EMPOWERING BIODESIGN DESIGN

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Origin​

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In 2019, Rene Canady became a senior student at Pitt Bioengineering and was already engaged in accessible biomedical device R&D, advocacy in STEM, and engineering culture research. At the same time, her personal experiences with sick Black family members taught her the discrepancies between engineering design and public health. By the time she graduated, she decided that she would conduct research to fill that gap, and sociology became a way of understanding the very routine and regulated ways that engineers contributed to social imbalances. From her graduate thesis on “Lab Coat Culture and Persistent Social Issues in Bioengineering Laboratories,” she has built a unique understanding of how sociological theories can help engineers design systems that intentionally improve social impact, starting with the culture inside the lab. Since then, Rene has leant her expertise through workshops, lectures, and all ages curriculum on bioengineering design justice.

 

Meet Rene

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Rene Canady is a consultant, public speaker, writer, researcher, sociologist, bioengineer, and pop culture educator. She has a master’s degree in sociology and a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering. In Fall 2022, she completed her master’s thesis on lab coat cultures, the racial dynamics of bioengineering laboratories and the processes involved. She currently is taking clients who wish to have consultation on high-quality engineering design and production while prioritizing broader impact.

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Rene has worked with engineers, universities, sociologists, families, and industry professionals in several organizations including the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the ARC Network, and the American Sociological Association. Her specialties include organizational sociology, fairness, accountability, and transparency (FAT) biomedical design, and STEAM education. She also has done a variety of community advocacy activities, from maternal health campaign writing to supporting small cannabis to urban farming for Black families. 

 

Rene has a background in medical product design, and has engineered for Pitt, CMU, and has conducted engineering education research at the University of Johannesburg and Cape Town University. She has studied engineering in a global context and combines social science, culture, and critical theories to analyze both industrial and academic product design. You can find her live resume at https://www.itsrene.com/publications.