NOSM University is pleased to announce the term extension of Dr. Erin Cameron as Director, Dr. Gilles Arcand Centre for Health Equity.

The inaugural Director since the Centre was formed in 2021 (then called the Centre for Social Accountability), Dr. Cameron is also an Associate Professor at NOSM University and an adjunct member in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University.

The Centre is the first of its kind in Canada. It is a model for multidisciplinary, community-led, and community-prioritized health and public health research. The Centre is advancing social accountability research globally and locally by working and collaborating with diverse stakeholders in the broad areas of health professional education, health system transformation, health human resources, social and population health. The Centre is home to seven research networks that are focused on building capacity and providing tools for change. Read more about its recent accomplishments.

Dr. Cameron’s extension was effective July 1, 2024.

On behalf of the NOSM University community, we extend an immense thank you to Dr. Cameron for her ongoing efforts.

Gallery, In the Spotlight, Uncategorized

Thunder Bay medical student wins Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award

Thursday August 22nd, 2024 Caroline Cox

For third-year NOSM University medical student Emma Harland, who studies in her hometown of Thunder Bay, winning the 2024 Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award for Medical Students is an important recognition of her work to improve social accountability in Northern Ontario. This significant national award recognizes students who demonstrate perseverance, collaboration, an entrepreneurial spirit, and who show outstanding potential as future health care leaders and innovators in Canada.

“I’m very honoured to receive this award,” Harland says. “For me, it serves as a source of encouragement to continue the work that I’m doing in health promotion in Northern Ontario and the work that I’m doing to help maximize social accountability in medical education. I take it as a vote of confidence from both the NOSM University community and the broader medical community in my skills and abilities as a student leader and future physician.”

Community leadership is an important aspect of the award. Harland was acknowledged for her commitment to the community within NOSM University and in Thunder Bay, including work with Compass North, a student-led organization that conducts community health outreach. At NOSM University, Harland has helped to produce a trivia app to study attitudes and perceptions of substance use, and she has been involved with a study of community members that helps to improve social accountability at NOSM University.

Harland acknowledges the support that NOSM University faculty and colleagues have given her throughout her medical education.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the NOSM University community as well as the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and the sponsors of the award, who serve to recognize young leaders across Canada,” Harland says.

Before attending NOSM University, Harland earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Lakehead University. She will complete her third year of medical school, called the Comprehensive Community Clerkship, in Sault Ste. Marie.

Recipients of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award in 2024 receive a cash prize of $5,000 and a travel subsidy to attend the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Hamilton, where they will have the opportunity to meet Hall of Fame laureates and interact with health leaders from across the country.

Gallery, In the Spotlight, Spotlight on Research

NOSM University researchers help Canada prepare for future health emergencies

Monday July 15th, 2024 Caroline Cox

Drs. Barb Zelek and Brianne Wood at the NOSM University Research Toward Health Hub (NORTHH)—part of the Dr. Gilles Arcand Centre for Health Equity—are supporting a new national initiative, the PREPARED project. It is led by Dr. Andrew Pinto at Upstream Lab, Unity Health Toronto, with support from researchers and research and industry partners in six provinces. The project has received $18.9 million from the Canada Biomedical Research Fund to protect Canada against future pandemics.

Pandemics such as SARS, COVID-19, H1N1, and the mpox outbreak have shown that Canada needs to improve its preparedness for future health emergencies.

The PREPARED project will use efficient methods to collect, monitor, and analyze data from patients in primary care and emergency departments presenting with acute respiratory symptoms. By partnering to routinely collect voluntary samples from patients with respiratory symptoms alongside automated electronic medical record analysis, PREPARED can warn agencies of illness patterns with pandemic potential.

Patients will also see the difference that this project makes. PREPARED will link patients to active clinical trials, which can accelerate the development of treatments, vaccines, and diagnostic tests.

The variety of stakeholders involved means that the initiative can improve health system efficiency and accelerate the development of new diagnostics and treatments. This national project includes 29 partner institutions, 11 industry partners specializing in the development of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests, and 16 primary care practice-based research networks collectively serving more than 2.5 million patients.

“It’s important that Northern Ontario is represented in this major national project, and I’m so pleased that NORTHH is a research partner,” said Dr. Barb Zelek, Physician Lead, NORTHH. “This project will give health-care solutions back to communities—a goal that’s very dear to NOSM University’s heart and is at the core of our social accountability mandate.”

The Dr. Gilles Arcand Centre for Health Equity is home to a growing number of research networks, including NORTHH, which are focused on building capacity and providing tools for change. The Centre is the first of its kind in Canada. It is a model for multidisciplinary, community-led, and community-prioritised health and public health multidisciplinary research. The Centre is advancing social accountability research globally and locally by working and collaborating with diverse stakeholders in the broad areas of health professional education, health system transformation, health human resources, social and population health, and social determinants of health.