A Distinguished University Professor at McMaster University – a title given to less than 2% of the total faculty members, he is also the Chair of the Department of Surgery and is also a recognised Senior Tier Canada Research Chair in surgery. As a past-president of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association, he is a global leader in evidence-based surgery and has received the field’s highest awards including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Medal, and has twice won one of the most prestigious research awards of the field, Kappa Delta Award.
A 100-year journey
Sir Gopal Das Bhandari, Mohit’s great-grandfather, was knighted by the King of England in 1923. Who knew almost 100 years later, Mohit will be admitted into the Order of Canada on behalf of the monarch of Canada!
The journey to Canada started over 50 years ago. His grandfather, Sansar Chand Bhandari, a court judge serving in Amritsar, with his wife, Lila Vati, were raising three sons and two daughters – two of whom left India for Canada in the late 1960s. Avinash, a textile engineer trained from the UK, and his wife, Ina, immigrated to Canada in 1970. Born to them on 28 March 1969, Mohit was just a few months old. The early years in Canada were all about resilience, perseverance, grit and most importantly the value of family.
“To say good-bye to your home, your people and your country to build a new life elsewhere requires real courage,” admits Dr. Bhandari. “It is also selfless because that’s the very nature of beginning a new life, struggles and successes follow eventually,” he adds. Mohit considers his parents his greatest mentors for life who shaped his character and made him what he’s today.
Mohit studied at Vern Ames School, Lawfield Elementary School and Barton Secondary School, Hamilton and graduated in 1988. All through his schooling, his teachers were pretty supportive of love of art and science. “Many teachers played substantial roles in my appreciation for the complementary nature of arts and science. For all the great scientists were indeed creative. And some artists were indeed scientists.” In fact, his childhood dream was to be a drummer in a rock ‘n’ roll band, yet he was always very focused on his studies. He spent most of his evenings studying and summers on a bike and playing tennis. In grade 7, his school principal told him, “Your parents think you are spending too much time studying. They want you to go out more and relax”. He bet Mohit $1 that he could study a lot less and still keep the same marks. He was right, and so were his parents.
Not just high grades, but he also received scholarships to multiple universities. He enrolled in a bachelor of natural sciences at McMaster University with two scholarships and received the Packard Bell Prize for the first-year student with the highest average in chemistry, biology and physics. He was accepted in the Doctor of Medicine programme at the University of Toronto two years later, and returned to McMaster to complete his orthopaedic surgery training in 1994 and Masters of Clinical Epidemiology in 1999. He received his orthopaedic surgery fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2003. During his residency training, Mohit embraced a mindset of curiosity and enrolled on a Master’s of Design, Measurement and Evaluation at McMaster. A surgeon-scientist in training, he continued his pursuit of research with a Ph.D. from Sweden in 2010. Professor Gordon Guyatt, the founder of evidence-based medicine and distinguished university professor at McMaster University played the most significant role in shaping his career.
A million acts of kindness
Dr. Bhandari took a few years of speciality orthopaedic trauma training in Minneapolis and Los Angeles, USA, and returned to Canada in 2003 with a prestigious Canada Research Chair to start his career at McMaster as a surgeon-scientist faculty in 2004 – the one he proudly continues.
Having served as the Head of Orthopaedic Surgery and Associate Chair of Research for the Department of Surgery and led a transformation in orthopaedic surgery, he currently serves as the chair of the department, overseeing academics across 11 surgical specialities. He says, “I remember each and every person whose kindness opened doors and facilitated opportunities for me along the way... family, friends, mentors, peers, everyone!”
Being a strong advocate for victims of violence has been the focus of his research over the past two decades. He has been conducting international studies to uncover treatments and strategies to support victims of road accidents, domestic violence, etc. Dr. Bhandari co-led a large study (PRAISE) published in the high impact journal, Lancet, which found that one in six women reporting with fracture have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) in the past year, and one in 50 are presenting for an injury sustained directly from IPV. This study led to major shifts in policies and positions by the Canadian Orthopaedic Association, of which Dr. Bhandari currently serves as the 75th president. He adds, “I have been profoundly impacted by the stories of many women who are victims of abuse, and believe that as health care providers, it is imperative for us to serve, advocate and help.”
He has been published extensively in some of the top journals including the New England Journal of Medicine. He is also the editor of leading textbooks in evidence-based surgery. He has been awarded McMaster University’s top honour, the Distinguished Alumni Award, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s Council Award for Outstanding Achievement. He is a lifetime member of the Indian Orthopaedic Association, a founding member of the Society of Knee Surgeons of India, among many other associations. In 2019, he was awarded the President’s Award of Excellence from the Indian Orthopaedic Association. Representing Canada as the 75th President of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association, ensuring India as a strong partner nation was his key priority.
Family First
In 1997, he met his partner, Sonia. “She has been an amazing role model and changed the way I think about life, in a way. I better understand social issues, impact on women globally.” A social worker and later an entrepreneur too, she played a large part in inspiring Mohit’s research. He, however, believes he was always surrounded by exceptional female role models. “My mother has always had a strong impact on my life. She taught me nothing is free; hard work and perseverance bring it to you. My sister, Madhvi, is an accomplished professional in the food and beverage industry with a passion for animal rights and activism. My aunt, Nimmi, and my cousin, Komal, too have inspired me. Komal is a social worker. My mother-in-law, Jasbir, and sister-in-law, Monica as strong and independent women in their own sense”.
Sonia and Mohit welcomed Kaya into this world in 2007. It is now their priority that she understands her family history. Whether her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins (Dhiya, Simiya, Simrun and Sahil) or other relatives, family is first. “The most wonderful part of being inducted into the Order of Canada was sharing it with my family – especially Kaya – in gratitude for the sacrifices made, and the opportunities ahead,” says Bhandari.
Mary Lou Cook said that “Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun”. Bhandari notes, “building a creative mindset is not an act, it’s a process. I’ve found that taking calculated risks, getting outdoors and pursuing the arts has paid dividends on my life and—as important as my work”. A modern-day Renaissance man, he is a traveller at heart. He has climbed the tallest active volcano in Indonesia, Mt. Kerinci, surf-skied on the South China Sea, mountain biked in the rocky mountains of British Columbia. Mohit is also an artist and continues his childhood love of sketching and painting. “These activities help me refuel, open my mind, and help me solve problems in my work,” says Dr. Bhandari. “Creativity runs in the family” he notes. Mohit’s cousin, Sandeep, an administrative director at a university radio station, is both a talented musician and photographer.
“These activities help me refuel, open my mind, and help me solve problems in my work,” says Dr. Bhandari.