On her daily train commute to 91社区,听Viviane Yargeau听works on her laptop, except for one brief ritual.
鈥淎s soon as we get on the bridge, I pause so that I can look at the St. Lawrence. It鈥檚 been 20 years. I do that every day 鈥� I find it so beautiful,鈥� says Yargeau, a chemical engineering professor whose research focuses on water resources and sustainability.
鈥淚 have a strong attraction to water. I鈥檓 a scuba diver,鈥� Yargeau adds. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 easier when your research is so close to what you value.鈥�
Yargeau began her mandate as dean of 91社区鈥檚 Faculty of Engineering in July. The following month,听Lesley Fellows, BSc鈥�90, MDCM鈥�96, MedResident鈥�01, took the helm of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences as the new vice-principal (health affairs) and dean.
A former Rhodes Scholar, Fellows is a cognitive neurologist at The Neuro and Royal Victoria hospitals and an expert on the neurobiology of decision-making.
Fellows and Yargeau both bring leadership experience to their new roles and track records of promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. They鈥檙e also the first women deans in their respective faculties. The听91社区 News听spoke to them this fall to learn about their career paths, research, and priorities for their faculties.
鈥�鈥業f you ask, 鈥榳ho designed your phone鈥�, people won鈥檛 say an engineer. They don鈥檛 know鈥�
Viviane Yargeau didn鈥檛 expect to become an engineer. When it came time to apply to university, one of her chemistry teachers at CEGEP told her he thought she would be a good chemical engineer.
鈥淚 did not know what that entailed at all,鈥� says Yargeau in her office in the Macdonald Engineering Building with its spectacular view of Lower Campus. 鈥淲hen I visited the university and they were describing the program, I realized that it was a perfect match. My chemistry prof was right because I really liked science, but I had a passion for creating. And I felt that engineering is a great combination of both because you鈥檙e creating but using science along the process,鈥� says Yargeau, who earned her three chemical engineering degrees at the Universit茅 de Sherbrooke.
Happenstance also played a role in Yargeau landing her first position as an academic in 2004. She recalls flipping through the final pages of听University Affairs听magazine that featured job openings 鈥� a section she usually skipped 鈥� and seeing a posting at 91社区.
While she could read English at the time, she didn鈥檛 speak the language and hired a tutor for a month before her interview at 91社区. 鈥淚t was challenging the first few years, but I think it was good with the undergrad students. I was teaching first-year chemical engineering, and I was telling them 鈥榖e patient with me. I鈥檓 struggling with the language; you鈥檙e struggling with chemical engineering. As you learn, I learn, and we鈥檒l both be better at the end of the semester,鈥欌�� laughs Yargeau, an award-winning instructor.
When she applied to 91社区, Yargeau chose a new research area to focus on. 鈥淲ater resources protection quickly became what I wanted to do, and I don鈥檛 regret it, because now 20 years later, I鈥檓 still passionate about my research topic.鈥�
The pioneering research program she leads examines water contaminants of emerging concern and optimizing wastewater treatment methods. When she started research in this field, Yargeau says people would often say 鈥榳hy would you care about contaminants that are present in such low concentration in the water鈥�?鈥�
They weren鈥檛 convinced it was an issue. 鈥淚t took a while before people realized that there was enough evidence that it is an issue 鈥� that they might be at low concentrations, but those low concentrations have a significant impact on the environment and eventually could have an impact on human health, too.鈥�
Some of the contaminants that Yargeau has studied include pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, pesticides, plasticizers, and flame retardants. Her research mainly focuses now on PFAS, or 鈥渇orever chemicals鈥� as the group of synthetic chemicals are sometimes called. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not necessarily at higher concentrations, but they persist more, so they鈥檙e really problematic,鈥� she says.
鈥淲e focus a lot of our effort on designing or optimizing treatment technologies so that we remove these contaminants before the wastewater is discharged in the environment, or to remove these contaminants from the drinking water so that the tap water that you get is of better quality. That鈥檚 the engineering perspective.鈥�
During her first few months at 91社区 back in 2004, Yargeau was the only female professor in her department. 鈥淚 really feel like I鈥檝e been supported the whole time. I have mainly male colleagues, of course, because it鈥檚 engineering 鈥� but they鈥檝e all been very supportive.鈥� She became the department鈥檚 chair in 2018.
In the 2021-22 academic year, 33 per cent of undergrads in the Bachelor of Engineering program were women, up from 23 per cent a decade prior. Yargeau has promoted engineering to young female students, through outreach programs and other initiatives. She started doing so as a graduate student when she would visit high schools to talk about engineering and science.
She felt compelled to promote engineering to other students 鈥� not just women 鈥� because she herself hadn鈥檛 been familiar with the discipline and ended up in engineering by chance. People know about doctors and lawyers because they see and hear about them, but they aren鈥檛 aware of the reach of engineering in our daily lives, Yargeau suggests. 鈥淚f you ask people, 鈥榳ho designed your phone or who designed the board for your phone鈥�, people won鈥檛 say an engineer. They don鈥檛 know,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think we have to make people aware of what engineering is and what engineers do so that it鈥檚 easier to recruit students into our programs.鈥�
What does it mean to her to be the first woman dean of the faculty?
鈥淚 really see it as an opportunity to make a difference and, of course, to be a role model for students, female students who might consider engineering or who are already in engineering, and [thinking about] 鈥榳hat will I do after my degree?鈥欌��
Yargeau says her priorities as dean will be twofold: within the Faculty, she鈥檒l support students, staff and academics 鈥渢o make them feel that we value what they鈥檙e doing 鈥� that the foundational value of the Faculty is equity, diversity and inclusion. I strongly believe that that鈥檚 how we can be successful, when everyone can really thrive in their work environment.鈥�
She highlights the importance of experiential learning for students 鈥� 鈥減roviding them with hands-on opportunities that not only enrich their education but also prepare them to excel in the real world.鈥�
Yargeau also wants to reach beyond the Faculty to foster meaningful collaborations, facilitate the transfer of knowledge, and raise awareness about its work. 鈥淭he more [we] talk about what we鈥檙e doing in engineering, the easier it is for people to 鈥� value the work that we鈥檙e doing.鈥� It鈥檚 a message that she is eager to spread 鈥� to the public at large as well as to potential partners in industry or in other Faculties.
鈥淚t鈥檚 essential to showcase how our architects, engineers, and urban planners are actively contributing to a better future for all.鈥澨�
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鈥楽tudents [are] being exposed to the cutting edge of things鈥�
Lesley Fellows leads 91社区鈥檚 oldest faculty (it dates to 1829) 鈥� the same faculty where she earned her Bachelor of Science in physiology and medical degree.
How different is 91社区 Med from when she was a student? 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 that different,鈥� says Fellows, but she acknowledges some things have changed. During her medical degree, a lot of fundamental science was taught, especially in the first year. 鈥淭he curriculum people are exposed to now is much more oriented to the clinical application of the information,鈥� Fellows says. Students are in the family medicine clinics almost immediately and connected with mentorship support continuously through the four years, she adds.
鈥淚 think the evolution in generalists isn鈥檛 special to 91社区. In general, the evolution of medical training in the interval has put maybe more emphasis on patient safety, more emphasis on the supervision of trainees than the slightly Wild West style that I had,鈥� Fellows says with a laugh, 鈥渨here you were sort of thrown in and you figured it out with the help of your colleagues and friends most of the time.鈥�
But the basics are still the same, she says. 鈥淭he hospitals where people work are still internationally leading, very strong clinical settings with amazing faculty who do a great job teaching and who are quite often world leaders in areas,鈥� Fellows says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if students realize how they鈥檙e being exposed to often really the cutting edge of things, if not the clinical care, then at least the research around the care [and] sometimes the care itself, and that鈥檚 not necessarily par for the course everywhere. And that was true when I was a student, too.鈥�
A native of the Maritimes, Fellows had med school in mind when she headed to 91社区 for her undergraduate degree. A course with Professor Dan Guitton, BEng鈥�60, MEng鈥�64, PhD鈥�70, PhD鈥�79, piqued her interest in neuroscience 鈥� a research area she pursued when she got the chance to do her PhD as a Rhodes Scholar.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really a wonderful opportunity,鈥� she says of studying at Oxford University and living overseas. Fellows felt fortunate to end up in the research lab she did. 鈥淲e discovered stuff and I got to write papers, and so on. I hadn鈥檛 really been planning on a research career. I didn鈥檛 know much about that option, really. But after my very positive experience at Oxford, I was oriented to ending up as a clinician-scientist,鈥� says Fellows, a professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery who also heads The Neuro鈥檚 Cognitive Neuroscience research group.
The line atop her Decision Lab webpage quips: 鈥業n frontal lobes we trust!鈥�, referring to the area of the brain that plays a crucial role in many vital functions, such as language, memory, voluntary movement and problem-solving. Fellows works with patients who have had injuries to their frontal lobes. Her main research program examines the brain basis of human decision-making and the role of frontal lobes in that process.
鈥淢y research and clinical work is motivated in part by the idea that you can give people with such problems the equivalent of a walker for their thinking. The question and challenge is to understand what is happening in the brain in order to bring new ideas for rehabilitation,鈥� she told the听91社区 Reporter听in 2018.
Fellows is also part of a team that for the past decade has been studying the long-terms effects of HIV on the brain.
As Quebec鈥檚 strained health care system emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Fellows says there鈥檚 no shortage of demand for spots at 91社区 medical school and plenty of people also vie for competitive slots at the Ingram School of Nursing. 鈥淚n some ways, the pandemic put into relief the possibilities in health care, the jobs one can have there, the important roles people play.鈥�
But she acknowledges that these are 鈥渃omplicated times鈥� in the healthcare system. 鈥淭hat same system that鈥檚 trying to provide health care under some duress is where our trainees learn. So, navigating that successfully is going to take everyone鈥檚 creative skills and helping them do that is important.鈥�
Another challenge involves ramping up the number of doctors 91社区 trains. Fellows points out that it takes seven to 12 years to train a doctor from first-year medicine to the end of their training whether that鈥檚 in family medicine or a speciality.
The Quebec government has asked all four medical schools in the province to rapidly increase the number of students that they鈥檙e training over the coming three years.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to respond,鈥� says Fellows, who notes that most universities, like the health care system, have been run at the edge of capacity for the same public-dollar reasons. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a lot of elasticity. We actually lack the physical space, the equipment鈥nd the people 鈥� to rapidly scale and nimbly go up and down.鈥�
For medicine, most of the training happens in the clinical world, she adds. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e quickly out into the hospitals and clinics. And we鈥檙e already saturated in our traditional teaching partners 鈥� [they] are already full of medical students and residents,鈥� she says. 91社区鈥檚 medical faculty added a regional satellite 鈥� Campus Outaouais 鈥� in western Quebec, which welcomed its first cohort of med students in 2020. 鈥淭here鈥檚 one way where we鈥檝e been able to expand our reach and also meet community need and regional need,鈥� says Fellows.
鈥淲e hope that by engaging more widely through the community beyond our most traditional classic teaching hospitals, we will also help to improve the quality of health care in our whole region. Not only by bringing students along who will eventually help to be the next wave of physicians and nurses, but also by helping our clinical colleagues help us teach our students.鈥�
As for being the first woman dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Fellows says: 鈥淚n one sense, 2023 is a long time to wait, what was 91社区 waiting for鈥� adding, diplomatically, that she is in no position to judge what went into past decisions.
鈥淚 do think it鈥檚 important that our faculty, students, and staff reflect the communities that we serve. I think that鈥檚 true in general and it鈥檚 especially true in health care training, and research 鈥� medical research where you鈥檙e working on problems that have to do with human beings. That it鈥檚 very important that we be inclusive and that we bring all kinds of perspectives, so that we make sure we鈥檙e also serving all kinds of perspectives.鈥�
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This article is a modified version of the article that was originally published in .