“Ontario’s primary care system is facing major challenges, with many people struggling to find a family doctor or primary care clinician and access the care they need. The new Primary Care Act (2025) offers a unique opportunity to make meaningful improvements, setting out six patient-centred goals to increase access and strengthen care for all Ontarians. My research and knowledge translation activities are focused on helping Ontario’s primary care system evolve to meet these important targets. This is a critical moment for health care in our province—a chance to make lasting, positive changes that will benefit every community. My research will play a key role in making care more equitable and accessible, informing policies and tools that support patients and health professionals alike. Ultimately, this research will help support a stronger, fairer primary care system—so that every Ontarian can get the care they need, when and where they need it most.” – Dr. Archna Gupta
PSI Foundation is pleased to announce Dr. Archna Gupta as the recipient of the 2026 PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship.
About Dr. Archna Gupta
Dr. Archna Gupta is a Scientist at Upstream Lab and Unity Health Toronto, and an Assistant Professor at the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is a practicing family physician and family medicine obstetrics provider at St. Michael’s Hospital. Dr. Gupta’s research focuses on health system strengthening, with a particular focus on primary care and health equity.
Dr. Gupta has established herself as a productive early-career clinician-scientist, having published 25 peer-reviewed articles—16 as either first or senior author. She has also secured over $1 million in research funding as a Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI. Her recent study on how distance to primary care affects healthcare use and quality was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal and featured on the front page of the Toronto Star.
Dr. Gupta received her PhD in Health Services Research at the Institute of Health, Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto (2022), her Master’s in Public Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto (2014) and her Medical Degree from McMaster University (2009).
About the PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship
Knowledge translation research aims at transitioning research discoveries to the real world to improve health outcomes. The PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship – valued at $300,000 for over two or three years – helps protect a promising new clinician investigator’s research time, allowing the Fellow to undertake high-impact translational research in Ontario.
Dr. Gupta highlights the importance of salary support awards for early career researchers:
“Salary support awards for early-career researchers, like the PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship, are vital—they provide the protected time needed to pursue high-impact research and knowledge translation that address health system challenges. With this support, I can focus on translating research into practical solutions for Ontario’s primary care system, ensuring that the best available evidence informs policy and practice.”
Fellowship Funds to be Used to Transform Primary Care in Ontario
Ontario is facing a primary care crisis, with millions of people struggling to access primary care. This crisis affects everyone, especially vulnerable groups, and leads to more emergency visits and poorer health outcomes. To tackle these issues, my research aims to: (1) map where the greatest gaps exist between patients and primary care providers; (2) study the impact of virtual health visits on how far people need to travel for primary care; and (3) create easy-to-use resources to help people manage minor health issues themselves. By working closely with patients, primary care providers, and policymakers, these projects will help shape fair and practical solutions—like matching patients with family doctors based on where they live and making reliable self-care tools widely available. The goal is to make sure every Ontarian can get quality care when and where they need it, while decreasing unnecessary strain on the health system.
