Dr. Mona Rahman
Mona Rahman is the Research Awards Officer in the Vice Principal Research Portfolio at Queen’s University and a lifelong member of the Islamic Society of Kingston (ISK), for which she is involved in the Islamic Information and Outreach Committee and the Education Committee. She served as inaugural interim Co-Chair of UCARE (University Committee for Anti-Racism and Equity) at Queen’s.
Mona was born and raised in Kingston; some might say she was also born and raised at Queen’s University, having been born while her father was in the midst of graduate studies. She followed in his footsteps by studying at Queen’s as well, completing a BSc (Hon) degree in Biochemistry for which she garnered the Governor-General’s Silver Medal, and subsequently her Ph.D. in Biochemistry. After a post-doctoral fellowship in Vascular Biology at the Robarts Research Institute (London, ON) she returned to Kingston where she worked in a multidisciplinary research group in the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Science at Queen’s before transitioning to the Vice-Principal Research Portfolio in 2017.
Mona works with both children and youth in the Muslim community, as the Coordinator of the Muslim Children’s Circle and a teacher at the ISK Evening & Weekend school. Mona makes regular presentations on Islam, Muslims, and relevant topics to various audiences (i.e., schools, on campus, etc.) and has been involved in developing learing modules on Islam and Islamophobia. She is Co-Chair for the Give30 Campaign in Kingston, which aims to raise money for local Food Banks during Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. She also serves on the Board for Family and Children's Services of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (FACSFLA) and was the inaugural Co-Chair of the Community Equity Advisory Committee of the Limestone District School Board.
In addition to her scientific publications, she has contributed a chapter entitled “Activism: A Part of Life” in a collection of essays entitled: “Muslim Women Activists in North America: Speaking for Ourselves” edited by fellow Queen’s alumna, Dr. Katherine Bullock.
