She’s a renaissance woman who advocates for health inside and outside the hospital
Age: 28
Job Title: Pediatric Resident Physician at Stollery Children’s Hospital, Alberta Health Services
When Dr. Asha Hollis first visited Sri Lanka, she witnessed first-hand the barriers and limitations that prevented people from accessing medicine.
“My mom actually was a refugee from Sri Lanka,” says Hollis. “Having talked with her and having a family that comes from that area, I’ve gotten some good insight into some of the challenges and difficulties families in lower-income countries experience.”
While a student at the University of Calgary in 2019, she was the driving force behind the university’s adoption of the Global Access to Medicine Principles — a set of guidelines that help ensure that any U of C medical invention is more accessible in lower-income countries.
While she is now a pediatric resident physician at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, and also an exceptional violinist (having played backup with Two Cellos and Michael Bublé), advocacy hasn’t left her focus. She’s been involved in children’s anti-smoking and anti-vaping advocacy for over 10 years. Hollis created an educational resource called SOLVE Mystery Toolkit, a free, interactive multimedia program that uses interactive mystery activities to teach youth about the risks of vaping.
“[The children] could finally tell themselves that they were making the right decision,” says Hollis. “That was really special because I think it really showed that these programs do make a difference.”
This article appears in the Nov/Dec 2023 issue of Edify
