Dr. Adam Kassam joins TMU as founding Executive Director of Health Innovation & Strategy
In his new role at TMU, Dr. Adam Kassam will establish and lead the Office of Health Innovation and Strategy.
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Adam Kassam as Toronto Metropolitan University’s founding Executive Director of Health Innovation & Strategy.
Dr. Kassam is an award-winning physician, professor and health systems leader. In 2021, he was elected the youngest president in the history of the Ontario Medical Association and guided the profession during the pandemic. During his term, he oversaw public policy, advocacy and vaccination efforts, while leading the OMA through successful negotiations with Ontario's Ministry of Health, culminating in the largest physician services agreement in North America.
As executive director, Dr. Kassam will establish and lead the Office of Health Innovation and Strategy. His portfolio will develop TMU’s impact on health system solutions while strengthening its ecosystem partnerships. The mandate will also include the creation of the Institute for Health Innovation and Equity that will serve as an accelerator focused on leveraging technology, diversity research and precision medicine.
He will also assist with the planning of the new school of medicine where he will work collaboratively with the school of medicine planning committee, and other departments at the university to create an integrated model of health-care education, research, service, and leadership at TMU.
Drawing on his extensive knowledge and expertise of the health-care sector in our province, Dr. Kassam will also support physician recruitment and community consultations in the City of Brampton and the Region of Peel, strengthening the university’s reputation through engagement and collaboration.
“TMU is making history by reimagining how medical education and models of care are designed, to better serve current and future generations of diverse communities,” said Dr. Kassam. “I am thrilled to be joining TMU leadership to create and scale an innovative and impactful vision for health-care.”
Dr. Kassam currently serves on the board of the Canadian Association of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and is an officer of the board of the Ontario Medical Association. He has previously served on the advisory boards of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Medical Post.
Dr. Kassam holds a bachelor of arts from Cornell University, a doctor of medicine from Dartmouth Medical School and a master of public health from Columbia University. He completed his Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency at Western University where he served as chief resident, and has been on faculty in the department of medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Kassam maintains an active clinical practice focused on musculoskeletal and neurological rehabilitation in the Greater Toronto Area.
Mohamed Lachemi
President & Vice-Chancellor