2020 Award Recipient
Dr. Curtis Handford, recipient of the 2020 Reg L. Perkin Award as Ontario Family Physician of the Year, was born and raised in Winnipeg. He studied medicine at the University of Manitoba, where he was selected by his peers as valedictorian of the class of 2001. He completed his residency in family and community medicine, a clinical fellowship in addiction medicine and a Master of Health Sciences degree at the University of Toronto (UofT).
From 2008 to 2016, he was Program Director for the Academic Fellowship and Graduate Studies program in the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) at UofT, and since 2015, he has been Deputy Chief in the DFCM at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. From 2016 to 2020, he served as Primary Care Clinical Lead for the Mid-East Toronto sub-region of the Toronto Central LHIN.
A decorated teacher and a mentor, Dr. Handford was instrumental in creating an innovative Master of Public Health degree at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and continues to be involved in a wide range of teaching and scholarly activities within the Department.
Dr. Handford practises comprehensive family medicine in downtown Toronto. Many of the patients he serves are complex, not only in terms of their health status but also their social circumstance. One of his many contributions in the area of addictions is the development of a national clinical practice guideline for the use of buprenorphine/naloxone as an opioid maintenance treatment, the first of its kind in North America. This work has informed guidance around the world.