DoM 2SLGBTQ+ Ambassadors

Dr. Peter Broadhurst is a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist who currently works at Sunnybrook and St. John’s Rehab. He completed medical school at McMaster University, and then his residency in physiatry at University of Toronto.

In 2019 he completed a fellowship in trauma rehabilitation, joining the faculty at Sunnybrook and University of Toronto shortly thereafter.

His clinical roles include supervising inpatient rehabilitation for orthopedic trauma patients, as well as electromyography assessments (EMG) for patients with traumatic nerve injuries or other neuropathies.

I am especially proud to be able to work in Toronto, the city that raised me, and lend my voice to the ever growing ranks of LGBTQ+ health professionals who give back to their communities and provide compassion and care to those in need. Having been out and open my whole professional career, I do understand many of the challenges we face, but have been fortunate to have been surrounded by strong and caring mentors who encouraged me to forge my own path, my own way.

As an LGBTQ ambassador for the DOM, I would be happy to discuss any of the challenges that come with navigating medical school, residency, and work-life balance, or any of my other favourite topics like wizards, figure skating, or pizza. Feel free to reach me at peterkaas.broadhurst@sunnybrook.ca.

Jeremy hails from the city of Montreal, and moved to Toronto in 2017 to complete his residency training in internal medicine. He identifies as a cis white bisexual man.

Jeremy began to explore his own identity during medical school, which spurred his interest in LGBTQ+ advocacy. He advocated for a reduction in the Canadian Blood Services blood donation deferral period for men who have sex with men, a position which was adopted by the Canadian Federation of Medical Students in 2015.

During his internal medicine training, Jeremy worked on several projects to educate his peers on providing safe care to LGBTQ+ patients and increasing their knowledge and comfort to provide care to trans patients specifically. These workshops were presented at national and international conferences for resident physicians and other healthcare providers.

Jeremy currently serves as the chief medical resident at Toronto Western Hospital. He will be pursuing subspecialty training in General Internal Medicine as of July 2021. He is honoured to serve as an LGBTQ+ ambassador for the Department of Medicine, in an effort to increase LGBTQ+ visibility and representation. Jeremy acknowledges the privileges that have allowed him to achieve his current successes, and is hoping to hear more diverse voices within the faculty of medicine, specifically from racialized and trans members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Please reach out to Jeremy to talk about navigating residency as an LGBTQ+ person, opportunities for advocacy, or any other questions, at jeremy.cygler@mail.utoronto.ca

Dr. Thomas Dashwood completed his MD at the University of Toronto in 2017 and his general internal medicine residency in 2020. He is now pursuing his fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Toronto, with particular interests in HIV, addiction, health system management and policy, pandemic response and how systemic oppression drives the spread of infections.

Thomas identifies as a cis white gay man. He feels fortunate to have felt comfortable being out during medical school and residency, but realizes that not everyone has this privilege. This has spurred him to advocate for a more inclusive environment for all trainees and staff.

In the past, Thomas has worked on improving LGBTQ2S+ health education and co-chaired Out in Medicine, a medical student-run group focused on education, advocacy and support around LGBTQ2S+ issues for health care professionals, patients and the general public. In addition, Thomas has spent the last three years researching the roll-out of HIV PrEP in Ontario, with the overarching goal to identify gaps in access to PrEP and ways this can be mitigated.

Moving forward, Thomas is excited to be a part of the Department of Medicine’s push to improve the representation of diverse communities in medicine. He hopes that by being part of the LGBTQ2S+ “Think Tank,” as well as supporting other groups focused on Black, Indigenous and various other community representation, that we can begin to make long-lasting change in our medical community.

Don’t hesitate to contact Thomas with any questions about residency, advocacy or being queer in Toronto. He can be reached at thomas.dashwood@mail.utoronto.ca.

Dr. Phil Doiron completed a degree in pharmacy at Dalhousie University, medical school at McMaster University, dermatology residency at the University of Toronto, and a fellowship in HIV dermatology and male genital skin disease at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London, UK. He also holds a Masters in Health Science Education from McMaster University. He currently works as an Assistant Professor and Clinician Teacher at Women's College Hospital, the University Health Network. He is the Program Director for Dermatology at University of Toronto. 

Dr. Mitchell Elliott is a resident at the University of Toronto. Born and raised in Windsor, ON Dr. Elliott completed his B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Windsor in 2015. After graduating from the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in 2019, he remained in Toronto and matriculated into the Internal Medicine program.

During his time at the University of Toronto, Dr. Elliott was actively involved in the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion within the Faculty of Medicine. As class co-president of the LGBTQ+ student association, Dr. Elliott focused on promoting LGBTQ+ patient narratives and encouraging exposure in the M.D. curriculum. Dedicated to the importance of training future doctors on the specific health needs of LGBTQ+ individuals, he worked tirelessly to include several new and important topics in the new M.D. curriculum. He also organized non-clinical LGBTQ+ health electives and facilitated workshops focused on teaching the social determinants of health to medical students.

At the Faculty level, Dr. Elliott was an active participant in the Faculty of Medicine, LGBTQ+ Theme subcommittee. He provided trainee insight and lead initiatives to build upon the diversity of the University of Toronto healthcare community. He continues to participate in initiatives which foster a more welcoming medical community for LGBTQ+ healthcare workers and patients.

In addition, as a first-generation post-secondary student himself, Dr. Elliott is passionate about mentoring students from historically underrepresented backgrounds wishing to pursue a career in medicine. He served as the Toronto site lead for the Altitude: Healthcare Mentoring program; a national initiative seeking to help improve the diversity of the healthcare workforce in Canada.

Dr. Elliott has a research interest in Phase-I drug development and translational research in the field of Oncology. He actively participates in translational oncology research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and hopes to pursue a fellowship in Medical Oncology with a Ph.D. in translational immunology. 

Outside of medicine, Dr. Elliott enjoys spending time with his partner, travelling, discovering new restaurants, and obsessing over the profiles of Instagram corgis.

If you want to talk more about medicine, residency, research, life in general, or corgis, please email Mitchell.elliott@mail.utoronto.ca.

Claire Heslop (pronouns: She/Her) is an emergency physician at the University Health Network, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine.  As an openly queer physician, Claire has been an advocate for LGBTQ2S+ medical students, residents, patients, and staff since the beginning of her medical school training at the University of British Columbia, where she spoke annually at orientation week about the challenges and the importance of being out in medical school. Claire advocated for a faculty-supported initiative for LGBTQ2S+ students, which subsequently approved, and continues to be part of the official UBC medical school infrastructure. 

Claire then completed her residency in emergency medicine at the University of Toronto, where she has continued to be active with LGBTQ2S+ groups locally. Although it seems like progress in supporting diversity in medical training and the medical community can be slow, Claire believes it is essential to the health of both our team members and our patients to keep moving forward. Claire launched the "Pride Caps" initiative during Pride month at UHN in 2020: thanks to an anonymous donor and a volunteer sewing crew, Claire provided rainbow scrub caps and head coverings for the UHN emergency department team during the first wave of the COVID pandemic, to celebrate Pride and show our LGBTQ2S+ staff and patients we support them.  Claire believes visible support of diversity is essential, particularly as we all face the isolating challenges of 2020.

You can reach Claire at:  claire.heslop@utoronto.ca or on Twitter @RogueClaire
 

Dr. Anthony Lott is a medical oncologist at the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. After graduating from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry in 2014, he completed residencies in internal medicine and medical oncology at the University of Toronto. Subsequently, Dr. Lott undertook subspecialty fellowships in breast, melanoma, and gastrointestinal oncology and completed the Department of Medicine’s Master Teacher Program. His upcoming faculty appointment is as a Clinician Teacher and he is enrolled in ongoing graduate studies in Health Administration at the Institute for Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation.

Dr. Lott has championed the care of LGBTQ+ patients in his local community by seeking to improving inequities through the education of healthcare providers. In 2014, he co-founded the University of Alberta’s Sexuality & Gender Advocacy Committee and established the first Inclusive Health Conference on LGBTQ+ Health for healthcare providers. For his team’s vision and efforts, they were awarded a $100,000 grant and were bestowed the University of Alberta’s Community Leader Award in 2016. The Inclusive Health Conference continues its annual run with its 6th event held in 2019.

Dr. Lott has a longstanding interest in advancing medical education and training, for which he has served in multiple leadership capacities. These include being elected as President of the University of Alberta’s Medical Students’ Association, serving as an executive member of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students, completing two terms on General Council for the Professional Association of Residents of Ontario, and being appointed to the Royal College of Physician and Surgeon’s Accreditation Committee. Dr. Lott continued in leadership roles throughout his medical oncology training where he was selected as Chief Resident and Chief Fellow.

In recognition of his contributions to medical education and leadership, Dr. Lott was awarded the Shaner Award and John W. Scott Honour Award upon graduation. In 2016, he was awarded the Fitzgerald Academy Resident Teacher Award for excellence in teaching in undergraduate medical education. Most recently, in 2019, he was awarded the Donald Sutherland Award for Excellence in Medical Oncology, awarded for the provision of outstanding clinical care by a resident.

As an LGBTQ2S Ambassador and recent graduate, I would be delighted to chat about navigating the transitions between residency, fellowship, and being a junior staff. Outside of work, I can be found spinning, playing in the BadinTO LGBTQ badminton sports league, and sampling new restaurants. I can be contacted by email at anthony.lott@sunnybrook.ca.

Dr. Samir Sinha currently serves as the Director of Geriatrics of the Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto, the Peter and Shelagh Godsoe Chair in Geriatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital, and the Director of Health Policy Research at the National Institute on Ageing at Ryerson University. He is also an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Family and Community Medicine, and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

A Rhodes Scholar, after completing his undergraduate medical studies at the University of Western Ontario, he obtained a Masters in Medical History and a Doctorate in Sociology at the University of Oxford’s Institute of Ageing. He has pursued his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto and in Geriatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Samir’s breadth of international training and expertise in health policy and the delivery of services related to the care of the elderly have made him a highly regarded expert in the care of older adults. In 2012 he was appointed by the Government of Ontario to serve as the expert lead of Ontario's Seniors Strategy and he is now working on the development of a National Seniors Strategy.  In 2014, Canada’s Maclean’s Magazine proclaimed him to be one of Canada’s 50 most influential people and its most compelling voice for the elderly.

Beyond Canada, Samir is a Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society and a member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council. Dr. Sinha has further consulted and advised hospitals and health authorities in Britain, China, Iceland, Singapore, St. Kitts and Nevis, Taiwan and the United States on the implementation and administration of unique, integrated and innovative models of geriatric care that reduce disease burden, improve access and capacity and ultimately promote health.

Samir is especially proud to be able to be based at Mount Sinai Hospital which has been striving hard to become an ever inclusive place to work and receive care. He is also proud to serve on the Board of Ryerson University where he helped to establish the Ryerson PRIDE Scholarship for first generation undergraduate LGBTQ+ students. Finding the right time to feel strong enough to come out to our families and colleagues and eventually support others is not an easy process. However, having colleagues and mentors who can help one figure out the path that is right for them are invaluable.

As an LGBTQ ambassador for the DOM, Samir would be happy to discuss any of the challenges that come with navigating medical school, residency, and work-life balance, or any of his other favourite topics like travel, finding the next great food experience or binge-worthy series and, of course, geriatrics. Feel free to reach him at samir.sinha@sinaihealth.ca.