Dr. Annie Lalande received her medical degree at McGill University before joining the UBC General Surgery Residency program. She is currently pursuing her PhD at UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, focusing on the role of food in healthcare for patient and planetary health. She is the recipient of many awards, and most recently received the UBC Killam Doctoral Scholarship.
What has your general surgery residency experience been like? Was there anything that you felt didn’t match your expectations before coming into the program?
I am so glad to have found a well-rounded and supportive environment that strives for surgical excellence and innovation in the UBC General Surgery program. We are supported to do varied and enriching rotations across the province, both in community and academic sites, and we have a diverse group of mentors and a breadth of excellence to draw guidance and learn from. I remember being very drawn to the collegial and welcoming environment I experienced during my CARMS tour. Since, I have witnessed how dedicated our program directors, Drs. Scott and Karimuddin, and the program admin team, are to the residents, seeking and enabling opportunities complement our training and improve our residency experience. I also appreciate how open-minded and supportive people in the program have been; I was lucky to have the support their support to step off the beaten path and pursue research in a non-traditional field. Finally, I love spending time outdoors, mostly skiing and climbing, and BC has been nothing short of wonderful for adventures!
Did you always know that you wanted to pursue a PhD and explore the concept of food as medicine?
I actually had not planned to do a PhD when I started my residency, but I was inspired to see Dr. Andrea MacNeill spearhead transformative work at the intersection of two previously disconnected fields through her research in planetary healthcare. She really enabled me to integrate my personal interest in sustainability with my research goals.
I started out investigating the impacts of excessive laboratory investigations on patients, healthcare costs and planet, which made me want to dive deeper into sustainability studies. After completing my third year in residency, I started a MSc in Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC, which I have since fast-tracked into a PhD, to look into the role of food in the hospital as a form of medicine to improve the patient experience, their health, and that of our planet. I have since been accepted into the Clinician Investigator Program, and am now part of the Public Scholars Initiative at UBC, an innovative program designed to support PhD students contributing to the public good. This is a space I am deeply passionate about, and I hope I can continue contributing to for a long time!
What’s next for Dr. Annie Lalande?
I am currently starting my third year of PhD and am excited to begin the next stage of our research, where we design and trial a tastier, healthier, more culturally-relevant and more sustainable menu! When I finish my graduate studies, I will have two more years of my general surgery residency left. I am planning to pursue a fellowship in trauma surgery, and would love to eventually become a clinician scientist, combining a surgical practice with research and advocacy to work at the nexus of three fields I love: health, food and sustainability.
You can learn more about Annie’s transformative work in the hospital in this video.