Anna Banerji

O.ONT, MD, FRCPC, MPH

Associate Scientist, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute

Biography

Dr. Anna Banerji, the Director of Global and Indigenous Health at Continuing Professional Development, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, is a paediatric infectious, tropical disease specialist and global health specialist. She has trained in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Harvard University, where she completed her MPH in International Health.

Dr. Banerji’s clinical and research focus has been on vulnerable children, especially Indigenous and refugees. In 2007 she created the Immigrant Health and Infectious Disease Clinic, a clinic for immigrant and refugee children. Currently she is the pediatric consultant at COSTI where she assesses newly arrived Refugee children. In 2009 she created the Canadian Refugee Health Conference which evolved with their American counter parts to become North American Refugee Health Conference in 2012. In 2014 she created the inaugural Indigenous Health Conference: Challenging Health Inequities.

She have been studying lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in Inuit children for almost two decades and the results of her work has led to increased awareness of the public health risks for LRTI and has resulted in changes to the Canadian Pediatrics Society guidelines for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus in the Inuit. She was the Principle Investigator for the largest prospective surveillance of LRTI across the Canadian Arctic based out of nine hospitals. Dr. Banerji uses a human rights framework for her work, research and education and is often an advocate for vulnerable populations. In January 2012, she was inducted into the Order of Ontario.

 

Recent Publications

  1. Banerji, A. For Indigenous infants, RSV prevention is better than a cure. Nature. 2023;621 (7980):S68. doi: 10.1038/d41586-023-02963-1. PubMed PMID:37758880 .
  2. Banerji, A, Pelletier, VA, Haring, R, Irvine, J, Bresnahan, A, Lavallee, B et al.. Food insecurity and its consequences in indigenous children and youth in Canada. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023;3 (9):e0002406. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002406. PubMed PMID:37756390 PubMed Central PMC10530329.
  3. Clarke, SK, Kumar, GS, Sutton, J, Atem, J, Banerji, A, Brindamour, M et al.. Potential Impact of COVID-19 on Recently Resettled Refugee Populations in the United States and Canada: Perspectives of Refugee Healthcare Providers. J Immigr Minor Health. 2021;23 (1):184-189. doi: 10.1007/s10903-020-01104-4. PubMed PMID:33067740 PubMed Central PMC7566990.
  4. Banerji, A. Guest Editorial: The Health of S Asian Communities in the U.S. J Immigr Minor Health. 2019;21 (Suppl 1):1-2. doi: 10.1007/s10903-019-00910-9. PubMed PMID:31325097 .
  5. Jetty, R, Canadian Paediatric Society, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health Committee, Ottawa, Ontario . Tobacco use and misuse among Indigenous children and youth in Canada. Paediatr Child Health. 2017;22 (7):395-405. doi: 10.1093/pch/pxx124. PubMed PMID:29491724 PubMed Central PMC5823001.
  6. Banerji, A, Shah, C. Ten-year experience of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder; diagnostic and resource challenges in Indigenous children. Paediatr Child Health. 2017;22 (3):143-147. doi: 10.1093/pch/pxx052. PubMed PMID:29479201 PubMed Central PMC5804926.
  7. Banerji, A, Ng, K, Moraes, TJ, Panzov, V, Robinson, J, Lee, BE et al.. Cost-effectiveness of palivizumab compared to no prophylaxis in term infants residing in the Canadian Arctic. CMAJ Open. 2016;4 (4):E623-E633. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20150052. PubMed PMID:28443266 PubMed Central PMC5396468.
  8. Banerji, A, Panzov, V, Young, M, Robinson, J, Lee, B, Moraes, T et al.. Hospital admissions for lower respiratory tract infections among infants in the Canadian Arctic: a cohort study. CMAJ Open. 2016;4 (4):E615-E622. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20150051. PubMed PMID:28018874 PubMed Central PMC5173479.
  9. Banerji, A, Canadian Paediatric Society, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health Committee. Scabies. Paediatr Child Health. 2015;20 (7):395-402. doi: 10.1093/pch/20.7.395. PubMed PMID:26527041 PubMed Central PMC4614097.
  10. Evans, AB, Kulik, D, Banerji, A, Boggild, A, Kain, KC, Abdelhaleem, M et al.. Imported pediatric malaria at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada: a 16 year review. BMC Pediatr. 2014;14 :251. doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-14-251. PubMed PMID:25281037 PubMed Central PMC4287547.
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Pediatric Infectious Disease, Pediatrics, St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Associate Professor, Pediatrics, University of Toronto
  • Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
  • Associate, Centre for International Health, University of Toronto
  • Pediatric Infectious Disease, Infectious Disease, Hospital for Sick Children (cross appointment)