Alia Sunderji

Title:: Staff Physician, Emergency Medicine
Designations:: B.A.Sc., MD, MPH, FRCPC (PEM)
Pronouns:: She/Her
Fax:: 416-813-5043
Alternate Contact Name:: Mahrukh Mohammed
Alternate Email:: mahrukh.mohammed@sickkids.ca
U of T Positions:: Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
Other Positions:: Secretary-Treasurer, Emergency Medicine Committee, Canadian Pediatrics Society

Hospital Positions

Healthy Equity Data Initiative Lead, Division of Emergency Medicine

Learning Positions

Academic Clinician, Department of Paediatrics

Biography

Dr. Alia Sunderji is a paediatric emergency medicine specialist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and Assistant Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. She completed a Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Sunderji served as COVID-19 Testing Lead for Peel Public Health while continuing her clinical work in the emergency department.

Dr. Sunderji's academic and clinical interests focus on improving care for underserved and marginalized populations in emergency settings. To support this work, she developed an advocacy curriculum that has been adopted by paediatric residency programs across Ontario. She also serves as Health Equity Lead within the emergency department.

Her commitment to global health and health equity has led to international collaborations, including work with the World Health Organization in Geneva and clinical work in Luang Prabang, Laos, and Cape Town, South Africa.

Research

Dr. Sunderji develops educational and advocacy initiatives that support health equity and improve care for vulnerable populations. She designed and implemented a comprehensive advocacy curriculum at SickKids that has been delivered to more than 200 participants. The curriculum includes topics such as trauma-informed care, legislative advocacy and media engagement.

Her research interests focus on understanding how emergency departments can identify and respond to broader health and social challenges that affect children and families. She is currently involved in a study exploring the acceptability of a vaping cessation tool in the emergency department.

Education and experience

2021—2022: Public Health Physician Consultant, Peel Public Health, Mississauga, ON, Canada
2020: Public Health Physician Consultant, COVID-19 Operations & Communications Teams, Peel Public Health, Mississauga, ON, Canada
2019—2020: Master of Public Health (MPH), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland USA
2019—2020: Clincial Associate, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins Children Centre, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Public Health
2019—2020: Research Associate, Department of Public Health Practice, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
2017—2019: Paediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
2014—2017: Paediatric Residency, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
2010—2014: Doctor of Medicine (MD), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
2006—2010: Honors of Bachelor Arts & Sciences, Summa Cum Laude, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Achievements

2026: James Fallis Award, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
2026: Toronto Top Doctors, Post City Magazine, Toronto, ON, Canada
2021: McMaster Global Community Impact Award, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
2020: Johns Hopkins Field Travel Award, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Publications

Diskin C, Orkin J, Dharmaraj B, Agarwal T, Parmar A, McNaughton K, Cohen E, Sunderji A, Faraoni D, Fecteau A, Fischer J, Maynes J, Mahant S, Friedman J. Secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic at a tertiary children's hospital in Canada: a mixed-methods study. BMJ Open. 2023 Apr 13;13(4):e059849. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059849.
Pinto AD, Gandhi KM, Hapsari A, Sunderji A, Cohen-Silver J. Integrating health and social care for children in Canada. Can Fam Physician. 2022 Oct;68(10):726-728. doi: 10.46747/cfp.6810726.
Vervoort D, Ma X, Sunderji A, Bookholane H. The international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response: same story, different times? Future Virol. 2021 Sep;0(0):10.2217/fvl-2021-0214. doi: 10.2217/fvl-2021-0214.
Esser K, Moore C, Hounsell KG, Davis A, Sunderji A, Shulman R, Maguire B, Cohen E, Orkin J. Housing Need Among Children With Medical Complexity: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study of Three Populations. Acad Pediatr. 2022 Aug;22(6):900-909. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2021.09.018.
Davis AL, Sunderji A, Marneni SR, Seiler M, Hall JE, Cotanda CP, Klein EJ, Brown JC, Gelernter R, Griffiths MA, Hoeffe J, Gualco G, Mater A, Manzano S, Thompson GC, Ahmed S, Ali S, Goldman RD; International COVID-19 Parental Attitude Study (COVIPAS) Group. Caregiver-reported delay in presentation to pediatric emergency departments for fear of contracting COVID-19: a multi-national cross-sectional study. CJEM. 2021 Nov;23(6):778-786. doi: 10.1007/s43678-021-00174-z.

Funding

2024 — Present: sQUASHing the craving: evaluating the acceptability of a vaping cessation smart phone application among youth in a paediatric emergency department, Co-Principal Investigator, Creative Professional Activities Grant, $10,000 CAD
2023 — Present: Empowering paediatric physicians and trainees to become system leaders: developing and evaluating a paediatric advocacy curriculum, Principal Investigator, Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), $5000 CAD
2022 — Present: Development and evaluation of reusable orthopaedic assistive devices recycling (ROAR) Program, Collaborator, Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), $2,500 CAD
2022 — Present: Development and evaluation of a reusable orthopaedic assistive devices recycling (ROAR) Program, Collaborator, Department of Pediatrics Creative Professional Activity Grant, $4,500 CAD
2020: Causes of malnutrition and mortality among Wayuu children in La Guajira, Co-Principal Investigator, Johns Hopkins, $1,000 CAD