PEOPLE

Anne-Catherine Bédard

Anne-Catherine Bédard was born in Québec City, Canada. She earned her B.Sc. in Biopharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Ottawa and completed her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the Université de Montréal as a Vanier Scholar under Prof. Shawn K. Collins, where she studied strategies to control reactivity in complex molecular synthesis. She then joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Timothy F. Jamison, developing automated and reconfigurable systems for reaction discovery and synthesis optimization.

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She spent eight years at Dow contributing to both fundamental and applied research in organic chemistry, catalyst discovery, polymer chemistry, high throughput experimentation, and data enabled approaches to chemical and materials innovation, leading to multiple patents in polymerization and catalysis and recognition with the ACS Early Career Investigator Award for outstanding contributions in industrial research.​​

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In June 2026, she joined the Université de Sherbrooke as Associate Professor. Her research program focuses on sustainable polymer design, including circular and bio-sourced materials, polymer upcycling, and data-enabled approaches to accelerating materials discovery.

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Beyond her research career, she is the founder of Labcoat & Leggings, an independent initiative at the intersection of science, identity, art, and empowerment. She is also actively engaged in mentoring and in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM through scientific community engagement, efforts that have been recognized by the American Chemical Society through the Volunteer of the Year Award and awards for diversity and inclusion initiatives.​

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Outside of the lab, she finds joy in spending time with her family and her two daughters, being outdoors, and staying active. She loves creating, hosting friends, discovering new places, and traveling, and values the simple moments of connection, curiosity, and exploration that shape both her life and her work.