Nancy Baxter

MD, FRCSC, FACS, PhD

Affiliate Scientist

Biography

Dr. Nancy Baxter is a clinical epidemiologist, colorectal surgeon and health services researcher.  She holds the positions of scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital and Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. She is Head of the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She is also Full Professor in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHMPE). Dr. Baxter is a Full Member of both the Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) and School of Graduate Studies (SGS). She holds a Senior Scientist role in the Cancer Theme Group at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.

Her main research interests are in the evaluation of patterns of cancer care, the evaluation of cancer screening, determining the long-term consequences of cancer care for survivors and improving the quality and safety of surgery. She has published over 250 peer reviewed articles and has extensive experience in the use of large administrative data and cancer registry data from both Canada and the United States.

Please note: Dr. Baxter is currently not accepting students.

Recent Publications

  1. Nantais, J, Saskin, R, Calzavara, A, Gomez, D, Baxter, NN. A Population-Level Evaluation of Emergency General Surgery Models of Care and Clinical Outcomes. JAMA Surg. 2026; :. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2025.6155. PubMed PMID:41563736 PubMed Central PMC12824845.
  2. Sankar, A, Ding, J, Black, B, Wilton, AS, Hwang, SW, Wijeysundera, DN et al.. Social Determinants of Health and 30-Day Mortality After Inpatient Elective Surgery. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9 (1):e2553228. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.53228. PubMed PMID:41525072 PubMed Central PMC12797094.
  3. Cusimano, MC, Baxter, NN, Moineddin, R, Chiu, M, Nguyen, L, Aktar, S et al.. Identifying patients with obesity from health administrative data: Diagnostic accuracy of surgical billing claims. Can J Public Health. 2025; :. doi: 10.17269/s41997-025-01114-5. PubMed PMID:41396243 .
  4. Baxter, NN, Phillips, KA. Unlocking the Potential of Risk-Based Screening for Breast Cancer: From Detection to Prevention. JAMA. 2025; :. doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.24817. PubMed PMID:41385344 .
  5. Wang, G, Matai, L, Wang, X, Herblum, J, Baxter, NN, Benchimol, EI et al.. The Impact of Gastroenterologist and Patient Gender on Health Care Utilization Following Initial Gastroenterological Consultation. Gastroenterology. 2025; :. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2025.11.011. PubMed PMID:41260409 .
  6. Ajaj, R, Lau, C, Gupta, S, Baxter, NN, Pole, JD, Shaikh, F et al.. Physical morbidities in survivors of testicular germ cell tumors during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood: a population-based retrospective matched cohort study. EClinicalMedicine. 2025;88 :103447. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103447. PubMed PMID:40926899 PubMed Central PMC12414842.
  7. Dossa, F, Baxter, NN, Sutradhar, R, Little, T, Velsher, L, Lerner-Ellis, J et al.. Trends in the Utilization of BRCA1 and BRCA2 Testing After the Introduction of a Publicly Funded Genetic Testing Program. Curr Oncol. 2025;32 (8):. doi: 10.3390/curroncol32080439. PubMed PMID:40862808 PubMed Central PMC12384781.
  8. Sawka, AM, Ghai, S, Rotstein, L, Irish, JC, Pasternak, JD, Monteiro, E et al.. Long-Term Durability of Active Surveillance of Small, Low-Risk Papillary Thyroid Cancer. JAMA Surg. 2025;160 (10):1117-1124. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2025.2957. PubMed PMID:40833769 PubMed Central PMC12368792.
  9. Lapinsky, SC, Baxter, NN, Sutradhar, R, Everett, K, Porter, J, Yudin, MH et al.. Patterns of Antepartum Care in Ontario Before and During a Time of COVID-19 and Virtual Care: A Population-Based Study. Womens Health Issues. 2025;35 (5):330-341. doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2025.05.002. PubMed PMID:40634190 .
  10. Collins, K, Ireland, M, Perry, N, Jenkins, M, McIntosh, JG, Feletto, E et al.. The effect and psychological mediators of a redesigned invitation letter to increase bowel cancer screening intention and likelihood: A randomised controlled experiment. Patient Educ Couns. 2025;139 :109240. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2025.109240. PubMed PMID:40614340 .
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Staff Surgeon, Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Professor, Department of Surgery, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto
  • Senior Scientist, Cancer Theme Group, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences
  • Full Member, Institute of Medical Science