the fields of biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine interfacing polymer science, materials and chemical engineering and life sciences. 

Over the past 20 years, his work spanned both fundamental understandings and translational research in cell-material interactions, the design of novel polymer biomaterials for medical devices, and therapeutic radiation dosimeters.

Mequanint is a leading scholar with over 150 publications in high-impact journals. Outside of Canada, he has launched strategic initiatives to aid engineering capacity building in Ethiopia and has worked to provide accessible medical devices for poor and resource-scarce communities.

Recognized by organizations in Canada and abroad, Mequanint is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences.

He has also received numerous honours during his career, including the Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, the Faculty Scholar Award, and the Engineering Medal (Research & Development) from the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.

Mequanint will be officially inducted as fellow at the 12th World Biomaterials Congress, which will be held in Daegu, South Korea next May.