Dr. Jenn Jakobi named Chair for Women in Science and Engineering

Jenn Jakobi has a passion for building equity, diversity and inclusion

Dr. Jenn Jakobi is a scientist, a teacher and a mentor. Her work focuses on neuromuscular and exercise physiology with the long-term objective of keeping our aging population healthy and independent.

Part of Dr. Jakobi’s passion and commitment to research is sharing knowledge and creating opportunities for everyone to learn. She and her team of students and staff, in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences, produce written articles and guides, as well as videos and podcasts, making sure the science conducted in university labs gets into the living rooms of everyday Canadians.

Beyond science translation, Dr. Jakobi has another passion. She is committed to increasing diversity across science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. She coordinates and hosts youth outreach camps and activities, and conducts professional development workshops to enable organizational change that will build equity, diversity and inclusion changes in STEM enterprises.

This month, Dr. Jakobi takes on a new role as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for the British Columbia/Yukon region. This Westcoast Women in Engineering Science and Technology (WWEST) program mobilizes her leadership to roles that encourage, explore, understand and empower change for underrepresented people in STEM.

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