Currently pursuing an MD/PhD in Biomedical Engineering at UBC, Rohit Singla has a passion for pushing the boundaries of biomedical engineering and its applications in health care. His expertise in machine learning techniques has enabled efficient feature extraction, paving the way for new possibilities in drug discovery and development. Throughout his graduate studies, Rohit led the development of three ultrasound-based augmented reality systems for kidney cancer surgery resulting in a 50% improvement in healthy tissue removal during mock surgeries. He was recognized with two best paper awards, the NSERC CGS-M Scholarship, the Engineers in Scrubs Fellowship, a Vanier Scholarship and Kidney Foundation Fellowship.
Rohit’s entrepreneurial spirit is evident as the Co-Founder of Epiloid Biotechnology, where he designed and implemented a business model that utilizes functional testing of brain organoids to de-risk epileptic drug development.
Rohit has served in a variety of volunteer roles including Chair of the EDI committee, Student Affairs Representative at the UBC Faculty of Medicine, reviewer for 13 international conferences, and as a mentor to two students each year. As the Founder of the AI in Medicine Student Society, he has been instrumental in promoting the integration of AI in health care and has organized workshops for more than 200 medical students.
An avid film consumer and frequent concert attendee, he appreciates the artistry and expression of various forms of entertainment and is currently learning to play the piano.
Inspired by 2017 Laureate Michael Hayden, MD PhD
Prior to his medical studies, Sagar completed an Honours BSc in Biomechanics at the University of Calgary. Passionate about sport and wellness, Sagar undertook research supported by the NBA, NFL and IOC at the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre. A passionate advocate, he served as the faculty representative of kinesiology and as president of the University of Calgary Students’ Union. The scope of Sagar’s advocacy expanded upon his appointment as an advisor to the prime minister with the Prime Minister’s Youth Council.
Similarly, his experience as a Canadian delegate to the United Nations introduced Sagar to the international health policy arena. Inspired, Sagar pursued a joint Master's in Health Policy, Planning and Financing at the London School of Economics, and at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Throughout his graduate studies, Sagar reviewed diverse policies as a reviewer for the Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker. Sagar continues to complete health economics research with the Harvard Health Systems Innovation Lab.
At the University of Alberta, Sagar has continued his advocacy as a Government Affairs and Advocacy Chair, Students’ Advisory Council member, and as president of the Medical Students Association.
Inspired by 1998 Laureate The Honourable Thomas Douglas and 2017 Laureate Justice Emmett Hall
Santanna is Dene, from the Liidlii Kue Nation and Cold Lake First Nation on her father’s side and Dutch on her maternal side, currently living in Mohkinstsis on the Traditional Territories of the Blackfoot Peoples. A mother of four children, Santanna is working on her own healing journey from post-generational trauma and ongoing systemic racism. She is a military medical student at the University of Calgary and participating in the University of Calgary Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship in High River, AB. She serves as the student director for the Canadian Medical Association with a variety of committee roles.
Previously she served as the first Indigenous president of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students. Santanna serves as co-chair on the ii'taa'poh'to'p student advisory circle and is continually working on research and initiatives to support Indigenous students at the University of Calgary.
Santanna uses her wide range of leadership and governance experiences to walk a parallel path with allies. Prior to medical school, Santanna completed a Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work Degree from the University of Victoria with a focus on Indigenous health and health policy.
As a student researcher and public health advocate, Zoher brings a passion for health policy, health promotion and patient safety. His commitment to improving health care goes beyond borders, as he has conducted impactful public health and medical research at local, national, and international levels, focusing on quality care, preventive medicine, and sustainable health care.
As president of the Student Medical Society of Saskatchewan, he consistently advocated and collaborated with his colleagues for students' well-being and success at the College of Medicine. Zoher takes pride in being actively engaged in the community, holding current leadership positions as treasurer of the American Society for Quality, member-at-large for the Saskatchewan Public Health Association, and member of the Saskatchewan Medical Association's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In his education and professional life, Zoher strives to bridge the gap between public health and medicine to ensure health is sustainable, just and equitable for all.
Inspired by 2016 Laureate C. David Naylor, MD
A first-generation Pakistani immigrant, Mirha served as the elected equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI) representative and now vice-stick EDI senior for the Manitoba Medical Students Association (MMSA), overseeing EDI-focused curriculum review. She provides a student perspective as a voting member on the admissions committee, assists in developing anti-racism policies on the faculty of health sciences EDI committee, serves as a member of the Doctors Manitoba Speaker Series planning committee, and worked with a team to organize the school’s first EDI and global health conference: Dissecting the Culture of Medicine for Physicians and Medical Learners. As a co-executive for the Muslim Medical Association of Canada, U of M chapter, Mirha helped create a prayer space for Muslim students on the health sciences campus and organized an iftar for Muslim medical learners and professionals in Ramadan. She is involved in several EDI-focused research projects addressing the lack of diversity in the standardized patient program used for medical learners in Manitoba and exploring the perspectives of diverse adolescents and young adults in cancer treatment.
Her commitment to community volunteering across many nonprofits, including Youth United for United Way and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Winnipeg has been recognized by the Canadian Association for Medical Education with the Rising Star Certificate of Excellence, and the Citizenship Award from the MMSA.
Inspired by 2016 Laureate May Cohen, MD
Taylor is committed to advocating for equity and innovation in medical education. Having completed her undergraduate (HBSc, BEd) and graduate (MEd) degrees at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, her Master of Education thesis focused on developing a culturally centred mathematics curriculum for Indigenous youth in Northwestern Ontario with a social justice lens.
During her first year of the MD program, Taylor became a Year Representative on student council, actively identifying and advocating for areas of improvement within medical education—a commitment she continues in her current role. Her efforts resulted in positive changes benefiting the student body, including the implementation of a more equitable clinical site selection policy at NOSM.
Before entering medical school, Taylor held diverse positions, including administrative work at Lakehead University, teaching as a Contract Lecturer at Lakehead University, and teaching as a Sessional Instructor at Confederation College. In these roles, she developed curricula grounded in current research and introduced innovative changes to the course registration process. Taylor aspires to further enhance medical education through her leadership roles. In her spare time, she finds joy in spending time with friends, crocheting, and agility training with her dog.
Inspired by 2016 Laureate May Cohen, MD
Laney Beaulieu, whose spirit name is Dream Weaver, is a Dene and Metis woman from Deninu K’ue, Northwest Territories. Deninu K’ue is an Indigenous community of 500 people on the southern shore of Tu Nedhe (Great Slave Lake) where Laney was raised by her grandmother, mother, and extended family who are still her most cherished mentors and teachers along with the land and water.
Laney is currently on the board of directors of the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation, a member of the Leadership Circle for the Indigenous Medical Students Association of Canada, and recently completed her term as Student Director on the board of directors for the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada. Currently entering her third year of medical school at Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry in London, Ontario, Laney hopes to complete her residency in Psychiatry and return home to treat her people in a culturally sensitive and trauma-informed way.
Inspired by 1998 Laureate Maud Menten, MD
These past two years have seen Caroline immersed in a variety of Hamilton community initiatives including volunteering for drop-in centres for people experiencing homelessness, at an ODSP clinic, and in leadership positions at MacHealth DNA (Delivering Neighbourhood Advocacy) – a student initiative delivering community and primary health to marginalized populations, and, with an Ontario health team, to provide health resources to marginalized populations.
Her research interests include exploring the intersectionality between surgical care and people experiencing homelessness. As a member of the Surgical Education, Advocacy, and Research in Community Health (SEARCH) group, she hopes that these findings will inform future policies that will better address inequalities. She also has an interest in qualitative research as it brings the patient voice to academic literature. She has led various projects investigating qualitative research in different domains of medicine.
In addition to the classic interests of reading, gaming, and eating out with friends, Caroline also looks forward every week to playing dungeons and dragons. She would also like to get into surfing and is looking forward to travelling for some new waves.
Inspired by 2018 Laureate Emily Stowe, MD
Jeeventh is forging her own path at the nexus of health care, leadership and innovation. She completed a bachelor’s degree in economics at McGill University, where she achieved the highest academic standing in her faculty. She has since embarked on a series of consulting roles in both the public and private sector that have enabled her to work towards the large-scale change in health care about which she is passionate. Her experience ranges from developing province-wide pandemic health policies to developing an enterprise-wide health care strategy at one of Canada’s largest employers. She currently serves as president of the Ontario Medical Students Association (OMSA), a role in which she represents more than 3,500 medical students across the province.
Inspired by 2017 Laureate Justice Emmett Hall
Mohamed holds a Kinesiology degree from the University of Ottawa, graduating with a Faculty Gold Medal. Always passionate about student leadership, Mohamed also served as the head mentor for the Faculty of Health Sciences where he led a team of 12 mentors to support students in their academic and social transition to university.
Since starting medical school, he has served as the Aesculapian Society President and focused on advocating for equity-focused initiatives. This year, Mohamed served as the co-executive for the Muslim Medical Association at Queen’s and combined his leadership efforts to open the multi-faith prayer space at the Queen’s School of Medicine building. He also spearheaded the organization of the inaugural Health Sciences Ramadan Iftar event.
Mohamed deeply values the sacrifices his family made to immigrate to Canada and volunteers his time to help refugee families settle in Kingston. He hopes to empower youth from underserved communities through mentorship, while also promoting understanding and respect across all cultures and religions in the field.
In his spare time, Mohamed stays active playing squash, basketball and soccer, and is currently completing his coaching badges in the latter.
Inspired by 2018 Laureate Philip Berger, MD
Originally from Cameroon and with a passion for promoting women's health and advocating for underrepresented racial minorities, Julia served as the administrative secretary of Women's Education Made Simple (WHEMS), where she contributed to educating young women about reproductive health, and as the Coordinator of the Student Mentoring Centre at the University of Ottawa, where she oversaw the centre's operations and provided tutorial sessions to first-year medical students.
As president of the undergraduate medical student body, Julia represents a diverse group of more than 700 students and previously served as the vice president of the Black Medical Student Association, providing mentorship and support to fellow black medical students.
Her dedication to research has further led to remarkable achievements. She has co-authored peer-reviewed publications and presented her work at national research conferences. Notably, during her undergraduate studies, she published an article on exploring women's abortion experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, she is involved in research projects investigating perinatal cannabis use in pregnancy and exploring mentoring practices available to black students for medical school admission. Inspired by Laureate Dr. May Cohen, Julia is determined to contribute to advancing medical knowledge, particularly to improve the outcomes of women and black people in medicine.
Inspired by 2016 Laureate May Cohen, MD
A Loran Scholar, Sara completed her bachelor's degree in medical sciences and genetics at Dalhousie University before med school at McGill. She consistently demonstrates a profound commitment to advocacy and leadership. Her desire for a more inclusive environment led her to found the Dalhousie Accessibility and Inclusion Society, making significant contributions to raising awareness and advocating for accessibility on campus.
Engaging in national politics and policymaking, Sara joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Youth Council. Her advice on crucial issues for young people played an important role in developing Canada's first youth policy and national accessibility legislation. Sara participated at the Journée D'Action Politique, contributing to a mémoire addressing health disparities among Quebec's indigenous populations. As the Quebec regional director and director of student affairs at the Canadian Federation of Medical Students, she advocates for nationwide medical student wellness and mental health. Sara actively supported strengthening relationships with other medical schools in QC, enhancing bilingual resources for underrepresented medical students and improving support for unmatched medical students.
Through her efforts in organizing roundtables, Sara facilitates interactions among wellness representatives nationwide, updating faculty wellness recommendations. During her spare time, Sara enjoys cooking, playing basketball and spending time with family and friends.
Inspired by 2022 Laureate Noralou Roos, PhD
Alicia Truchon is the recipient of the Dr. Bachar Elsolh Scholarship, the FAÉCUM Student Involvement Scholarship and the Engaged Medical Student Award, as well as the Lieutenant Governor's Youth Medal.
Since she began medical school, she has been involved in a research project on paediatric Crohn’s disease with the JantchouLab at CHU Sainte-Justine. She presented the project at the Digestive Disease Week 2023 convention, and it was then presented by colleagues at two other international congresses, the GFHGNP and the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition.
Noticing that there were medical comprehension challenges amongst patients, Alicia chose to become involved with activities focusing on scientific vulgarization and advocacy. Amid other things, she participated in the interuniversity public speaking contest in Quebec “Délie ta langue” with a text on medical literacy.
Alicia launched the initiative Projet Sapin des Fêtes, which aimed to collect gifts for less fortunate children. In its first edition, more than 1000 new gifts, totalling approximately $32,000 in value, were given to the Fondation des Jeunes de la DPJ, a foundation that helps youth from the DYP. This project received the Collective Implication Award from the UdeM, the Discovery Award from the UdeM, and an award from Forces AVENIR in the category Outreach, Peace and Justice.
Inspired by 2013 Laureate Claude Roy, MD
Currently pursuing a combined MD/MSc in health sciences research, Maud’s passion for tangible health innovations influenced her master’s thesis topic on the judicious use of blood bank resources in the context of surgery. Maud does also research work in the fields of neurosurgery and otolaryngology, which has led her to undertake related training programs in neuroscience at Harvard University.
Last year, Maud was vice-president of pedagogical affairs for AGÉMUS, the general student association of medicine at the University of Sherbrooke. Having observed the isolation and difficulties students face in accessing educational assistance, Maud founded the Medici Study Support Centre which now has more than 50 student tutors. Her dedication to this support continues this year as president of AGÉMUS and head of Medici.
Passionate about music, Maud relaunched the Medshow initiative, a benefit show for local organizations in Sherbrooke. This event allows medical students to have a platform for their artistic talents, while promoting a healthy balanced lifestyle.
Maud aspires to leave a lasting mark in medicine through multiple commitments aimed at mobilizing investments in more equitable, accessible and effective medicine.
Inspired by 1994 Wilder Penfield, MD and 1997 Laureate Brenda Milner, PhD
Anne-Lorie stands out with her passion for medical education. As part of the Clinical Skills Development Group (GPHC), she contributed to the publication of the Petit guide du diagnostic clinique, a book that incorporates the concepts that apply to the medical interview, and to the launch of a mobile medical application summarizing the findings of the physical examination relating to 256 pathologies. As well, she co-directed the production of a virtual clinical simulation on the pediatric neurological examination, an educational tool for future students, in a collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine.
Anne-Lorie has participated in 10 research projects, including eight in emergency medicine, one in otolaryngology and one in medical microbiology – infectiology. Two of these projects are the subject of articles of which she is the main author. Her results were presented at the conventions of the Association des médecins d’urgence du Québec and of the SFMU, the French Society of Emergency Medicine. Anne-Lorie is a recipient of numerous academic scholarships. She has also been a member of the ULaval varsity artistic swimming team, with which she has captured a silver medal at a Canadian university championship.
Inspired by 2022 Laureate Thomas Dignan, MD
Analyssa has a passion for research innovation and health advocacy. After completing a BSc in Kinesiology (co-op) at the University of Waterloo, she pursued an MSc in Rehabilitation Sciences from the University of Toronto. During her master’s, she ran a clinical trial that investigated the effects of a cycling-based exercise video game on post-operative pain, quality of life, and well-being for children with cerebral palsy. She then worked as a clinical research coordinator at The Hospital for Sick Children, where she coordinated multisite clinical trials to improve health outcomes for caregivers and children with medical complexities. So far, her research contributions have led to eight peer-review articles, including five first-author publications.
More recently at Dalhousie University, Analyssa co-led the Dalhousie Medicine’s Pediatrics Interest Group, volunteered with the Wije’winen Health Centre, and held the position of national officer of communication with the Canadian Federation of Medical Students. Her passion for advocating for children across Canada continues as she currently leads a research study exploring the relationship between pediatric research funding and health outcomes across Canada. Outside of academics, Analyssa enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, and playing ultimate frisbee.
Inspired by 2017 Laureate Richard Goldbloom, MD
Lauren was raised from humble beginnings in inner-city Vancouver, British Columbia. Motivated by her lived experience with poverty and health inequities, Lauren chose a career in medicine with the aim of supporting vulnerable populations.
Throughout her medical studies at Memorial University, Lauren has actively participated in initiatives focused on reducing health disparities. In 2022/2023, she spearheaded an advocacy campaign alongside her peers to expand language interpretation services across Newfoundland and Labrador to increase access to health care for refugees and migrants. Lauren is passionate about improving cultural competencies in the medical school curriculum and during her tenure as co-president of the Indigenous Health Interest Group at MUN, she collaborated with the Indigenous Student Resource Centre to design the university’s first-ever Indigenous Language Learning Series for medical students. Lauren also serves as the student liaison on the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment Regional Committee and has helped launch the province’s first family medicine nature prescription program. Her innovative work has earned her numerous scholarships, including the Dean’s Building a Healthy Tomorrow Award.
Apart from her medical pursuits, Lauren enjoys coaching subsidized youth sports and is a competitive ultimate frisbee athlete, proudly representing Newfoundland and Labrador at national and international competitions.
Inspired by 2016 Laureate May Cohen, MD
About the CMHF
The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (CMHF) celebrates Canadian heroes whose work advances health in Canada and the world, fostering future generations of health professionals through the delivery of local and national youth education programs and awards.
This enduring tribute to our country’s rich medical history is showcased here and in our physical exhibit hall in London, ON.
