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MEET THE TEAM
Our executive team is made up of undergraduate, graduate, medical students and residents at universities across Canada. We aim to educate aspiring global surgery professionals to advocate for safe and timely access to surgical care for all.
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE TEAM
2022-2023
![5479E27E-F718-48F5-9B80-AD6564C15A17[11] - Prachi Patel_edited.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/40eca7_9aa42f76e3e64c71831731d56d560333~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_216,h_217,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/5479E27E-F718-48F5-9B80-AD6564C15A17%5B11%5D%20-%20Prachi%20Patel_edited.jpg)
PRACHI PATEL
Chair
Prachi is a junior doctor from India with MSc. in Global Surgery from McGill University. She has been working as a research collaborator with the Center for Global Surgery, McGill on implementing a hospital-based trauma registry in India and creating a city-wide trauma database in an effort to decrease the gap in trauma care. She is an aspiring surgeon with a special interest in capacity building and healthcare strengthening in LMICs by bringing together clinical practice and research. She is also involved with organizations like One Surgery, Canadian Association of Global Health with the aim to amplify the voices of global health and global surgery through advocacy and research work. She is very excited to continue another year as a Chair and work alongside the wonderful group of trainees across Canada!
OMAR EL SEWIFY
Chair
Omar El Sewify is a third year medical student studying at the University of Laval with a passion for global surgery, research and medical education. He is currently the Chair of CGSTA as well as the Director for the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Community. He works with a team of residents/staff to publish evidence based research. On his spare time he enjoys running and hiking, as they allow him to push himself to his limits. He is also extremely keen on helping push CGSTA forward on all fronts!
BRIGHT HUO
VP Research
Bright is a fourth-year medical student at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His clinical interests include the surgical management of lung and esophageal tumours, as well as benign esophageal disease. His research interests include the use of LDCT screening in early lung cancer detection in light-or-never-smokers. He is also working with the European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) on guideline initiatives in the field of minimally invasive general surgery. As co-VP Research, Bright's interest is in the measurement of quality improvement data pertaining to global surgery education. As an aspiring thoracic surgeon, he hopes to integrate global surgery research and scholarship into his future practice.
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STEPHANIE ROBERTS
VP Research
Stephanie Roberts (she/her) is a fourth-year medical student at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) who is also an active student leader and change-maker. Stephanie is the President of the newly formed Canadian Atlantic Medical Students Association (CAMSA), the Co-Chair of the MUN Federation of Medical Women of Canada's Branch, and the Co-VP Research of the CGSTA National Executive. Stephanie co-founded the MUN CGSTA Chapter and worked with her Co-Chair and the development team to pilot a global surgery curriculum in order to increase MUN students' awareness and education about global surgery. Apart from medicine, she enjoys strength training, wine tasting, and expanding her entrepreneurial skills through her new real estate venture!
YASMIN OSMAN
VP Education
Yasmin is a fourth year medical student at the University of Montreal. She is currently co-VP Education. Her interests include general surgery, with the hope of eventually pursuing a career in global surgery and contribute to making a change. Her passion for all that global surgery inspired lead to her involvement with CGSTA. She is a member of the executive team of the Association of Women in Surgery at UdeM and founded the AWS podcast, been the president of the surgical interest group at her faculty and involved in research. Aside from discovering every coffee shop around, she loves to spend quality time with family and friends, occasional long walks and watch medical dramas.
SHAISHAV DATTA
VP Education
Shaishav is a fourth year medical student at the University of Toronto with an interest in pursuing a career in surgery. He is involved in various research projects ranging from basic science to clinical medicine. Shaishav is particularly interested in transition-related surgery and how its delivery can be improved across the globe. For the 2022/23 academic year, he is acting in the role of Co-VP Education for CGSTA, in hopes to expand the CGSTA mission to all Canadian medical schools.
MOHAMAD HAMMOUD
VP Finance and Administration
Mohamad is a second year medical school student at McMaster University. He obtained his BSc in statistics and economics from the University of Toronto. He has interests in surgery as well as topics in health inequities, both nationally and globally. This drove him to get involved with the CGSTA. With a background in finance, Mohamad was particularly keen on managing the administrative & financial tasks that underpin the organization's work, from budget development to handling of the webpage. On the side, he thoroughly enjoys video games, fitness, and spending time with friends and family.
REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
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ANNIE KANG
Ontario
Annie is a second-year medical student at Queen’s University interested in pursuing a career in surgery. Her research interests include medical humanities, quality improvement, and health inequities in the context of global surgery. As the Ontario Representative, she hopes to continue expanding the CGSTA mission and heighten collaboration between all Ontario medical schools. Outside of medicine, Annie is a big fan of hiking, pottery, and good times with good people.
ROSEMARY STANOEV
Eastern
Rosie is a third year medical student at the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). She obtained her BSc in Applied Mathematics at MUN and is currently pursuing her MSc in Clinical Epidemiology in addition to her Doctor of Medicine. She is passionate about global health, health inequities, social determinants of health, and surgery. Rosie has been involved in the CGSTA at both the local and national level, serving on the the MUN CGSTA Chapter for three years and continuing her role of Eastern Regional Representative for the second year. This year, she hopes to strengthen collaboration between the Eastern CGSTA Chapters and with the National Executive.
MAXINE JOLY-CHEVRIER
Quebec
Maxine is a first-year medical student at the University of Montreal. It is her second year as the CGSTA Quebec Regional Representative. She is passionate about public health, community involvement and disruptive technologies that have the potential of optimizing patient care. She volunteered with international and local organizations such as The International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) as a local organizer of the public health committee program, Kids Help Phone as a member of the National Youth Council and with the University of Montreal Digital Health Interest Group as the president and co-founder. As the Quebec Regional Representative, she is motivated to make global surgery better known and more accessible to students by working alongside clubs and the CGSTA executive team.
RACHEL LIVERGANT
Western
Rachel is completing her final year of medical school at the University of Alberta as well as her Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care from the University of British Columbia. Rachel has contributed to several research and advocacy projects in Global Surgery, including trauma training in LMICs, ICU care in South Africa and Kenya, ethics in global surgery partnerships, and post-operative outcomes in Indigenous patients. This is Rachel's second year as Western Canada's Regional Representative and she hopes to keep promoting collaboration and mentorship in Global Surgery in this region. In addition to being Western Canada's Regional Representative, Rachel is also a member of the CGSTA research committee where she is leading a project to survey the opportunities in global surgery education available for undergraduate medical students across Canada.
ADVOCACY TEAM
EHSAN YAVARI
VP Advocacy
Ehsan Yavari is a second year medical student currently studying at McMaster University. He was first exposed to Operation Smile and global surgery during his one-week plastic surgery elective. Ever since then, Ehsan has been interested in exploring the field of global surgery to help advocate for surgical care in low income countries and underserved communities. He hopes to use his past experience in research, mentorship, and climate advocacy to help in this process.
CHLOE BLACKMAN
VP Advocacy
Chloé Blackman is a second-year medical student at Dalhousie University. She obtained her MSc. in Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University in 2020. During her MSc, she did an international research project in Tanzania to study the impact of counselling and adherence to HIV medications. This project sparked her passion for global health, global surgery, resource stewardship, and advocacy. Chloé is currently working on a research project to study the out-of-pocket cost for breast cancer treatment in Nigeria. This year Chloé is the co-VP Advocacy. She is excited to continue to promote education and awareness on global surgery.
ALAN GOU
Advocacy Team Member
Alan Gou is a medical learner in the Class of 2025 from Memorial University of Newfoundland.Alan began his undergrad career in Arts and Science at McMaster, where he learned how colonial legacy, discrimination, and income disparities affected global health outcomes. It inspired him to get involved at War Child at Mac where he was elected Vice President of External Affairs. Alan is passionate about promoting global surgery and health advocacy in underserved communities, particularly in Labrador. As newsletter editor, Alan has two main goals: 1) Collaborate with other chapter leads and CGSTA Exec to promote community events and opportunities to a wider audience; and 2) Amplify the voices and stories on the state of healthcare in Northern, rural, and Indigenous communities.
LYDIA MYCHALTCHOUK
Advocacy Team Member
Lydia Mychaltchouk is a first-year resident in General Surgery at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). She previously worked with Médecins du Monde Canada, where she learned about the role of health advocacy in global health and helped build an internship program between 2009-2015, which successfully sent students to various headquarters across the world, namely, Cayenne, Buenos Aires, London, and Paris. She also holds a BSc in Anthropology from Université de Montréal and hopes to continue on the path of graduating training. When she is not on call, she can be found reading anything ranging from fiction to non-fiction on the banks of Lake Superior or singing at an open mic with her guitar.
SHEHARAZAD (SHERRY) MAHMOOD
Advocacy Team Member
Sherry is a fourth year medical student at the University of Alberta, located on the traditional territory of the Papaschase and homeland of the Métis Nation. She is passionate about surgical education and advocacy for equitable representation in medicine. This has led her to hold roles such as undergraduate surgical education student representative, co-founder of the local Association of Women Surgeons chapter, and former Western Regional Director of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students working closely with education and global health portfolios. As advocacy content creator, she hopes to work towards the accessibility and decolonization of the global surgery space by utilizing our organizations platform for meaningful engagement and innovative discussion.