Thunder Bay/Sudbury

About

Northern Ontario School of Medicine Research Toward Health Hub (NORTHH) is the newest practice-based research network in Canada, with the first clinical practice joining in 2020. NORTHH will build capacity for primary care research in Northern Ontario and can amplify the unique northern, rural, and remote patient voices. Having access to northern Ontario patient data will help us understand the diverse primary health care needs of our patient populations.

To promote NOSM’s commitment to social accountability, NORTHH is also working with community leaders to develop policies and practices that are meaningful for Northern Ontario communities and primary care practices. In particular, NORTHH is working with First Nations and Metis leaders and organizations to understand and implement Indigenous data sovereignty principles in its operations.

NORTHH is actively recruiting clinical practices to join the network.

Co-Director NORTHH | Dr. Brianne Wood, PhD

While working as a health system and public health epidemiologist in Northwestern Ontario, Dr. Wood participated in a fellowship with the Transdisciplinary Understanding and Training on Research in Primary Health Care (TUTOR-PHC). Her current research interests include health professional education and learning health systems in northern and rural settings.

Co-Director NORTHH | Dr. Barbara Zelek MD, CCFP, FCFP

Dr. Barb Zelek is a rural generalist family physician in Marathon, Ontario and an Associate Professor in the Section of Family Medicine at NOSM. She is the NOSM Clinical Sciences Division Head and former co-chair of the Section of Family Medicine. Her research interests are grounded in primary care and she is passionate about expanding primary care research capacity at NOSM.