Family medicine education is evolving, with a growing number of early-career clinicians choosing to pursue scholarship alongside clinical practice. At McGill, this shift is increasingly evident within the Family Medicine Education Research (FMER) Group, where clinician-scientists are contributing new perspectives at the intersection of practice, education, and research. Over the past year and a half, the FMER Group has welcomed three such individuals, reflecting both the strength of this emerging trajectory and the group’s continued growth.

Together, these clinician scientists exemplify a broader movement toward integrating rigorous research with frontline family medicine practice.

The first of the three to join the FMER was Dr. Laura Elbaz in September 2024. Dr. Elbaz is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and an Associate Member at the Institute of Health Sciences Education (IHSE). Practicing family physician at the GMF-U Herzl Clinic, Dr. Elbaz is a former holder of the Class of 1974 Faculty Scholar for Teaching Excellence and Innovation in Medical Education at the IHSE. Her main research interests are clinical reasoning, remediation, and theory integration.

Dr. Ariane Courville-Le Bouyonnec joined the FMER Group in May 2025. Practicing family physician at the GMF-U Jardins-Roussillon and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, she holds a Clinician Scholar Diploma and an MSc in Family Medicine. Deeply interested in the adoption of AI in family medicine practice and education, she was selected in the summer of 2025 as one of the inaugural participants in the new provincial pilot program launched by the MSSS in partnership with the FMOQ and Quebec’s four departments of Family Medicine in support of clinician-educator-clinicians.

Dr. Mario Mujica-Mota joined the FMER Group very recently, on April 1, 2026. Holder of an MSc in Otolaryngology, Dr. Mujica is a practicing family physician at the Mieux-Être Medical Center. His research interests include undergraduate medical education and migrant health, and he collaborates with the Family Medicine and Migration Health Working Group of WONCA-CIMF.

With these additions, the FMER Group continues to strengthen its capacity to advance research in family medicine education. Now comprising 15 researchers, the group brings together complementary expertise across clinical practice and educational scholarship. This growing cohort of clinician scientists not only expands the group’s research scope but also reinforces its role in shaping the future of family medicine education through grounded, practice-informed inquiry.