Areeba Amjad receives FEAS Gold Medal for academic excellence, leadership, and service.

This year’s Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science (FEAS) Gold Medal recipient – and graduate in biomedical engineering – is driven by a passion for equity and access to opportunities. Areeba Amjad talks with verve about her education, the possibilities that science opens up for the future of healthcare, and her determination to make the most of the opportunities she sees denied to others due to their circumstances.  

Her “lightbulb moment” came at the start of her Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) experience. Presented with an abundance of opportunity for exploration and growth, Areeba reflected on the barriers that stand in the way of other women across the globe. “That’s when I really started trying to make the most of my university experience,” she said. “I decided that I was going to try to do everything for their sake.” 

Areeba dedicated herself to supporting others at TMU, where she mentored students as a First-Year Engineering Student Ambassador, informed program development on the Biomedical Engineering Course Union, and uplifted her peers through other on-campus organizations. It was an early mentor of her own, a high school biology teacher, who inspired Areeba to pursue biomedical engineering and use science to make life better for others. 

For Areeba’s final-year undergraduate project, she worked with three peers to develop technology that could make spinal surgery safer. This was followed by an internship with Thermo Fisher Scientific, where she helped organize a Take Your Kids to Work Day. Areeba and her colleagues produced bath bombs to demonstrate the science behind drug manufacturing and excite youth about STEM. 

Most recently, Areeba received a prestigious Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) research grant. The grant provides her the opportunity to spend the summer supporting professor and Canada Research Chair in AI for Medical Imaging, April Khademi, in the Image Analysis in Medicine Lab (IAMLAB). Areeba will be working alongside IAMLAB researchers to develop AI tools that can aid pathologists in their diagnosis of different cancers. Areeba is also continuing her studies, pursuing a Master of Applied Science and Computer Engineering degree, with professor Khademi as her supervisor. Never one to rest on her laurels, Areeba aspires to roles in industry, with ambitions to run charities and non-government organizations. Not forgetting her roots, she also remains dedicated to the pursuit of mentoring and supporting those following in her footsteps.

“When I came to university I had many goals and one of them was to give back to the community,” she says. “TMU gave me so much. I feel like I owe it to them to give everything I can back to incoming students.”

About the Gold Medal award

Each year, the TMU Gold Medal is awarded to one graduating student from each faculty who has demonstrated academic excellence and made significant contributions to their academic and professional communities.