Dr. Umberin Najeeb Appointed Vice-Chair Culture and Inclusion

The Department of Medicine is thrilled to announce the appointment of Dr. Umberin Najeeb as Vice-Chair, Culture and Inclusion. Dr. Najeeb is a clinician educator in the Department of Medicine, centre researcher at the Wilson Centre and staff internist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She completed her medical training from University of Peshawar and an accelerated residency in Internal Medicine from University of Toronto (UofT) followed by Education Scholars Program from the Center of Faculty Development.

Dr. Najeeb's scholarly work is two-fold, centred on the transition and integration of internationally educated health professionals into their training and working environments and health profession education with specific focus on curriculum design, program development, faculty development and mentorship. 

As a part of her work supporting internationally educated health professionals, Dr. Najeeb developed and implemented a research based longitudinal collaborative mentorship program for international medical graduates (IMGs) physicians and has been the faculty lead for the IMG mentorship program since 2012. Currently, she is Faculty Lead - Equity for the Department of Medicine and the Co-Director of the department’s Master Teacher Program. In December 2022, she completed her term as the inaugural Senior Advisor Islamophobia in the Office of Inclusion and Diversity at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. She also served as the founding faculty lead for the PGY4 Internal Medicine program from 2012-2018. 

Dr. Najeeb uses her voice and lived experiences to be an ally in her many roles. She teaches around the constructs of equity, diversity, inclusion, (EDI) and allyship at undergraduate, postgraduate, and faculty development levels and contributes to committee and policy work related to social justice and EDI. She has won numerous teaching, education, and mentorship awards at the local, provincial and national level with Professional Association of Residents in Ontario (PARO) Excellence in Clinical Teaching award in 2021 and Certificate of Merit award, from Canadian Association for Medical Education (CAME) in 2019.

In her capacity as Vice-Chair Dr. Najeeb will continue to advance the department’s strategic priorities with respect to mentorship across the academic lifespan; equity, diversity and inclusion; and faculty/learner wellness. Building on her success as Faculty Lead Equity, she will support the Department’s vision of creating a clinical and academic environment that promotes mutual respect, compassion, and inclusive excellence.

Please join us in extending a sincere congratulation to Dr. Najeeb on her appointment!