Our Dean

Dr. Teresa M. Chan is the Founding Dean of the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine as well as TMU’s Vice-President, Medical Affairs. She joins TMU via McMaster University, where she was Associate Dean, Continuing Professional Development and an Associate Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences; she was also a Clinician Scientist with McMaster Education, Research, Innovation and Theory (MERIT). In addition, Dr. Chan has been a practicing emergency physician since 2013. Starting July 2024, she will be joining the William Osler Health System Emergency Department team as an emergency physician.

An educational leader and scientist, Dr. Chan has advanced the field of medical education by bringing in innovative new approaches. Notably in 2024, she was named one of the top 10 most influential Canadians in health care via the Maclean's Power List for Health Care (external link) . She has supervised, mentored, and spearheaded hundreds of educational development projects, most of which were disseminated as educational research and scholarship. She has also led more than 50 unique research teams while authoring over 230 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Chan has held various leadership or committee roles within the Canadian Association for Medical Education, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Dr. Chan received in-depth exposure to social justice and advocacy while completing her Bachelor of Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and she has brought that lens to her roles as a physician and educator. Her clinical work focuses on helping patients navigate societal and systemic problems preventing them from being seen as a whole person and facilitating their access to care that maintains their dignity. Through her academic work in the classroom, in clinical spaces, and outside of formal learning environments, Dr. Chan inspires future physicians to advance social justice. Her teams have used the power of faculty development to support racialized faculty members and to help others develop the skills needed to serve diverse populations of students and patients.

Dr. Chan is also a leader in new methods for teaching and learning, including technology-enhanced learning and serious games. She has been an advocate, researcher, and contributor for the free open access medical education movement. She has led teams in academic blogging, podcasting, and video creation. She has empowered learners and teachers alike to harness these technologies for education purposes. She has also been a leader in the emerging field of game-based medical education, and is one of the lead developers of the serious board game GridlockED.

Dr. Chan's previous professional experiences include roles as Program Director in the Area of Focused Competency and Assistant Dean, Faculty Development in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. She was also a Base Hospital Physician with the Centre for Paramedic Education & Research. Dr. Chan is currently an Associate Editor, Academic Medicine (the Journal of the American Association of Medical Colleges), the Chair of the National Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s Clinician Educator Area of Focused Competency Committee, and an honorary Adjunct Associate Professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong.