Associate Professor

Aisha Lofters

DFCM

MD,PhD

Publications

Location

St. Michael's Hospital

Address

61 Queen St. E, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5B1W8

Research Interests

Health Promotion, Health Service Delivery, Quality Improvement, Screening, Women's Health, Administrative Databases, Disadvantaged Populations, Quantitative Data Analysis, Cancer Care

Accepting

Not Accepting Students

Current academic appointment/faculty rank: Associate Professor, University of Toronto

Credentials and primary affiliation(s): Aisha Lofters, MD, PhD, CCFP; Chair in Applied Public Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Medical Director, Peter Gilgan Centre for Women's Cancers, Women's College Hospital; Scientist, Women's College Research Institute; Associate Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto.

Brief research summary: 

Dr. Aisha Lofters is a Scientist at the Women’s College Research Institute (WCRI), an Adjunct Senior Scientist at ICES, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is the Medical Director at the Peter Gilgan Centre for Women’s Cancers at Women’s College Hospital in partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society and currently serves as the Provincial Primary Care Cancer Screening Lead at Ontario Health. She also holds a CIHR Applied Public Health Chair in Advancing Health Equity in Cancer Prevention and Screening. Her research program focuses on improving quality of care in cancer screening and prevention, particularly for populations that experience marginalization, through a variety of methods including community-partnered approaches.

•   Associate Member, School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto, 2015-present
•   Scientist, Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Keenan Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, 2015-present
•   Associate Professor, Division of Clinical Public Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health (status only), University of Toronto, 2015-present

Research Synopsis

My research interests include cancer screening, immigrant health and health equity, using a broad range of methods such as secondary database analysis and community-based participatory research.

Honours and Awards

Name:
Description:

•   Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award, “Reducing cancer screening inequalities for marginalized populations: Moving from knowledge to action”, 2017-2022.
•   Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute, Career Development Award in Cancer Prevention, 2013-2016.
•   Outstanding Research Publication - Second Place: “The validity of self-reported cancer screening history and the role of social disadvantage in Ontario, Canada”, University of Toronto Department of Family & Community Medicine, 2015.
•   People’s Choice Award - Best Research Paper Presentation, University of Toronto Department of Family & Community Medicine Walter Rosser Day, 2013.
•   Research Excellence Award, University of Toronto Department of Family & Community Medicine, 2013.
•   Outstanding Research Publication - Second Place: “Low Rates of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Urban Immigrants: A Population-Based Study in Ontario, Canada”, University of Toronto Department of Family & Community Medicine, 2010.

Grants

2017-2019 Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute, “Implementing lung cancer screening for those living with low income”, (Principal Investigators: Aisha Lofters, Geoffrey Liu, Co-Investigators: Mary Ann O’Brien, Brenda Chang, Anna Crosskill, Lawson Eng, Meredith Giuliani, Stephen Hwang, Florence Kim, David Mowat, Lawrence Paszat, Peter Selby, Mandana Vahabi). Total award: $99,915.00 CAD. Average annual award: $49,957.50 CAD.

2016-2021 Alberta Innovates Health Solutions, “Building on Existing Tools to Improve Cancer and Chronic Disease Prevention and Screening in Primary Care for Wellness of Cancer Survivors and Patients: The BETTER WISE Project”, (Principal Investigator: Donna Manca, Kris Aubrey-Bassler, Denise Campbell-Scherer, Eva Grunfeld, Aisha Lofters, Melissa Shea-Budgell, Collaborators: Alma Bencivenga, Gary Bloch, Judith Britten, June Carroll, Connie Davis, Edward Denga, Kathryn Dong, Rod Elford, Lee Green, Narpindeer Hans, Fred Janke, Doug Klein, Paul Krueger, Charles Leduc, Richard Lewanczuk, Kerry McBrien, Christopher Meaney, Rahim Moineddin, Candace Nykiforuk, Mary Ann O’Brien, Andrew Pinto, Matthew Rose, Shelley Ross, Ginetta Salvalaggio, Catherine Scrimshaw, Colin Siu, Nicolette Sopcak, Wendy L. Tink, Margo Wilson). Total award: $2,704,822 CAD. Average annual award: $540,964 CAD.

2016-2018 St. Michael’s Hospital Association Alternate Funding Plan Innovation Funds, “Co-designing Screening Invitations with Patients to Reduce Income-Related Disparities in Cancer Screening”, (Principal Investigators: Aisha Lofters, Tara Kiran, Co-Investigators: Nancy Baxter, Chris McKillop, Samantha Davie, Jean Wilson, Fok-Han Leung, Karen Weyman, Ed Kucharski, Jory Simpson). Total award: $77,836.32 CAD. Average annual award: $38,918.16 CAD.