Scarborough Health Network (SHN) is proud to celebrate Dr. Blair Bigham, a Critical Care physician and Associate Scientist, whose remarkable strides in medicine, research, journalism, and education have contributed to our hospital’s academic and strategic missions and the community beyond.
This fall, Dr. Bigham was recognized by the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) with the Young Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievement, an honour presented annually to graduates under 40 who demonstrate professional excellence and community impact. The award acknowledges Dr. Bigham’s extensive accomplishments and his enduring connection to Scarborough, where his journey first began.
Dr. Bigham has been part of SHN since October 2022, serving as an Intensivist in our Critical Care program across all three hospitals, and an Associate Scientist at the SHN Research Institute. His research explores health equity, sepsis care, communication in medicine, and how trust shapes patient outcomes—areas that closely align with SHN’s priorities in quality, patient safety, and population health.
He is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a Senior Editor at the Investigative Journalism Bureau, where he leads projects that merge investigative reporting and public health to support evidence-informed decision making and social change.
We spoke with Dr. Bigham about his award, his multifaceted career, and what inspires his work.
Congratulations on receiving the U of T Scarborough Young Alumni Award! What does this recognition mean to you?
I was really honoured. The award is given each year to a UTSC graduate who has made a meaningful impact since graduation, and being recognized by the community where I grew up and trained feels amazing.
I started my medical journey at UTSC as an undergraduate, and one of my earliest projects was launching a volunteer, student-led Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program that’s been serving the campus for over 20 years. That inspired a lot of my journey. It means a lot to be celebrated by the same community that gave me my start.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey to physician and researcher?
Early in my career, I graduated from the paramedicine program between Centennial College and UTSC and began working as a paramedic. While doing that, I pursued a Master of Science at U of T’s Institute of Medical Science, focusing on how paramedics manage cardiac arrest in the field.
Eventually, I upgraded my credentials to work part-time as a flight paramedic, splitting my time between helicopter missions, front-line work, and scientific research at Sunnybrook and St. Michael’s Hospitals. At 28, I applied to medical school at McMaster University, completed my residency there, and then went on to do an Intensive Care Fellowship at Stanford University.
Returning home to Scarborough to work in SHN’s ICUs felt like coming full circle. I get to work with great teams in a great organization every day, applying the knowledge I’ve collected along the way.
How did journalism become part of your professional life?
It started with curiosity. I’m a resuscitation scientist, which means I research and develop techniques for saving people who are critically ill or have suffered cardiac arrest. I became frustrated by how long it takes for new knowledge to translate into better patient care. In medicine, timeliness can be measured in seconds, but in science, it can take decades.
I figured out how I wanted to communicate science more effectively. In 2016, I pursued a Fellowship in Global Journalism at U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, which focuses on addressing the problems of a fast-changing world.
Journalism gave me a new toolbox: I learned how to use freedom of information processes, conduct compelling interviews, and access court records and data to better communicate challenges in health care. I began writing as a freelance journalist, drawing from my experience in critical care, and one of my essays for the magazine The Walrus caught the attention of a publishing agency. That eventually led to writing my book, Death Interrupted: How Modern Medicine is Complicating the Way We Die.
Over time, my careers in medicine and journalism converged on a single issue that I think defines our generation: mistrust. People don’t always trust scientists, journalists, or doctors, and that affects their health decisions. My work in journalism, and at SHN, explores how people in positions of authority can tell stories that build trust, not erode it.
What kind of research or academic work are you doing now?
I’m an Assistant Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and serve as a Senior Editor at the Investigative Journalism Bureau, where we collaborate with media partners across Canada to conduct deep investigations into health and health equity issues.
At SHN, my research focuses on sepsis care, equity in health systems, and medical education, especially helping physicians become better communicators.
You’ve also been educating physicians on storytelling. Can you tell us more about that?
One of the programs I helped develop was a “simulated newsroom” at Stanford University for doctors, which has since grown and been taught at UTSC. In medicine, we’re trained to be cautious with uncertainty, but that can make our communication hard for the public to understand. The simulated newsroom flips that by putting doctors through the same editorial and storytelling challenges journalists face. The goal is to help physicians communicate clearly and connect more meaningfully with people.
At the end of the day, trust and understanding are what good medicine and good journalism are both built on.
What keeps you motivated in your work at SHN and the greater Scarborough community?
Scarborough is home. I started my education and my paramedic career here, and I’m proud to come back after a decade of raining and care for the same community as a physician and scientist. SHN’s ICUs are full of incredible teams doing cutting-edge, compassionate work under tough circumstances and growing community needs, and it’s inspiring to be part of a resilient and committed team.