EDI Action Fund

Health and Healing Across Cultures is an art showcase and competition that took place on February 20, 2026. The aim of the initiative was to highlight diversity, promote cultural inclusivity, and build community in medicine through creativity and the arts. Through a visual art exhibit and competition, this initiative highlighted how cultural heritage — language, traditions, rituals, and history — shapes individuals’ identities and communities and impacts the way individuals see and manage their healthcare. The aim was to create a space for people to share and express their approach to health and healing through their culture and to give those who engage with the exhibit an understanding of diverse perspectives on medicine and healing. Explore the virtual collection featuring all art submissions.

IMS MedDash was a one-day event designed by students from the Institute for Medical Science (IMS) to engage high school students from historically underrepresented communities in biomedical science through experiential learning. Delivered in partnership with the Office of Access and Outreach through the Summer Mentorship Program and STEAM Design program, the initiative offered a series of hands-on activities, mentorship opportunities, and exposure to graduate-level research environments. A central feature of the event was an eight-station interactive biomedical challenge that aligned with the core research themes of the Institute of Medical Science. A total of152 students from the SMP and STEAM-D programs participated in the campus-wide science race, applying critical thinking and teamwork to complete each challenge.

The READII (Rehabilitation Sciences Advancing Equity, Accessibility, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigeneity) Committee Speaker Series included talks and workshops aimed to equip students and researchers with the knowledge and tools necessary to incorporate EDIIA considerations throughout their work, from conceptualization to dissemination on topics such as long-covid research and critical realism lens on autism. Workshops educated both faculty and students on how to integrate EDIIA considerations into their research. As part of the Speaker Series, the READII team and speakers co-developed a repository of key takeaways from the presentations to be shared with participants.  

Reading the Margins was developed by medical students out of a common desire to experience more diverse humanities content while being students in the MD program. The initiative was founded on the belief that literature provides insight into human experiences and narratives, which are essential to integrate into a medical education and benefit patient care. Books read include Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, Light of Day by Anita Desai and The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar.

Refu-GPT is a resource navigation solution that centralizes and streamlines access to care for refugees in the Greater Toronto Area. Informed by a curated, comprehensive, and continuously updated (“living”) database, the team developed an AI-powered tool that leverages large language model capabilities within a purpose-built interface to help providers efficiently identify relevant health and community resources for their patients. The tool was designed with the goal of addressing a wide range of holistic needs, including healthcare, housing, food security, translation, legal support, and other social services, and was further shaped through input from end users such as social workers and family physicians.

ReSuture aims to promote sustainability and equity in medical education by redistributing expired or surplus suturing supplies from hospitals to medical students. Since its inception, the ReSuture team has build a network of 39 healthcare professionals across six University of Toronto-affiliated hospitals, collecting over 2,000 supplies and, with support from the EDI Action Fund, purchasing reusable silicone suturing pads to assemble and distribute 30 complete suturing kits. The initiative also delivered hands-on suturing workshops, initially for incoming clerkship students and later expanded into a longitudinal curriculum for pre-clerkship students. The workshops are led by volunteer staff and residents from diverse specialties.

SAAI developed and implemented eight culturally tailored patient education handouts addressing common health concerns in South Asian communities (e.g., diabetes, menopause, postpartum depression, IPV, prenatal care, stress urinary incontinence, BPH, and eye health), based on physician-identified needs. All materials were medically reviewed by University of Toronto DFCM-affiliated family physicians and translated into six South Asian languages (Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Malayalam, Sinhalese, Gujarati) by multilingual medical students to improve accessibility. These handouts have been integrated into EMRs across 10+ family medicine clinics in the GTA, enhancing communication between physicians and patients with language barriers. To further expand reach, a website and social media platform launch to share adapted content and promote awareness of health disparities in South Asian communities.

The SUMMIT initiative provided targeted financial support to underrepresented in medicine (URiM) applicants participating in COSMOS. The initiative developed and implemented a simple online application and distributed bursaries through a randomized raffle to help offset interview-related expenses such as professional attire, travel, and internet access. By reducing financial barriers that disproportionately affect URiM applicants, the initiative enabled applicants from historically marginalized backgrounds to more confidently participate in the medical school interview process, helping to promote a more equitable and inclusive admissions pathway.

TMP at Tanz is a mentorship initiative run in collaboration with the EDI@T Committee at the Tanz Centre. The initiative aimed to create something practical and welcoming that would make it easier for trainees, especially those from structurally minoritized or less represented backgrounds, to connect with people who could support their growth. Between January and April, senior postdocs and principal investigators from the Tanz community shared experiences through a series of informal mentorship sessions.