Peters-Boyd Academy
The Peters-Boyd (PB) Academy is comprised of three hospitals:
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
- Women’s College Hospital
- North York General Hospital
Students may be based at any one of these sites during the foundations years. During clerkship, students from all academies will attend rotations at many different sites, including The Hospital for Sick Children, St. Joseph’s Hospital and other sites around the GTA.
Currently, the PB Academy enrollment is 67 students for first year and registers over 400 medical students in total every year.
One of the PB Academy’s strongest assets is its teaching faculty, who are committed to small group, case-based learning models, and providing a quality learning experience. Clinics and acute care settings provide a breadth of clinical learning opportunities that uphold the tenets of best-practice patient-centered care and medical education.
Co-Director, Peters-Boyd Academy
Dr. Gemini Tanna is an Associate Professor and Clinician Teacher in the Department of Medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She is a proud “U of T lifer” and completed all of her undergraduate and postgraduate training at the University of Toronto, including a nephrology subspecialty fellowship as well as the Master Teacher program. She joined Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in 2006 and has held a number of medical education leadership positions prior to becoming the Peters-Boyd Academy Co-Director in April 2022. Dr. Tanna is the recipient of several education and leadership awards, including a W.T. Aikins Faculty Teaching Award, the Dr. Joanne Bargman Mentorship Award and the Dr. Kevin Imrie Sunnybrook Department of Medicine Leadership Award. Her academic interests include empathy and resiliency in medicine and mentorship. She considers herself as much a learner as a teacher and feels that life is best lived by staying humble and being kind.
Co-Director, Peters-Boyd Academy
Dr. Alireza Zahirieh is an Associate Professor and Clinician Teacher in the Department of Medicine and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He completed medical school training at Western University in 2002 before coming to Toronto for his internal medicine and nephrology training. He joined the Faculty of Medicine in 2009 after completing the Department of Medicine Master Teacher Program. Dr. Zahirieh has held a number of leadership positions prior to becoming the Academy Co-Director in April of 2022. He has also been a recipient of multiple teaching awards at Sunnybrook and more broadly the University. His academic interests include HIV associated Kidney Diseases and the incorporation of point of care ultrasonography into clinical practice.