Community Stories

NOSM grad stays North to practise as a clinical medical physicist

Dr. Lalageh Mirzakhanian is one of NOSM’s many notable women in science, and she’s making an impact in the field of medical physics. The NOSM alumna and newly-minted medical physicist says she joined NOSM’s Medical Physics Residency Education Program (MPREP) in 2019 to gain clinical experience and to have access to a future clinical medical physicist position. After graduation, Dr. Mirzakhanian quickly secured a position at Health Sciences North (HSN) in Sudbury, where she completed her residency. “I always wanted to become a scientist,” she says. “I began with an undergraduate degree in physics, followed by a master's deg...

NOSM strengthening roots in Thunder Bay

Earlier this week, Dr. Sartia Verma, Dean, President and CEO of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), hosted the first in a series of consultations on the future of NOSM. After providing community members with an update of the School’s impact on health care and education in Thunder Bay, Dr. Verma spoke about her vision for NOSM as Canada’s first stand-alone medical university. “NOSM is here to stay in Thunder Bay, especially as we transition to a university,” says Dr. Verma. “We have established roots here, and we have plans to build a stronger academic network with the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, ...

NOSM alumnus helps to end Atikokan’s doctor shortage

A few years ago, Atikokan was a town in crisis having only one full-time and one half time family physician for a population of approximately 2,800. The community relied heavily on a rotation of locums to meet its health-care needs. Today, the town has a stable physician workforce that is able to provide patient-centered care, continuity of care and, importantly, a supportive network for physicians. Dr. Shawn Minor is a graduate of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) MD Class of 2016 and completed his residency at University of British Columbia in 2018. Originally from Thunder Bay, Dr. Minor and his wife, with their young c...