Asking questions and meeting role-models provide a meaningful way to help guide young people’s careers.
High school students in the Hamilton, Ontario area have a day, each year, designed for just that purpose in the realm of health sciences – of which PHRI is proud to be a sponsor from 2018 through to 2026 (except for 2020 cancellation).
The Population Health Research Keynote Lecture is a highlight of Canadian Medical Hall of Fame’s Discovery Days in Health Sciences.
This year the event happens in-person – the first time since the pandemic – on Friday, June 2 at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre in downtown Hamilton, hosted by Hamilton Health Sciences in partnership with McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. (Download agenda.)
Surabhi Sivaratnam
The 2023 Population Health Research Institute Keynote Lecture is Surabhi Silvaratnam, a medical student at McMaster, and the 2022 recipient of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame bursary award. She will speak on “Finding Your Place.”
Surabhi is a Sri Lankan-Canadian, first-generation immigrant who grew up in a working class community which struggles with food insecurity and non-OHIP-covered health expenses. As a clinical research assistant at SickKids Hospital, Surabhi helped to develop a smartphone app for parents/caregivers of children with cancer. She was appointed by the federal government’s Office of International Affairs to serve as the youth delegate for the Canadian delegation to the World Health Assembly.
Last year’s Population Health Research Institute Keynote Lecture was Dr. Kay Wu, Clinical Advisor to McMaster’s Innovators in Scrubs, who spoke on “Art + Technology + Medicine” in the (online) 2022 Discovery Day. Watch here.
“It’s our responsible, as health professionals, to inform and excite our youth about career options in medicine, health care and health research,” says Salim Yusuf, PHRI’s Executive Director. “PHRI is delighted to have the opportunity to sponsor the keynote lecture in support of the important mission of Canadian Medical Hall of Fame’s Discovery Days.”
