Dr. Chantal Phillips is a first-year resident in the Family Medicine Stream of the Public Health and Preventive Medicine Program at the University of Ottawa. She recently received her Doctor of Medicine (MD) at the University of Toronto in June 2023, and completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Medical Science at Western University in 2018. She has a passion for community-focused health research and interventions, with experience leading and supporting projects focused on Toronto’s Black communities via her role as project manager for the Black Health Alliance over the past two years, including culturally relevant health communications during the pandemic and leading an innovative community research project that assessed the impact of COVID-19 on Toronto’s Black communities (“Perspectives on Health and Wellbeing in Black Communities in Toronto: Our Health, Our Way”). Dr. Phillips has become increasingly clinically and socially interested in Black adolescent/youth health and has co-created a longitudinal health promotion and primary care initiative via her Family Medicine program to increase access to primary care for marginalized youth and their families, including mental health assessments and counselling, for Black and racialized high school students in Ottawa. She aspires to work at the intersection of public health and primary care as a family doctor and leader of high-quality, innovative community programming.

She is currently President of the Black Resident Physicians of Ontario (BRPO) under the Black Physicians Association of Ontario (BPAO) and aims to intentionally use her role to increase supports for residents, including the inaugural Bootcamp Brunch.

Dr. Zain Burhani is an Internist practicing in Scarborough. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency and General Internal Medicine Fellowship at Western University. He was first drawn to POCUS when he unwittingly identified blood in the pericardium of a patient admitted with a query STEMI who turned out to have an aortic dissection. From that moment onward, he would try to use ultrasound any chance he had (albeit without much skill or knowledge). During his GIM fellowship, he had the opportunity to do an ultrasound elective in the ICU under Dr. Robert Arntfield. That experience was transformative as it reinforced his passion for ultrasound and led him to pursue a fellowship in acute care ultrasound. That journey allowed him to develop the tools he needed to become a skilled practitioner and spread the “Gospel of Arntfield” to all the other loyal disciples of ultrasound. When Zain isn’t actively participating in ultrasound education, you can find him outdoors either hiking, kayaking, spending time at the cottage, or travelling the world.

Dr. Tanika Curry is a PGY3 in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, originally from Jamaica, who completed medical school at All Saints University School of Medicine in Dominica. Dr. Curry has a special interest in getting international medical graduates (IMG) integrated into the Canadian health care system. She has supported organizations such as the AIMGA (Alberta IMG Association) and ITPO (Internationally Trained Physicians of Ontario) with CV writing, interview preparation, and general career mentorship. One of her hobbies is painting acrylic abstract art.

Abigail Iseyemi is an Obstetrician Gynecologist and the current fellow in Pediatric Adolescent Gynecology at the Hospital for Sick Children. Abigail will be joining the faculty at Western University as an Associate Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology in July 2024. Abigail completed residency in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Western University in London Ontario and attended medical school at Meharry Medical College, a historically black university, in Nashville, TN. Abigail graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Sciences in Biology with a Specialization in Comparative Physiology.

Dr. Natasha Johnson, a Pediatrician and Adolescent Medicine Specialist, serves as an Associate Professor at McMaster University. In addition to her clinical and teaching roles, she holds multiple leadership positions at McMaster University, including the inaugural Associate Chair of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. Dr. Johnson is a dedicated advocate and mentor for diverse learners and marginalized populations, tirelessly working to center their voices in education and healthcare.

Dr. Gayathri Naganathan is a Breast Surgical Oncology Fellow at the University of Toronto. She completed her General Surgery Residency at the University of Toronto and undergraduate medical education at McMaster University Medical School. She also holds a Master of Science in Health Services Research from the Institute for Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Her current research interests include health equity, global surgery, and the application of qualitative methods within health systems and breast surgical oncology research.

Dr. Ayodele Odutayo is an Adult Nephrologist. He obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree at UofT in 2013 and completed his Master of Science (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Epidemiology from 2013-2017, both at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. His research focuses on clinical trials examining cardiovascular and kidney disease and is co-funded by the Kidney Foundation of Canada, the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Research.

Dr. Chiebere O. Ogbuneke is a Family Physician. He completed his medical degree at Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Dr. Chiebere worked in Africa for a few years before moving to the UK for a Master’s degree in Public Health at Bournemouth University, United Kingdom.

Dr. Ogbuneke is the International Medical Graduate (IMG) Coordinator for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s nine residency program. He is also a Co-founder and CEO of MyTeleMD, a Telemedicine company that provides a platform for physicians to provide medical care virtually. Dr. Ogbuneke’s main interests are on vaccine preventable diseases, vaccine safety and Virtual Health/ Telemedicine.

Dr. Mojola Omole is a Breast Surgical Oncologist and General Surgeon. Her journey in medicine began at the University of Toronto, where she earned her medical degree before pursuing a residency in general surgery at McMaster University.

As a global surgical oncologist and General Surgeon, Dr. Omole has brought her expertise to diverse communities in Nigeria, Rwanda, and Nicaragua. Currently, she works at Scarborough Health Network in Toronto while also lending her insights as a sought-after consultant for anti-Black racism and anti-oppression training. Additionally, Dr. Omole chairs the special issue in the CMAJ dedicated to addressing Anti-Black racism in medicine.

Dr. Simpson received her medical degree from McGill University and completed her General Pediatrics training and Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto. During her fellowship training, she also completed a Master’s in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a Global Health Scholar.

She is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at CHEO and she is also appointed as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine.

In July 2021, Dr. Simpson was appointed as Assistant Dean for the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine.

Dr. Modupe Tunde-Byass is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of the UK and The Royal College of Surgeons of Canada. She is an active staff at North York General Hospital and an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Toronto.

She is the President of the Black Physicians of Canada (BPC) and her work focuses on advocacy, mentorship of Black learners, community building, leadership, and collaboration with key national organizations.

She is passionate about maternal mortality, morbidity, and birthing experiences in the Black population.

Dr. Betel (Betty) Yibrehu is a General Surgery resident at the University of Toronto. She obtained her M.D. in the Community and Urban Health Track from The George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.. Prior to that she studied Global Health at the University of Toronto. She is currently finishing a year away from clinical residency to work in Nigeria as the Stern Fellow in Global Oncology Research with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the African Research Group for Oncology. In addition to her interest in global surgery, since starting residency she has co-founded UpSurge, a diversity in surgery initiative within the University of Toronto’s Department of Surgery.