Advancing Health Professions Education Through Innovation

Drs. Nikki Woods, Maria Mylopoulos, and Mahan Kulasegaram were awarded a CFI-JELF (Canada Foundation for Innovation – John R. Evans Leaders Fund) grant to establish the Centre for Education in Education and Development (CEED) Lab at the University Health Network. This national investment supports cutting-edge research aimed at a fundamental challenge in medical training: how do we best prepare future health professionals to effectively handle the novelty, uncertainty, and complexity of an ever-evolving workplace? Using eye-tracking technology, the CEED Lab investigates how instructional design shapes knowledge acquisition with a particular focus on text-based learning, an area that remains largely unexplored in the literature to inform the principles of curriculum design for the next generation of practitioners.

Building on this foundation, the CEED Lab has catalyzed an exciting new partnership with the Black Medical Students’ Association at the University of Toronto. Together, we are creating a student-led research environment that centers equity, representation, and innovation - empowering students to explore meaningful questions, engage with rigorous methods, and contribute to discoveries that will shape the future of health professions education

FUNDED BY ESDC - SKILLS FOR SUCCESS

Drs. Nikki Woods, Maria Mylopoulos, and Ellena Andoniou have been awarded a grant under this national initiative to strengthen Canadians’ essential skills for work, learning, and daily life, with a focus on underrepresented groups by funding and scaling innovative training models in partnership with provinces and territories. Insights from our study are informing the development of DAER, a virtual, evidence-based platform designed to build adaptability, problem solving, creativity, collaboration, digital literacy, and communication.

DR WOODS ELECTED CAHS FELLOW

Forty-nine new Fellows have been elected to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, recognizing their excellence and contributions to health science. This prestigious honour highlights their dedication to advancing health across diverse fields.

Foot screening education TO PREVENT LIMB LOSS

Dr. Nikki Woods and colleagues are developing and studying evidence-based training to support unregulated care providers to recognize diabetes related foot wounds and assess risk among structurally disadvantaged Ontarians living with diabetes.

Making the invisible visible: a cognitive ethnograpy of psw knowledge and practice

Drs. Nikki Woods, Maria Mylopoulos, Stella Ng, Sandra McKay and collaborators have been awarded a Fall 2025 CIHR Project grant. The team will explore PSW work across Ontario to better define the expert work of current PSWs and support the training of future PSWs.