Vice-Dean

Biography

Marcia Anderson, MD is Cree-Anishinaabe and grew up in the North End of Winnipeg. She has family roots in the Norway House Cree Nation and Peguis First Nation in Manitoba.

She graduated with her MD from the University of Manitoba (UM) in 2002. She began her residency in internal medicine at UM and completed it at the University of Saskatchewan. She joined the departments of community health sciences and internal medicine at the UM August 2007, and in September of 2011 became the head of the Section of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Health.

She is a medical officer of health for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, a past president of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and past chair of the Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors Congress. Since 2017, she has served as executive director, Indigenous academic affairs, Ongomiizwin-Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing.

In 2015, following the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s final reports, Dr. Anderson led the faculty-wide workshop and the subsequent creation of five working groups to develop the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences’ Reconciliation Action Plan.

In 2022, she became vice-dean Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Dr. Anderson’s research interests in Indigenous health include urban Indigenous youth health, primary health care, and medical education.

Throughout her career, she has advocated for a more robust curriculum in Indigenous health and changes in the admissions process that would support the successful recruitment of increased numbers of First Nations, Métis and Inuit students. She was recognized for her efforts in 2011 with a National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now known as the Indspire Awards) and was named as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2018 by Women’s Executive Network.

Dr. Anderson serves as chair of the Indigenous Health Network for the Association of Faculties of Medicine (AFMC), which prepared the Joint Commitment to Action on Indigenous Health report, approved by the AFMC board in May 2019.

Most recently, she was named as one of eight winners of the 2022 Doctors Manitoba Awards, all of whom are connected to the Max Rady College of Medicine.