Medical oncologist seeks to better equip the cancer care workforce around the world

Dr. Nazik Hammad is passionate about improving global inequities and disparities in cancer care.

She was raised in Sudan, Africa and holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Khartoum, as well as a Master of Science in Fundamental Immunology from the University of Toronto (U of T) and a Master of Education in the Health Professions from Johns Hopkins University.

While she initially began specializing in infectious diseases after her internal medicine training, she later realized she was more interested in pursuing oncology. Today, she’s a Clinician Educator at St. Michael’s Hospital and a professor of medical oncology at U of T.

“Cancer is a major global health challenge and this drives my desire to better equip the cancer care workforce, both in Canada and around the world,” she says.

Her other academic interests include value-based cancer care, global health and global oncology, cancer in conflict zones, and women as healthcare professionals.

“It’s estimated that 70% of cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, while only 5% of resources are spent on cancer care in these countries, so this is a huge equity gap we are trying to address,” she says.

In 2020, Dr. Hammad received one of the first International Development, Aid and Collaboration (IDAC) grants from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons for faculty development among African oncologists. Rather than going on vacation, she often used her free time to travel to countries in Africa to share her knowledge and teach other physicians. Even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, she was using Zoom and WhatsApp to teach residents in other countries.

Together with her colleagues in Africa, Dr. Hammad led the first Choosing Wisely Africa initiative and was a co-author in the Lancet Oncology commission for Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa, which highlights the rapidly escalating cancer burden in this area of the world. While the focus has mainly been on infectious diseases, the population in Africa is now increasingly afflicted by non-communicable diseases, including cancer.

“In addition to the challenge of effectively training and employing cancer care providers in lower income countries, cancer treatment is not cheap and technology such as radiation therapy and surgery can be difficult to access in more rural areas, so many patients experience what we call financial toxicity,” she says. “Despite the limited resources, it’s positive that we’re seeing an expansion in cancer care, including access to drugs and technology.”

Dr. Hammad also co-chairs the Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario’s Network for Advancing Medical Learners (N-ABL), which works to ensure medical students and residents are better supported to make it through the process of becoming physicians.

“Anti-Black racism has historically affected Black peoples’ access to medical education,” she says. “I still hear medical students and residents say they aren’t receiving the right type of mentorship or they don’t see themselves represented in medicine, so we want to ensure that issues around mentorship, microaggressions and well-being are being addressed.”  

Dr. Hammad was a commissioner in the Lancet Commission on Women, Power and Cancer, which addresses urgent questions at the intersection of social inequality, cancer risk and outcomes, and the status of women in society. The commission looked at how cancer care affects women not only as patients but as unpaid caregivers, professionals, researchers and policymakers, and recommended a set of ten actions.

In 2023, she took on the role of Faculty Lead for the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration (TAAAC). TAAAC is a global partnership between the Department of Medicine at Addis Ababa University (AAU) and U of T, established to foster the development of Ethiopian higher education, specifically subspecialty medical training and clinical research, with the aim of building capacity and sustainability in the AAU Department of Medicine.

“AAU is the oldest and largest university in Ethiopia so I think we are in a great position to learn from them and for them to learn from us,” she says. “With looming global health threats such as novel viruses, climate change and noncommunicable diseases, the need for cross-country collaborations like this is much more urgent.”

Reflecting on her journey as an international medical graduate (IMG), Dr. Hammad acknowledges the barriers she has overcome.  

“Being an IMG, I may not have had the same access to resources and mentorship as others did,” she says. “Now, being recognized as a leader in global oncology and participating in all levels of the healthcare system in Canada, I feel privileged to have achieved that and I hope that we continue to recognize and support the talents, resourcefulness and resilience that IMGs bring into medicine in Canada.”

Dr. Hammad is excited to be a member of the Division of Medical Oncology in the Department of Medicine.

“We have amazing colleagues and diverse talents,” she says. “The Division is in an excellent position to be a leader in global oncology."