BMO STEM Awards

Recognizing female leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math roles who are challenging the status quo for knowledge and female empowerment

DR. JOANNE ATLEE

PHD, P.eng Professor, Director of Women in Computer Science, UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

BIO: Dr. Joanne Atlee has 30 years' research experience in software modelling and analysis. She is an ACM Distinguished Scientist and received the IEEE-CS TCSE Distinguished Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Award and the ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Service Award. She serves as the Director of Women in Computer Science at U Waterloo; is on the Board of Directors at CS-CAN, the national organization for computing; and is on the steering committee for the CANCWIC conference that celebrates women in computing.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: There is no such thing as failure - there are only learning experiences.

ON LIVING LIKE A LEGEND: "Living like a legend" means being willing to take risks and aim high.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: Enabling others to succeed.

POWER SONG: Shake It Off, Taylor Swift

VICTORIA GRANOVA

PHD Student and Instructor, TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY; Technical Program Manager, AMAZON WEB SERVICES (AWS); Founder, CYBERTORONTO

BIO: Victoria Granova is an industry leader, educator and passionate advocate for diversity and gender inclusion in the cybersecurity industry. Victoria is a PHD student researching human-centric cybersecurity at Toronto Metropolitan University's Cybersecurity Research Lab. She is also an instructor at Queen's University, Toronto Metropolitan University and York University teaching enterprise cybersecurity and financial data privacy. In industry, Victoria is a Security Technical Program Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS), managing global vendor security, and founder of Cybertoronto, an edtech startup.

ON LIVING LIKE A LEGEND: It means working toward your dreams not only despite your fears, but also because of them.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: To exercise your choices to help others, even when you don't feel you have the power to make a difference. You'd be surprised at how much of an impact you could make.

DR. CHRISTINE CHAMBERS

PHD, FRSC, FCAHS, Professor and Canada Research Chair, DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY; Scientific Director, INSTITUTE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, CHILD AND YOUTH HEALTH (IHDCYH), CANADIAN INSTITUTES OF HEALTH RESEARCH (CIHR); Scientific Director, SOLUTIONS FOR KIDS IN PAIN (SKIP)

BIO: Dr. Christine Chambers is an international leader in children's pain research and an innovator in patient and public engagement, partnerships and knowledge mobilization. She has published over 200 articles in scientific journals and is recognized in the top two per cent of the most cited scientists in the world. As a clinical psychologist and national voice for children's health, Dr. Chambers creates purposeful connections and collaborations to move research from ideas to impact, improving the lives of children, youth and families.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Be brave enough to act on your instincts.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: You have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others and to have impact on the world.

PRERANA MANOJ

Co-developer, Co-founder, PROJECT HEARTSCOPE; Research Intern, ONTARIO TECH UNIVERSITY

BIO: Prerana Manoj is a 16-year-old passionate about bridging gaps within health care, education and sustainability with the power of artificial intelligence. In 2021, Prerana pitched her social enterprise start-up on Dragons Den, and was offered a $25K shared investment. She is co-founder and co-developer at Project Heartscope, which reached the Technovation Girls Internationals, and travelled to San Francisco to pitch the idea. She is a Human Computer Interactions Research Intern at Ontario Tech University, exploring emotions in online learning environments.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Embrace new experiences. Being open to trying unfamiliar things has led to incredible opportunities and some cherished moments and experiences. You never know until you give it a go!

POWER SONG: Only Girl in the World, Rihanna

MANINDER DHALIWAL

P.eng., ICD.D Managing Partner, STARTUP STUDIO - ACCELERATOR & VENTURE FUND; Founding Chair, TIE GLOBAL

INCUBATOR

BIO: Maninder Dhaliwal is the Managing Partner of Startup Studio – Accelerator and Venture Fund. She is the founding chair of TIE Incubation Lab, and serves on the global steering committee for TIE Global Angels – the largest angel investor network in the world. Her specialty is helping early-stage technology companies succeed through strategically leveraging worldwide networks. Through TIE Incubation Lab (a community non-profit), she is helping high-potential, high-impact innovations from remote locations commercialize successfully and reach the global market.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Sense of agency is a precious resource in life and career. The world is a very malleable place. Gaining agency is gaining the capacity to do something differently from, or in addition to, the events that simply happen to you.

ON LIVING LIKE A LEGEND: Always be true to yourself. Accept that life is unfair, and then ask “what's my unfair advantage”?

SUMAIYA NOOR

BESE, MBA, MS Advisor, VENTURE BAY and APPOMANIA; Featured Expert - Product Management and Growth, Startup Advisory and Global Career, CRIYA; AI Council Member, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM; Advisory Council, HARVARD

BUSINESS REVIEW (HBR)

BIO: Sumaiya is a global Product and Growth Leader with more than a decade managing cross-functional teams across six continents (based in four continents) with Fortune100 multinationals and tech start-ups. She is a Fulbright scholar with MS and MBA from Purdue University, INSEAD certified Digital Strategy consultant, Certified Product Manager, a Software Engineer and has recently been honored as 40under40. She has spoken at US State Department with delegates from 47 countries including U.S. Congress members.

ON LIVING LIKE A LEGEND: To make a positive impact through whatever I do in my personal and professional life; to work for the betterment of those who are underprivileged; to value human beings despite our differences.

JENNIFER QUAGLIETTA

P.eng, MBA, ICD.D

CEO and Registrar, PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS ONTARIO

BIO: Jennifer Quaglietta is the CEO and Registrar with Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), where she is leading the organization through a historic enterprisewide transformation toward becoming a professional, modern and trusted regulator that consistently serves and protects the public interest. As a licensed professional engineer with a passion for improving communities, Jennifer has dedicated over 20 years in the public and private sectors to enable countless positive transformations at the local, regional and system levels.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Every accomplishment begins with a decision to try, and this starts by creating spaces for teams to collaborate, innovate and iterate to achieve their highest potential.

POWER SONG: A Sky Full of Stars, Coldplay

DR. AIPING YU

Professor, P.eng University Research Chair,

UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

BIO: Dr. Aiping Yu is an outstanding Chemical Engineer working on nanomaterials for renewable energy and polymer composites. She champions the commercialization of proprietary technologies for industrial applications. Her research has received nearly 30,000 citations with H-index 85, and is highlighted in the popular press and recognized through major awards, including Nsercsteacie Memorial Fellowship and Rutherford Memorial Medal. She serves as editor for several major journals and advocates collaboration and works enthusiastically in increasing engineering impact globally.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Be humble and respect everyone.

ON LIVING LIKE A LEGEND: Be more humble and selfdisciplined.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: Have more social responsibility and dedication.

DR. KATE STOREY

PHD, RD

Associate Professor and CIHR/ PHAC Applied Public Health Chair, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA; Distinguished Researcher, STOLLERY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION AND WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE

BIO: Dr. Kate Storey is a renowned population and public health scientist, an ambassador for child and youth health, and a dedicated mentor for the next generation of scholars. Dr. Storey's applied research program, SIRCLE, focuses on school and communitybased strategies to promote wellbeing, prevent chronic diseases, and reduce health inequities. Dr. Storey's work creates a culture of wellness for children, families and communities through systems-level change across Canada and internationally.

ON LIVING LIKE A LEGEND: Recognizing that being legendary is already within us. Celebrating our unique strengths and lifting each other up to challenge the status quo.

POWER SONG: Take a Chance on Me, ABBA

DR. SONDOS ZAYED

MD CM, FRCPC Clinical and Research Fellow,

SUNNYBROOK HOSPITAL ODETTE CANCER CENTRE

BIO: Dr. Sondos Zayed completed her medical degree at Mcgill University followed by residency training in Radiation Oncology at Western University. She is pursuing further sub-specialty training in brain, spine and gastrointestinal malignancies as a clinical fellow at the Sunnybrook Hospital Odette Cancer Centre, while completing her Harvard MPH in Epidemiology. She is the co-principal investigator of an ongoing clinical trial which she designed and launched as a trainee, with the intent of helping cancer patients complete their curative treatment.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Embrace every obstacle with humility and grit. This unlocks the gateway to continuous growth, nurtures meaningful relationships and paves the path for collaborative and innovative endeavours.

DR. JENNIFER TAHER

PH.D., FCACB

Clinical Biochemist,

MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL; Assistant Professor,

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

BIO: Dr. Jennifer Taher is a Clinical Biochemist and Assistant Professor. During the pandemic, she played an active role in the development of national COVID-19 guidance documents and co-led a multi-hospital COVID19 research project called GENCOV. Her research has answered novel questions to improve the management of critically ill patients and has been presented both nationally and internationally. She is an active educator at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate level and has developed an innovative clinical chemistry study tool called CLICK.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Surround yourself with people and things that inspire you, and you will naturally succeed.

ON LIVING LIKE A LEGEND: Living like a legend means not being scared of failure.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: To be knowledgeable.

Every accomplishment begins with a decision to try

~ Jennifer Quaglietta

Surround yourself with people and things that inspire you

~ Dr. Jennifer Taher

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