Dr Franz-Odendaal is research scientist and Professor of Biology at Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia, Canada. She was the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for Atlantic Canada (2011-2023). She runs a well funded research program in skeletal development and evolution, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Franz-Odendaal was President of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science (NSIS) and is co-founder  of the Canadian Black Scientists Network.  Dr Franz-Odendaal received the Mount’s Research Excellence Award for her outstanding contributions to the research community and climate at the Mount (2015), and more recently was the recipient of the Mount’s Diversity and Leadership Award (2020).  She is also recognized as a Fellow of the American Association of Anatomists (2020). Dr. Franz-Odendaal teachers Histology and Developmental Biology to undergraduate students at Mount Saint Vincent University. She has a passion for microanatomy and embryology. She is regarded as an equity diversity and inclusion champion.

Dr Karen Pinder is a Professor of Teaching in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. She is the Course Director for the year 1 Foundations of Medicine (MEDD 411) course and the Director of Histology in years 1 and 2 of the undergraduate medical program. In this latter role she has been a leader in integrating the teaching and learning of histology and pathology, and has shared her integration experiences with international audiences at meetings of the American Association for Anatomy at Experimental Biology. She is the recipient of numerous prestigious teaching awards, including a 2015 Killam Teaching Award (a Canadian distinction) the 2020 David Hardwick Award (a distinction awarded by all years 1 – 4 UBC medical students) and a 2021 UBC Dean of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Education.