News from Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences

Explore stories behind the brightest minds in engineering who are making a real-world impact in their communities, across the country and around the globe.

Engineering professors and students have developed biodegradable seaweed-based tablets to make menstrual cups cleaner and more accessible, reducing its stigma and potentially detecting infections.

Todd Didar, Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering professor, is one of six recipients across the country of NSERC’s most prestigious award for outstanding young researchers who are earning a strong international reputation for original research.

Students in Health, Engineering Science and Entrepreneurship, the BHSc degree in McMaster’s iBioMed program are combining health, science, engineering, and entrepreneurship to tackle real-world health challenges — and shaping their own paths along the way.

McMaster graduate Lianna Genovese founded ImaginAble Solutions to create Guided Hands, a device that helps people with limited hand mobility to write, paint and use tablets. Genovese ensures accessibility by donating a portion of each sale to those with financial barriers.

iBioMed students helped transform pandemic-born startup Vivo surgery into a global platform, live-streaming surgeries to train medical and engineering students while inspiring new surgical innovations.

Sanna Tayabali, Electrical and Biomedical Engineering (iBioMed), spent four consecutive summers in California, working on the front lines of surgical robotic design teams.

At just 19, iBioMed student Kobe Li is helping expand access to vision care through his nonprofit, 20/20 Mission. His efforts recently earned him national recognition as a recipient of the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award.

What does it mean to “Design Like a Girl”? This summer, a group of passionate, women-identifying high school students gathered at McMaster University to find out – through a full day of hands-on STEM exploration. 

Tina Mahmoudi '20 is the Lead Engineer at Asima Health, a female-founded startup developing rapid cancer screening technology.

Biomedical engineering PhD student Manak Bajaj was named the 2025 winner of a $10,000 grand prize for his pitch focused on an innovative way of detecting and predicting Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs).

McMaster students Deena Al-Sammak and Rooaa Shanshal are balancing academics and entrepreneurship as they grow Power of Play, a startup transforming pediatric rehabilitation. Along the way, they discovered the power of collaboration, determination, and community.