Dr. Kibret Mequanint (FEAS, FEAI, FBSE, FCAE, FAIMBE) is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and Acting Director of the School of Biomedical Engineering at Western University. His research is 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. Some of his technologies are licensed to companies. 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.

Dr. Mequanint is both a dedicated teacher and a leading scholar - winning major teaching and research awards. Dr. Mequanint is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, and the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He is a member of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) and the Canadian Biomaterials Society (CBS). He served as Associate Chair (Undergraduate) (2008-2014), Acting Department Chair (2014-2015), and Graduate Chair (2015-2016). He also served at the University Senate (2013-2017) and at the University Board of Governors (2016-2020).