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 63 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.

Gemini Tanna

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. 

Alireza Zahirieh

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. 

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

The primary site of the PB Academy, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre has over 9000 staff and physicians,  and over 5000 students, residents, fellows and observers working together to provide excellence in patient care. With 1355 hospital beds, Sunnybrook provides nearly one million out-patient clinic visits per year. Students are exposed to a broad-based learning experience, including tertiary care, acute in-patient and ambulatory care and community-based experiences.

Priority programs include cancer care, cardiovascular, muscular-skeletal, perinatal and gynecology services, neurosciences, aging and population health, trauma and critical care.

Facilities

At each site of the PB Academy, educational facilities provide students with seminar rooms, computers, a student lounge and access to libraries. Video-conferencing capability connects joint seminars occurring at Sunnybrook, North York and Women’s College.

Sunnybrook is located in uptown Toronto. A free shuttle bus runs continuously between Sunnybrook, the Holland Orthopaedic and Arthritic Centre and Women’s College Hospital. For the fitness-minded, there is a beautiful bike trail, extending from the lake to Sunnybrook Park, which is part of the hospital property. Women’s College Hospital is a short walking distance from the University of Toronto Medical Sciences Building. North York General Hospital is located in northern Toronto and accessible by subway.

History

The PB Academy is named after Dr. Vera Peters (1911-1993) and Dr. William Boyd (1885-1979). Dr. Peters was a professor of radiology at the University of Toronto and a pioneer in the radiation treatment of cancer, acclaimed for her contributions to the treatment of Hodgkin’s disease. Dr. Boyd was an award-winning teacher and professor of pathology at the University of Toronto who authored several internationally renowned textbooks.

Contact Information

Dr. Gemini Tanna, Co-Director
Dr. Alireza Zahirieh, Co-Director

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
2075 Bayview Avenue, Room E354
Toronto, Ontario  M4N 3M5

Sonya Boston, Administrative Assistant to Co-Directors
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
2075 Bayview Avenue, Room E354A
Toronto, Ontario  M4N 3M5
Phone: 416.480.4274