Fireside at FemSTEM: Liz Munro

Fireside at FemSTEM: 
In Conversation with Liz Munro

Join H2i on March 3rd, as a part of University of Toronto Entrepreneurship Week,
as we sit down with special guest, Liz Munro!

FemSTEM 2026 continues with an inspiring lineup of distinguished leaders in health innovation!

Fireside at FemSTEM is an interactive conversation series held each winter as part of H2i’s broader FemSTEM programming. During each Fireside, we sit down and chat with one incredible speaker. Speakers are distinguished women within the health entrepreneurship space and are joined by members of the H2i and UTE community as moderators.

On March 3rd, join H2i for the final Fireside at FemSTEM of 2026, held as part of U of T Entrepreneurship Week! We’ll be joined by Liz Munro, a medical device development and regulatory expert with 15+ years of experience in innovative medical technology business. Join us to hear about her journey-to-date, learnings and advice for founders!

FemSTEM 2026 is generously supported by the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and City of Toronto’s Business Incubation & Commercialization Grant Program.

Meet the Speaker:

Liz Munro is a medical device development and regulatory expert with 15+ years of experience in innovative medical technology business. Currently, she acts as a fractional executive and product development + regulatory advisor to a small number of MedTech startups, as well as a MedTech Growth Coach at Communitech and Expert Advisor at Innovation Factory. She previously served as Vice President of the Regulatory and Advisory Services practice at Avania, a leading med-tech focused global CRO, where she assisted clients with product development, regulatory and clinical strategy for novel medical products in diverse clinical application areas.

Prior to her work at Avania, she was the Chief Operating Officer of Ironstone Product Development, Canada’s only full-service medical device consulting group (acquired by Avania in 2023). Liz was the co-founder of an imaging-based breast margin assessment company, Perimeter Medical Imaging AI (TSXV:PINK), where she built the medical device development program from the ground up, achieved FDA clearance of four products and Breakthrough Device Designation, and designed and oversaw clinical studies involving more than 400 patients. Liz played a key role in raising nearly $40M in dilutive and non-dilutive capital and achieved a $200M+ market cap following a reverse takeover to list the company on the TSX Venture exchange in 2020, enabling liquidity for early investors. Liz understands the trade-offs and considerations that early-stage companies need to make in order to succeed.

She holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Physics from McGill University, a Masters of Applied Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto, and an MBA Essentials from the University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management.

Meet the Moderator:

Raquel De Souza is the Ecosystem Director of U of T’s Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus (SRIC), where she leads the curation and growth of a collaborative innovation ecosystem focused on AI and life sciences. Prior to joining SRIC, Raquel was Director of Partnerships and Innovation at the University of Toronto Mississauga, where she founded and led SpinUp, U of T’s first wet-lab-based startup incubator; built strong industry partnerships; and established commercialization support programs. She previously served as Director of Strategic Partnerships and Research at the University of British Columbia’s School of Biomedical Engineering, where she developed the school’s first commercialization strategy, launched the SBME Innovates biotech incubator, and led strategic partnerships and research funding efforts. Raquel holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences and an Hon. B.Sc. in Genetics and Biotechnology from the University of Toronto, has published 25 peer-reviewed articles, and has served on advisory boards and innovation committees.

FemSTEM 2026 Programming

• FemSTEM Kickoff: Tuesday January 13th | 3:30-5 PM ET (Virtual)
• FemSTEM Pitch Competition Applications Open: Friday January 16th
• Fireside at FemSTEM: Wednesday February 4th | 4-5 PM ET (Virtual)
• Fireside at FemSTEM: Wednesday February 18th | 4-5 PM ET (Virtual)
• Fireside at FemSTEM: Tuesday March 3rd | 4-5 PM ET (In-Person)
• 2026 FemSTEM Pitch Competition: April 22nd (In-Person)