As the Director of Research, Megan Highet is responsible for the team that ensures research and innovation projects submitted to Mitacs undergo a rigorous, fair, and timely review process. Megan values her training as an anthropologist as it taught her the skills required to integrate diverse perspectives and apply a systems-thinking approach to find solutions to problems that matter to people and their communities while working within Canada’s innovation ecosystem. Megan is passionate about supporting training and development opportunities for students in the Social Sciences and Humanities who are interested in pursuing careers beyond academia, because she knows that these disciplines have much to offer in not-for-profit, corporate, and industry settings. 

Megan holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Alberta, where she also completed postdoctoral training in the Department of Medicine and the School of Public Health. Prior to joining Mitacs in 2021, Megan led an applied research and implementation team focused on innovation in cancer prevention within Alberta Health Services.