Kate Mercer

Kate Mercer is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo, contributing to interdisciplinary initiatives at the intersection of engineering, healthcare, and education. Her work focuses on information literacy in STEM disciplines, stakeholder engagement in biomedical innovation, and pedagogical strategies for fostering empathy in engineering education. Mercer actively collaborates with academic and clinical partners to develop technologies addressing challenges in home care, pediatric healthcare, and intergenerational connectivity.

Her research spans diverse topics including:

• Critical evaluation frameworks for STEM information literacy
• Design of healthcare communication systems for caregivers
• Educational interventions for first-year engineering students
• Biomedical stakeholder engagement methodologies

Recent work emphasizes:

• Technologies for pediatric sepsis prediction
• Reimagining academic libraries through engineering outreach
• Exploring empathy as a design competency

Publications highlight trends in:

• Information literacy frameworks (RADAR Framework)
• Multidisciplinary collaboration in healthcare design
• Educational technology adoption challenges
• Addressing systemic biases in information systems

Mercer has pioneered initiatives like the Biomedical Stakeholder Café and contributed to rethinking engineering curricula to incorporate human-centered design principles. Her work bridges academic research with real-world applications in healthcare technology and educational practice.