Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy

Policy Engagement Series

 

Engineers and Ontario’s Health-Care System—

A perfect partnership

 

Dr. Kimberly Woodhouse

Dean, Faculty of Applied Science, Queen's Univesity

 

 

ENGINEERS ARE MAKING SIGNFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO HEALTH CARE in Ontario, often in little-known ways. They range from managing our health-care institutions, to introducing principles of sustainability to our hospitals, to leading the way with innovations in biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine. Engineers contribute to cost reduction, conduct leading-edge biological research, and devise development that defines the future of health care.

 

Individualized medicine: think engineers.

Rehabilitation therapies: think engineers.

Health-care policy: think engineers.

 

This presentation will highlight future directions for health care amid increasing technological change. The seminar will also position engineers as the go-to professionals to help realize Ontario's potential and avoid many of the looming pitfalls.

 

Dr. Kimberly Woodhouse is an expert in the design of novel elastomeric materials made from synthetics and recombinant proteins and their application as tissue engineering scaffolds, particularly in the cardiac environment. She is dean of the Faculty of Applied Science at Queen’s University, a professor in the university’s Department of Chemical Engineering, a scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and associate director of the Advanced Regenerative Tissue Engineering Centre, a multi-institutional centre to bring basic scientists, engineers and clinicians together to develop novel constructs for soft tissue engineering. Dr. Woodhouse was awarded a Premier’s Excellence Award in 2000 and a Professional Engineers Ontario Engineering Medal in 1997. In Addition, she has patented technology and has co-founded a biotechnology company.

 

LUNCH WILL BE SERVED.