THUNDER BAY — The Northern Ontario School of Medicine has found a successor to the school's founding dean, Dr. Roger Strasser.
NOSM's board of directors on Tuesday announced the appointment of Dr. Sarita Verma as Dean and CEO, effective July 1.
Verma currently serves as a vice-president at the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada.
Among other roles, she previously served as deputy dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Verma is a family physician who originally trained as a lawyer, before completing her medical degree at McMaster University in 1991.
"I'm grateful to the Board for the opportunity to lead this incredible medical school, and honoured to continue with the momentum created in the past 15 years," Verma said.
"I am deeply committed to serving the people of Northern Ontario, to leading progress in Indigenous and Francophone health and cultivating innovation in clinical research."
Dr. Moira McPherson, NOSM vice-chair and the president of Lakehead University, said the board recognizes "the incredible impact Dr. Strasser has made over the past 17 years in establishing the school with the goal of making access to quality health care a reality for all Northern Ontarians."
Under Strasser, who officially steps down on June 30, NOSM became the first medical school in the world in which all students spend their entire third year in a rural community.
It is also the first medical school in which all students undertake a four-week immersive cultural experience, living and learning in Indigenous communities.
