Early on, Marcia Anderson decided she wanted to be an agent of change. As an internal medicine resident, she transferred to Saskatoon, Canada, where she saw an opportunity to make a real difference by pursuing research with Aboriginal communities. Then as part of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research initiative to link Aboriginal health in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, she traveled across the Pacific to understand the needs in different cultures and to learn from others’ experiences.

As a Cree-Saulteaux woman, she has personally endured the prejudice some people have against Indigenous peoples. But the experiences have only strengthened her resolve to improve health care systems serving Indigenous Canadians.

As a Sommer Scholar, Anderson wants to learn how to measure and address health disparities at both the population and health system levels.