Dr. Gary Groot, MD

I am a surgical oncologist and Professor in the departments of Community Health and Epidemiology and Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada. In my clinical practice, I specialize in melanoma, sarcoma, and cancers of the head and neck.

My research interests include health system improvement, cancer research, and Indigenous, community, and patient-oriented health research. My work is grounded in a framework of social accountability to my province, community, and patients, and much of my research is focused on determining and addressing the causes and consequences of health inequities in Canada. It takes a collective effort to properly address health inequities. As a healthcare provider, I strive to better understand the unique challenges and barriers confronting Indigenous peoples and patients. Sharing and exchanging knowledge, ideas, and experiences is the first step to positive and meaningful change both at an individual patient level as well as at a broader community and societal level.

To that end, I have become actively involved in Realist Research, a type of research design that seeks to include social, political, and historical contexts in analysis of complex social interventions. This method, when applied to health systems research, allows for a more nuanced understanding of the how and why health disparities exist among populations, as well as what changes and supports can be made to health systems to bring about equity in healthcare.

Realist research dovetails nicely with patient-orient research, another interest of mine. Patient-oriented research (POR), as the name implies, seeks to identify and pursue patient-identified research priorities and partners with patients, families, and caregivers as active partners in the research process, with the goal of better patient outcomes. Much of my patient-oriented research has been supported by POR-specific funding opportunities arising out of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research, as well as frequent partnerships with the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research (SCPOR).

In March of 2020, as the world pivoted to focus its attention on the burgeoning threat posed by COVID-19, so did my team. In collaboration with Professor Emeritus Dr. Bruce Reeder, we worked to develop a partnership between the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the College of Medicine, the Health Quality Council, and the Emergency Operations Centre to meet the urgent need for producing and sustaining the best available evidence related to COVID-19 to facilitate decision-making and pandemic response in Saskatchewan. The COVID-19 Evidence Support Team was the result of that partnership.

You can read more about my research here. Thank you for visiting.

Current Appointments

Professor, Community Health and Epidemiology, University of Saskatchewan

Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Saskatchewan

Medical Director of Clinical Quality Improvement, Saskatchewan Health Authority

Director of Surgical Oncology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan

College of Medicine Representative, Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation (CSCI)

Director of Research, Irene and Leslie Dubé Centre of Care

Director of Research, General Surgery Residency Training Program

Program Director, Clinician Investigator Program

Interim Director of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, Department of Surgery, University of Saskatchewan