The OCFP is excited to recognize the exceptional skill, expertise and commitment of family physicians, residents and medical students across Ontario through the 2025 Awards program. The recipients exemplify family physicians’ vital role in promoting the health of Ontarians.
Thanks to all of those that recognized colleagues through nominations, and congratulations to all recipients!
Reg L. Perkin Ontario Family Physician of the Year
The Family Physician of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding CFPC family physician member from Ontario who exemplifies the best of what being a family doctor is all about, including exceptional care of patients combined with a significant contribution to the health and wellbeing of communities and society in general.
David Eisen is a practicing family physician at an academic practice in association with North York General Hospital (NYGH) and the University of Toronto.
He teaches students from multiple programs including the Toronto Metropolitan University Midwifery and as an Associate Professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Currently he serves as the Chair, Family Medicine Obstetrics Division at NYGH.
His past leadership experience includes Chair, Family Medicine Obstetrics Division and Chief and Program Medical Director of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at NYGH. He has served the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in several capacities and was the founding Primary Care Lead in the North York Toronto Health Partners OHT.
The award is named in honour of Dr. Reg L. Perkin, College of Family Physicians of Canada Executive Director from 1985 to 1996. The Reg L. Perkin recipient is chosen from the Regional Family Physician of the Year award recipients.
Regional Family Physicians of the Year
The Regional Family Physician of the Year Award recognizes six physicians – one from each region of the province – who provide exemplary care to their patients and are passionately involved in activities that contribute to excellence in family medicine. This year was exceptional as we received multiple nominations for a pair of physicians who worked together in a region.
Dr. Chrichton opened his solo practice in his hometown of Sudbury in 1991. After 17 years in independent practice, he led a group that developed the City of Lakes Family Health Team – the interprofessional comprehensive team he still leads today, providing care to over 20,000 patients across the City of Greater Sudbury.
Shortly after opening his practice, he began teaching at NOSM, and has since taught and mentored hundreds of medical students.
In addition to his role as an Assistant Professor at NOSM, he has had several leadership roles with the University. Currently, he serves as a University Senator and is the chief of the Department of Family Practice at Health Sciences North in Sudbury. He has also contributed as a member of national Family Medicine Education committees with the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).
Dr. Crichton is noted for his dedication to his patients and his community, and remains committed to developing sustainable models of comprehensive family medicine.
Dr. Nicole Zavagnin is a family physician in Thunder Bay whose career reflects deep commitment to advancing primary care in Northern Ontario. While she’s worked in many rural and northern communities, she now maintains a broad family practice in Thunder Bay.
A member of the inaugural class of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), she has helped shape innovative approaches to medical education and care delivery since the beginning of her career. She continues that work today as an Associate Professor at NOSM, where she teaches clinical sciences, skills, and advocacy to both medical students and residents.
Her leadership extends beyond the clinic and classroom as Regional Primary Care Lead for Northwestern Ontario with Cancer Care Ontario, Chair of her family health team’s board, and through her lead role in the development of the Thunder Bay Family Medicine LEG. As Clinical Lead for the Noojmawing Sookatagaing Ontario Health Team, she continues to guide system transformation.
Above all, Dr. Zavagnin is dedicated to building strong relationships—with her patients, learners, and colleagues.
Dr. Anna Chavlovski is a family physician based in Amherstview, Ontario where she provides comprehensive community-based care at the Loyalist Family Health Team.
Deeply committed to medical education, Dr. Chavlovski teaches and mentors both Queen’s University medical students and family medicine residents. She supports learners in developing strong clinical skills as well as leadership competencies, with involvement in programs such as QMed LEAD and the Queen’s Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Dr. Chavlovski holds key leadership positions, serving as Chair of the Health Home Support Structure with the Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Ontario Health Team and as Regional Clinical Lead for Primary Care with Ontario Health East.
Dr. Chavlovski is recognized for her evidence-based, compassionate care and her dedication to shaping the future of primary care through both frontline practice, education, and health system leadership.
Dr. Basel Bari is a dedicated family physician based in Markham, Ontario, specializing in diabetes, cardiology, and chronic disease management.
Beyond his clinical work, Dr. Bari is actively involved in advancing medical education and research. He has contributed to continuing medical education development and participated in expert panels focused on diabetes, asthma, COPD, and heart failure.
He serves as a member of family practice advisory boards for diabetes management with several leading pharmaceutical companies.
Since 2009, Dr. Thomas has been dedicated to serving the rural community of Northern Bruce Peninsula as a full-service rural generalist. In addition to his primary care practice, he provides care in the local emergency room, as a hospitalist, in long-term care, and supports patients with pain management.
Dr. Thomas is dedicated to supporting medical students residents through their rural clinical education in primary care, and locums in both the hospital and emergency care.
His leadership is crucial to the Lion’s Head community. He serves as the Site Chief for the Brightshores-Lion’s Head Hospital and has been the Board Chair for the Peninsula Family Health Team since 2017. Dr. Thomas has been described as ‘the glue’ that kept the local hospital together during the COVID-19 pandemic and is credited with ensuring the hospital maintains round-the-clock coverage.
Family Medicine Resident of the Year
The Family Medicine Resident of the Year Award – Ontario’s Rising Star recognizes a resident who is an emerging leader and advocate for family medicine, and demonstrates an initiative that is making positive contributions in areas such as patient care, peer support, advocacy, community service, research, and education.
Dr. Ishan Aditya is a newly minted family physician in Toronto, and focusing on dermatology care, for a wide range of skin conditions.
Completing his medical education at the University of Toronto and his family medicine residency at McMaster, Dr. Aditya remains committed to medical education, as he completes a master’s in health informatics while mentoring learners to advance leadership in family medicine.
Outside of his practice, he holds leadership roles in innovative health technology start-ups, serves on provincial and national committees and contributes to health policy initiatives.
As a PGY-3 Clinical Scholar at the University of Toronto, Dr. Aditya’s research interests centre on integrating digital health and AI solutions into primary care to improve access, quality, and patient outcomes in the areas of smoking cessation, obesity management, and predictive analytics for opioid toxicity prevention.
Medical Student of the Year
The Medical Student of the Year Award is presented to a medical student who is an emerging leader and advocate for family medicine and has made contributions to family medicine and/or primary care in areas such as patient care, peer support, advocacy, community service, research, and education.
Dr. Selina Chow, currently a PGY1 Family Medicine resident in Toronto, recently graduating from the University of Toronto’s MD program.
As a medical student, Dr. Chow conducted research to improve access to autism care for immigrant families in Canada and led several projects to improve healthcare access for refugee patients in Ontario. She also organized pediatric hearing screening clinics in underserved communities and initiated a study on optimizing primary care follow-up for patients after emergency department discharge.
Dr. Chow is passionate about medical education and has contributed by founding UofT’s inaugural addictions medicine conference in 2023 and leading national efforts to advance point-of-care ultrasound training across Canadian medical schools.
Awards of Excellence
The Award of Excellence recognizes an exceptional accomplishment or innovation achieved within the past 24 months in a specific area or for a specific project pertaining to the specialty of family medicine.
The Award of Excellence recognizes outstanding contributions in a specific area pertaining to the specialty of family medicine: patient care, community service, hospital or health-care institutions, College activities (CFPC or OCFP), teaching, research or other elements of the academic discipline of family medicine.
Dr. Cheung is a family and palliative care physician based in North West Toronto.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Cheung is an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) School of Medicine. At TMU she also served as Interim Collaborative Program Director for Family Medicine.
Dr. Cheung has held leadership roles locally, regionally and provincially.
Locally, she is Site Chief of Family and Community Medicine at Etobicoke General Hospital, and regionally she drives innovative care models for vulnerable populations, including leading the award-winning CARE Program for frail older adults.
Provincially, Dr. Cheung serves as Chair of the Palliative Medicine Section at the Ontario Medical Association and is an executive in District 11, representing Ontario’s largest physician cohort. She is also Chief Medical Officer of LOCVM, a physician-designed technology platform modernizing how physicians connect with locum opportunities, streamline practice management, and support workforce sustainability.
Dr. Jamaica Cass, a proud member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, practices primary care and obesity medicine on-reserve at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.
Her work in leadership includes her role as the inaugural Director of the Queen’s Weeneebayko Health Education Program, a transformative partnership with Queen’s University, the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority, and the Mastercard Foundation, creating a new Faculty of Health Sciences in Moosonee to train and retain health professionals in remote Indigenous communities. At Queens University, Dr. Cass serves as Director of Indigenous Health and Program Director for the Indigenous Health Enhanced Skills Program.
A nationally recognized leader in Indigenous health and medical education, and the first Indigenous woman in Canada to earn both an MD and a PhD, she Co-Chairs Ontario Health’s inaugural Committee on Cultural Safety and Indigenous Health, chairs the Academic Advisory Council of the National Indigenous Circle on Medical Education, and serves on the Boards of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and the Medical Council of Canada. Her leadership in these roles has advanced reconciliation in Canada.
Dr. Kathryn Dorman is a family physician within the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team (FHT) providing comprehensive primary care including specialized support for individuals who use substances, as well as HIV and gender-affirming primary care. She also provides consultation and long-term follow up for patients requiring opioid agonist therapy.
Dr. Dorman is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and her current research is focused on improving primary care for individuals who have experienced incarceration.
Building on her research, Dr. Dorman provides clinical leadership in the Health Justice Program, a medicolegal partnership between the Family Health Team and community legal clinics, which provides direct services to patients, and leadership in health justice education and advocacy.
She aims to improve health equity by advocating for individual and system level changes to address the social determinants of health. She seeks to improve access to income, housing, and justice for all, and to reduce racial inequities.
Dr. Stephen Singh practices comprehensive family medicine and primary and specialist palliative care in patient’s homes, in hospice, and at Brantford General Hospital and St. Joseph’s long-term care.
Dr. Singh is an assistant clinical professor at McMaster University and a facilitator at Pallium Canada in its Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP) course, which aims to educate all health care providers with the basics of palliative care. His leadership roles include Chair of OMA’s Section on Palliative Medicine, Board Member of the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians, and the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
Dr. Singh is committed to advocacy to support doing what is right for patients and is always thinking of how to work towards a state of equitable universal access to palliative care.
Dr. Stewart provides care for a large patient roster at Sault Ste. Marie’s Group Health Centre, and is known for her patient-centered approach
As CEO and Board Chair of the Algoma District Medical Group, Dr. Stewart is deeply committed to the Sault Ste. Marie community, leading over 60 physicians—30 of whom are family physicians. Her leadership is marked by empathy, clear communication, and decisive action, earning the respect of clinicians, administrators, and partners.
Dr. Stewart is known for her advocacy, which has been front and centre through one of the most challenging times in her community’s history. Her focus is equitable access, and she supports initiatives that strengthen primary care in Northern Ontario.
