Dr. Teresa Chan is the Founding Dean of the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine as well as TMU’s Vice-President, Medical Affairs. Dr. Chan is also a practicing emergency physician in the William Osler Health System Emergency Department team.

Dr. Chan’s contributions as an educational leader and scientist have transformed the field of medical education and scholarship. She has supervised hundreds of educational development projects and has led over 50 unique research teams while authoring over 230 peer-reviewed publications. She has also held various leadership and committee roles within the Canadian Association for Medical Education, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In 2024, Dr. Chan was named one of the top 10 most influential leaders in the Maclean's Power List for Health Care.

Dr. Chan has been a staunch advocate for diversity and health equity. Her clinical work focuses on breaking down societal and systemic barriers that prevent patient access to whole-person care. She is also actively involved in creating new programs to help clinical faculty members develop the skills they need to serve diverse populations of medical students and patients. Through her work in the classroom, in clinical spaces, and outside of formal learning environments, Dr. Chan has made her mark as a physician, mentor, and advocate inspiring the next generation of Canadian physicians to advance social justice and equity in all that they do

Dr. Dorothy Bakker is the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education at the Toronto Metropolitan School of Medicine and is an Associate Clinical Professor at the Toronto Metropolitan School of Medicine and McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.

Dorothy graduated from McMaster Medical School and completed her Family Medicine Residency at the North Hamilton Community Health Centre.  She has practiced as a rural family physician, in university student health, and as an immigration panel physician.  She completed a Master of Arts in Leadership Studies and the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) Certificate in Travel Health. 

She has held various leadership roles prior to joining TMU including Director of Student Affairs,, Assistant Dean of McMaster Community & Rural Education (Mac-CARE) and Professionalism Chair for the McMaster School of Medicine.  She regularly contributes to learner curriculum and faculty development and supports medical students and residents as a tutor, advisor, remedial coach, and examiner. She has received several awards including the Jacquie Wakefield Mentorship Award, the John Sibley Award for contributions to the Faculty of Health Sciences and is the past recipient of the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) Regional Family Physician of the Year Award. Dorothy has been a board member at the Ontario College of Family Physicians, the Guelph Community Health Centre and Mom’s Stop the Harm and advocates for equity deserving groups throughout her career.

Dr. Jobin Varughese is the Interim Assistant Dean, Primary Care Education at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) School of Medicine, where he is leading efforts to shape the future of family medicine education. With a strong focus on innovative curriculum design, competency-based assessment, and mentorship, he is committed to training the next generation of primary care physicians to meet the evolving healthcare needs of communities across Ontario.

As a family physician and medical educator, Dr. Varughese is passionate about strengthening primary care through education and advocacy. His work at the TMU School of Medicine emphasizes integrating cutting-edge learning strategies, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and leveraging technology to enhance both clinical training and patient care.

Beyond his role at TMU, Dr. Varughese serves as the President of the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP), where he leads advocacy efforts to address the current family medicine crisis and improve access to high-quality primary care. He is also the Associate Vice President, Academics at William Osler Health System, where he works to create dynamic clinical learning environments that prepare medical learners for the realities of frontline healthcare.

Dr. Varughese is dedicated to advancing family medicine education at TMU and beyond, ensuring that future physicians can deliver comprehensive, patient-centered care that strengthens communities and the healthcare system.

Eleftherios Soleas is the Director of Continuing Professional Development in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University in the Office of Professional Development and Educational Scholarship as well as adjunct faculty in health sciences and education. His role places him as a primary developer and accreditor of CPD and FD for the Faculty of Health Sciences and the educational lead for his home department. He also serves on university and national committees lending his educational, psychological, and accreditation perspectives. He has a passion for grouchy advocacy for a fairer, more egalitarian Canada. Terry enjoys, in no particular order, trying to be funny, teaching, baked goods, lost causes, and relatedly watching Leafs games.

Lisa Barnoff is currently interim vice-dean: community, culture and belonging, in the School of Medicine at TMU.

Lisa joined TMU in 2003 as assistant professor in the School of Social Work. After being awarded early tenure in 2006, she was appointed to an academic leadership position in the School of Social Work as associate director of field education. Since that time, Lisa has continued to engage in academic leadership roles including a five-year term as director, School of Social Work (2011-2016) followed by a five-year term as dean, Faculty of Community Services (2016-2021).  Lisa joined the School of Medicine leadership team in September 2022.

Lisa is known for her collaborative and progressive approach to leadership and for her abilities to engage communities, build consensus among diverse teams, and implement systems that promote equity and inclusion. In 2015, Lisa was awarded the Usha George Faculty Recognition Award at TMU, and in 2020 her strengths as an academic leader were again recognized by TMU when she was awarded the prestigious Errol Aspevig Award for Outstanding Academic Leadership.

Lisa's program of research and areas of scholarship include anti-oppressive practice, equity and inclusion in social service delivery; anti-racism and anti-oppression approaches to organizational change; LGBT health; and social work education. In the School of Social Work, her undergraduate teaching has focused in the areas of social work practice, anti-oppression, field practicum and family violence. In the graduate program she has taught the Major Research Paper Seminar and the field practicum courses.

Dr. Ashifa Jiwa (she/her) is a family doctor and emergency physician who currently practices in the area of gender-affirming care in Guelph. She completed her medical degree at Western University and her residency at University of British Columbia. She has had the immense privilege of working within a variety of diverse communities over the years, which has inspired her to better understand the different ways in which health system inequities can impact communities, and to work toward improving these imbalances for vulnerable populations.

Dr. Jiwa has a passion for medical education and enjoys studying the intersection of social sciences and medicine. She believes that physicians are ideally placed to be strong advocates for both individual patients and system-wide changes that can increase equity and justice within our healthcare system.

As Associate Dean of Equity and Social Accountability, Dr. Jiwa will support the advancement of the School’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) goals, including its EDI Strategy and Action Plan and its decolonization and reconciliation goals. She will provide guidance and leadership on EDI across every facet of development within the school. As an ex-officio member of the School of Medicine Council, Dr. Jiwa will also work independently and collaboratively with the other Associate Deans and clinical faculty leads within the Community, Culture, and Belonging (CCB) Section.

Dr. Trudy McFarlane is the Black Health Lead with Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) School of Medicine. She oversees advancing the school’s commitments to implementing an anti-racism approach and combating anti-Black racism. A distinguished family physician, general practitioner, psychotherapist and medical consultant, Dr. McFarlane completed her family medicine residency at Dalhousie University and has since played a vital role in medical education and mentorship of diverse medical learners. 

In her role with the School of Medicine, Dr. McFarlane seeks to explore innovative approaches to incorporating equity, diversity and inclusion into the structure and foundation of the School of Medicine, and to contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning for all medical learners, with a particular focus on Black medical students. Her dynamic leadership is instrumental to advancing community, belonging and excellence within the medical education landscape and beyond.

Dr. Heather MacNeill, MD BSc(PT) MScCH(HPTE) FRCPC, is the Interim Assistant Dean, Clinical Faculty Development, for the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine (TMU SoM). She is a practicing PM&R physician and Medical Director of Stroke Rehabilitation at Sinai Health. She has been teaching about, creating, and researching the effect of educational technologies in healthcare for over a decade, including the AMEE Guides to Online Learning, Part 1, and Part 2. As Associate Professor at the  University of Toronto, she co-instructs a masters class in educational technology in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Nada Savicevic, MA Interactive Design, MArch, BEngArch, is an Educational Developer at TMU's School of Medicine, supporting Clinical Faculty Development and PGME. With over 13 years at TMU, she specializes in technology-enhanced learning, inclusive digital pedagogy, and open education, helping educators design learner-centered digitally enriched teaching practices for diverse learners. Nada teaches Graphic Design and Design for Mobile Devices, and is a doctoral candidate in the Media and Design Innovation program at TMU’s Creative School. Her research explores creative digital tools and pedagogies and the relationship between technology design and social justice.

Elizabeth M. Wooster is a medical education researcher with a focus on student experience, adult education and community development.  She holds a Master of Education in Adult Education and Community Development with a focus on Workplace-Based Education and is a PhD Candidate in Higher Education with a focus on undergraduate medical education and student experience.  In addition to her formal research training, she has extensive experience developing, implementing and evaluating conferences and educational endeavors. She is the Research Associate for Medical Education at the School of Medicine at Toronto Metropolitan University. 

Dr. Valerie (Val) Mueller is the Associate Dean PGME at TMU SoM. She completed her medical training at McMaster University followed by residency training in Obstetrics & Gynecology and subspecialty training in Maternal Fetal Medicine. She has transitioned into the field of LIfestyle Medicine, assisting patients with complex chronic disorders. 

Val has been active in medical education for over 20 years, including roles within Undergraduate Medical Education (Regional Education Coordinator, Clinical Education Coordinator and Clerkship & Electives Chair) and more recently within Postgraduate Medical Education (Residency Program Director, Competence by Design Lead and Competence Committee Chair, Chair CBME Faculty Development Committee, Educational Advisory Board member and Associate Chair of Education, Dept OBGYN) at McMaster University prior to moving to TMU. . 

Dr. Heather Braund is a Health Education Researcher and Consultant with OPDES at Queen's University. She also holds assistant professor (adjunct) appointments with the School of Medicine and the Faculty of Education at Queen’s where she has taught courses in curriculum design, knowledge translation, program evaluation, and cognition. She is also a certified teacher with the Ontario College of Teachers. Heather has a B.Sc. (Honours) degree in Psychology and Biology from Trent University. She completed her B.Ed., M.Ed., and Ph.D. in Education at Queen’s University. Her SSHRC funded graduate work explored the intersection between assessment, metacognition, and self-regulated learning. As a mixed methodologist using both quantitative and qualitative methods she has experience with conducting needs assessments, educational research, program evaluations, and reviews (systematic and scoping) in primary, secondary, and post-secondary contexts (e.g., health professions education). Additionally, Heather acts as the simulation consultant for OPDES where she facilitates scholarship and professional development activities related to simulation-based learning in the health professions. She collaborates with teams at all stages of the research process from idea conception to knowledge translation.  

Dr. Farhan M. Asrar is Associate Dean, Clinical Faculty Relations) at Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine. He is an internationally known award-winning physician, educator, academic and researcher. Dr. Asrar also holds several other senior faculty and leadership appointments such as being Associate Professor at University of Toronto, Cross-appointed at the Dalla Lana School

of Public Health, Global faculty member at the International Space University and Adjunct Faculty Member at McMaster University. He is also Physician Lead for Trillium Health Partners; (THP) THP@Home program, and Physician Research Lead for the Credit Valley Hospital and Mississauga Hospital Family Medicine Teaching Units. Dr. Asrar is also a national mentor for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) for a national initiative under the Foundation for Advancing Family

Medicine.

Dr. Stephanie Milone is a dedicated family physician with over 20 years of experience in clinical practice and community-based teaching. Specializing in emergency medicine, she is deeply committed to advancing the field of medical education by fostering the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Currently serving as Interim Assistant Dean of Learner Affairs at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Medicine, Dr. Milone has helped play a pivotal role in developing and creating a robust holistic learner support program. Areas of scholarly interest include: learner and physician wellness as well as how to further develop capacity within community-based preceptors.

In addition to her academic contributions, Dr. Milone maintains an active clinical practice, ensuring her teaching remains rooted in real-world experience. She is a firm advocate for lifelong learning and continues to develop her skills in medical education and health care leadership.

Beyond medicine, Dr. Milone is committed to community outreach and often participates in initiatives aimed at improving healthcare access and education in her local community. 

Sanja Obradovic is the Director, Health SRC Strategy within the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI) at Toronto Metropolitan University. In this role, she leads the implementation of the University’s scholarly, research and creative (SRC) Health Strategy, which leverages expertise across the health and well-being fields to foster interdisciplinary and collaborative initiatives, strengthen research connections across the University and with external partners, and seek synergies to accelerate and scale efforts to tackle real-world challenges. In addition to her SRC strategy expertise, Sanja has extensive experience in both conducting research and managing complex research programs within a university setting.

Dr. Martin Chasen is a Palliative Care physician at William Osler Health System and the CF Director of Scholarly Development at TMU School of Medicine. Dr. Chasen has made a lasting international impact with his scholarly work. He has authored over 120 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts and book chapters, and is a sought-after speaker internationally and nationally, including as an invited expert on the subject of “Palliative Care” at the House of Commons. A respected leader in the field, Dr. Chasen has served in key leadership roles across Ontario, including Medical Director of Palliative Care at Osler, The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, Élisabeth Bruyère Ottawa, and the Champlain LHIN. Under his guidance, the Central West has developed an integrated palliative care program. In Brampton, he also established a pioneering survivorship clinic to support patients after a cancer diagnosis.

A dedicated educator and mentor to his peers, Dr. Chasen serves as an executive member of the CCTG Supportive Care Committee; and is the recipient of the Elizabeth J Latimer Prize in Palliative Care (McMaster University), the Kay Blair Community Service Award (Osler) and the 2020 Eduardo Bruere Award (University of Alberta).