BIRCH ISLAND—Doctor Lorrilee McGregor of Birch Island was recognized with a Scholar award by the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) at the inaugural NOSM University Achievement Celebration, held May 5.
“NOSM University’s faculty, learners, and alumni are the brightest in Canada,” said Dr. Sarita Verma, president, vice-chancellor, Dean, and chief executive officer of NOSM University. “From among our exemplary community of scholars and learners, we are proud to acknowledge these recipients with the most extraordinary accomplishments this year. We do incredible things at NOSM University. These leaders make our medical university, the only one in Canada, truly soar.”
Dr. McGregor was nominated for her exemplary contributions. “She is a highly respected faculty member, who excels in all areas of the Scholar Award,” wrote her nominator.
“It is great to be recognized by your peers for this type of award,” said Dr. McGregor, who is an assistant professor at NOSM. She teaches in the Human Sciences Division, mostly in Indigenous Peoples Health. Dr. McGregor is completing her fifth year with NOSM.
The scholar award is for teaching scholarship and service, and Dr. McGregor has made extremely important contributions in the areas of teaching and scholarship since her start at the university. She has been module co-coordinator, content coordinator, and case-based learning facilitator for case-based module 106, which focuses on Indigenous peoples’ health.
Dr. McGregor earned a doctorate in Philosophy from Laurentian University in 2018 and began working at NOSM on July 1, 2018.
“I believe that Dr. Marion Maar, who does a lot of work and research on (Manitoulin) Island nominated me for the award,” said Dr. McGregor. “A few years back (we were on) NOSM’s National Committee on Indigenous Research and I am still on the committee.”
Dr. McGregor was selected to be a member of the inaugural National Reference Group for the Appropriate Review of Indigenous Research (a tri-council committee).
“One of the things I am proud of in my work is when the pandemic hit, we developed a pandemic curriculum. In the last module of the first year for undergraduates’ integrated community placement, we developed a curriculum for them,” said Dr. McGregor. “Elders were on the screen with cooking, dance classes and much more. We were pulling rabbits out of the hat for two years and it went very well.”
As content coordinator for case-based module 109, Dr. McGregor developed a new case-based learning focusing on the First Nation response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She has been involved with Dr. Darryl Manitowabi, a NOSM doctor who is from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, on a new academic program called Indigenous Peoples Health and Wellness Collaborative Specialization, co-leading the development and delivery of the program as well. It’s a new program for second year students.
Dr. McGregor’s teaching highlights include managing the transition of the ‘integrated community experience’ placement in case-based module 106 to an online learning environment throughout eco-development of pandemic curriculum.
She was appointed by Dr. Verma to work in partnership with Queen’s University to develop online curriculum for a course titled Indigenous Healthcare Education and Practice: Applying Digital Teaching and Learning Resources to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.
Dr. McGregor is also proud of the two Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) research grants where she was principal investigator, and of being awarded six Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) federally-funded research grants as a co-investigator. “I’ve completed one grant, but am in the middle of the second one,” she said. “It’s hard to get those big grants.” She has been the principle investigator on two research grants and a co-investigator on six others.
“I’m also proud that in the first year I started at NOSM, in 2018, on September 30 two of us decided we would (participate in) Orange Shirt Day,” she said. There were three participants in 2018. In September 2019, they hosted a seminar series.
“Now there is school-wide recognition every September 30 to recognize the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action,” Dr. McGregor explained. “Sally Monagu and I started it, and Sally and I kept things going. We are happy to do it. The t-shirts are designed by Isaac Murdoch, and funds (raised go) to NOSM. I think one of the really interesting things about NOSM, that started before I got here, is they included Recognition of Truth and Reconciliation before they called it social accountability.”
Dr. McGregor has a very active research portfolio with priorities that reflect NOSM University’s strategic plan and social accountability mandate. Current projects include the impact of tobacco and cannabis in First Nation communities; exploring obesity discourse with Anishinaabek Elders; children’s consent in research; Indigenous research sovereignty; and understanding opioid use and harms among First Nations people.
Research highlights include being awarded two Social Science and Humanities Research Council grants.
In addition, she is the Chair of the Manitoulin Anishinaabek Research Review Committee, a community research ethics board where she has led the development of an ethics review process, the development of biological sampling guidelines, and has found funding to host two community research conferences.
Dr. McGregor is recognized nationally as an expert in Indigenous research ethics and has been invited to present at Laurentian University, York University, Queen’s University, McGill University and at federal government agencies including the Canadian Coast Guard, Natural Resources Canada, and the I-STEM (Indigenous Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) working group. She has also been an invited keynote speaker at the Chiefs of Ontario Health Forum (2020) and the Anishinabek Nations’ Health Conference 2 (2023).
The awards ceremony, part of the annual Northern Constellations faculty development conference, drew physicians from across Northern Ontario to Thunder Bay. The ceremony recognized eight faculty, four learners, two alumni and one honorary alumnus, who have each demonstrated exemplary service and commitment to health care, medical education, and research in Northern Ontario. Nominations were made by faculty, learners, alumni, staff and community members.
