Dr. Ananya Sandhu was born in India and raised in the United Kingdom. She moved to Canada where she completed both her undergraduate degree and medical school at the University of British Columbia. She discovered her passion for General Surgery during her final clerkship rotations and was drawn to the specialty's broad scope, hands-on nature, and opportunity to make a meaningful impact on patients' lives. She is excited to join NOSM because of the welcoming culture, strong operative experience, and community-focused training. She looks forward to developing into a broadly skilled community general surgeon while training in Northern Ontario.

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You can find her running or biking on the trails, or engaging in a variety of sports including pickleball, yoga, skiing, surfing, scuba diving, and travelling. She also has a keen interest in surgical cognition, mentorship, and medical education, and loves knitting, baking sourdough, and caring for her many plants.

Dr. Leen Al-Houssan grew up in a small suburb in Ottawa, surrounded by trees and birds. She studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), and worked as a doctor in England after graduating. Her first rotation was vascular surgery, which ultimately led her down the path of loving general surgery. 

In her free time, Leen loves looking after her plants, hiking, and doing anything that involves animals. In the winter, she’ll probably spend most of her days snowboarding anywhere near Sudbury.

Dr. Oleg Koretskyi was born and raised in Ukraine, where he completed his medical training at Vinnytsia National Medical University. After moving to Canada, he worked as an Associate Physician with Alberta Health Services in Calgary, Alberta. He is thrilled to join the NOSM General Surgery family and looks forward to serving the communities of Northern Ontario while while further advancing his surgical training. 

Outside of medicine, he enjoys spending time with his family, staying active, hiking, cycling, and traveling.

Dr. Romaisa Roshan was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and grew up across several countries, including Saudi Arabia and South Africa, before ultimately settling in Surrey, Canada. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Buffalo, New York, and went on to study medicine at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She is really excited to begin her General Surgery residency at NOSM University in Thunder Bay!

Outside of medicine, Romaisa enjoys getting lost in a good book, exploring new destinations through travel, and spending time outdoors hiking and appreciating nature.

Dr Susan Nan-Hui Yao was born in Shanghai, China and grew up in Vancouver, Canada. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacology at the University of Toronto before moving back west to earn her Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of British Columbia. She is excited to head back east and looks forward to exploring the great Canadian outdoors while providing surgical care to Northern communities. She has a strong interest in both rural and global health, and is passionate about using technology to improve access to surgical care in underserved populations.

Outside of surgery, She loves traveling (22 countries and counting!), running, playing tennis and volleyball, snowboarding, dancing, crocheting, attending music festivals, and most recently learning how to cook!  

Dr Jalisa Kassam was born and raised in Edmonton Alberta. After briefly living in Atlanta Georgia for high school and undergrad, she moved home to Edmonton to complete her medical degree at the University of Alberta. She spent her final year in Grande Prairie, Alberta where she developed a deep appreciation for community general surgery and the broad scope of practice.

Outside of surgery you can find Jalisa cheering for the Oilers, staying active through sports and exploring local cafes and restaurants. She also enjoys travelling,  and spending time with friends and family - especially with game nights!

Dr. Heather Wittick is a settler of Scottish heritage, born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Treaty 1). After completing a B.Sc. at University of Winnipeg (2015) and Masters of Physician Assistant (PA) Studies at the University of Manitoba (2017), Heather moved to northern Manitoba to work as a PA. During this time she affirmed her interest in medicine and subsequently applied to medicine at University of Manitoba. 

Heather is thrilled to call Thunder Bay her new home and join the team at NOSM! In her spare time Heather enjoys connecting with loved ones, biking, running, learning to DJ, and reading with her cat, Moneypenny.

Dr Kabeer Poonia grew up in Mission, BC and completed his bachelor's in biology at the University of Fraser Valley before completing medical school at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He is very excited to be joining the NOSM general surgery team and exploring all that Northern Ontario has to offer. Outside of medicine, he enjoys hiking, playing sports (hockey, golf, skiing), camping, playing board games and spending time with friends and family.

Dr Alejandro Acuna Macouzet (Alex) was born and raised in Mexico City. He completed medical school at Universidad Anahuac and went on to train in general surgery. After finishing his residency, he moved to Canada in pursuit of new opportunities and challenges. Eager to continue learning and refining his skills, he was accepted into the General Surgery program at NOSM. Outside the operating room, he enjoys going to the gym, hiking, and playing video games.

​Dr. Abigale Kent grew up in the Sunshine City of Orillia, Ontario. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Applied Bio Molecular Sciences as well as a Master’s in Northern and Indigenous Health Sciences. She completed her medical school at NOSM U. Her third-year clerkship included eight months in Sioux Lookout as well as travel to several remote fly-in Indigenous communities across Northern Ontario.

Outside of Surgery, you will find her exploring new trails along Lake Superior or performing with her family band.

Dr. Kiran Singh was born in Cranbrook, British Columbia and grew up in Sarnia, Ontario. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences at Queen’s University before moving to Ireland to complete her medical degree at Trinity College Dublin. She is thrilled to return to her home province to join the NOSM U General Surgery program and looks forward to exploring and providing care in Northern Ontario.

In her spare time, Kiran enjoys swimming, hiking, travelling, reading, baking, and spending time with her family and two border collies.

Dr Ian Pierce grew up in Grimsby Ontario and completed his medical school in Monash University in Melbourne Australia, where half of his course was completed in rural and regional areas. He is now excited to join the NOSM U General Surgery program and has moved to Sudbury ON with his partner.

Outside of Surgery, he will be involved in his many out-door hobbies including hiking, snowboarding, mountain biking, stand up paddle-boarding, canoeing/kayaking, and cross country skiing.

Dr Vahid Mehrnoush completed his medical degree in Hormozgan University of Medical Science. He completed his MSc at UBC. He is now excited to join the NOSM U General Surgery program and has moved to Thunder Bay ON with his partner. Outside of Surgery, you will find him diving into a good book, writing poetic musings in Farsi, or strumming his guitar.

Dr. Lydia Mychaltchouk hails from Montreal, Quebec. She holds a degree in Anatomy & Cell Biology from McGill and a degree in Anthropology with a focus in Ethnology from Université de Montréal. After working in research for several years, she attended medical school at McGill before joining us at NOSM as a PGY-1. Her interests include Trauma, Global Surgery and Sustainability. Outside the hospital, she is an avid reader (as evidenced by the extensive book collection she moved with her to Thunder Bay) and can also be found performing at the odd open mic when she is not on call.

Dr Elise Maheux is from Sherbrooke but completed medical school in Quebec city. She is excited to be joining NOSM’s General surgery program. Outside of medecine, she enjoys being outdoors and praticing yoga. Family time is also precious; beside her parents she has 2 brothers, a dog Gaia and cat Celexa.

Born and raised in Quebec city, Dr. Raphaëlla Rosebush-Mercier completed her Doctor of Medicine Degree at Laval University in Quebec. She then welcomed the opportunity for a change of scenery to join the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s General Surgery team of residents. Based in the bilingual city of Sudbury, her French speaking abilities would certainly come in handy and help provide inclusive care to all patients in the community.

Already out and about discovering Northern Ontario’s wonders, you can find her climbing, hiking, canoe camping and cross-country skiing during her free time. 

Dr. Ashmita Singh grew up in India, Libya and Canada! She completed her Bachelor's Degree in Physiology and Pharmacology at Western University and attended medical school at University of Toronto. Now, she is excited to call Thunderbay her new home. She is looking forward to being part of the NOSM General Surgery family, exploring and working in various communities in Northern Ontario.  Apart from surgery, Ashmita enjoys being outdoors, travelling, eating (yes! self declared foodie here), painting, crocheting, dancing and of course, spending time with her family and friends. 

Dr. Nurullah was born in the middle of the Sahara dessert in a small town called Al Kufra in Libya. She has lived in many countries, including Malta, Dubai, Bangladesh and then finally in Canada. She completed her undergrad at UBC, medical school at Dalhousie, and is now super excited to join the team at NOSM U to complete her surgical training. She has moved to Sudbury ON with her husband and daughter.

Outside of work her time is spent with her little family exploring all the outdoor activities here in Sudbury and Northern Ontario. 

Dr. Olajide hails from Nigeria and can recite definitions to all matters of hernias from Spigelian to Morgagni flawlessly. Surgery is natural for him and he knows that it is the specialty that will bring him career fulfillment and happiness.