This year has been defined by momentum – growth in our people, expansion in the ways we connect, and a widening footprint of scholarship across the Faculty of Health Sciences and beyond. We continue to build on an important institutional milestone: MERIT’s recognition as an official McMaster research centre.

MERIT’s strength has always been its people, and this year we saw that strength deepen. Across our scientist community, we welcomed Arden Azim (Department of Medicine), Catherine Tong (Department of Family Medicine) and Cassandra Barber (Department of Surgery). We celebrated the successful completion of the fellowship program by Allison Sohalal (Child Life Program, Department of Pediatrics) and Desi Reddy (Department of Anesthesia). Our membership continues to grow with nearly 100 faculty and staff as part of our community of practice.

 A hallmark of MERIT is that our community engagement isn’t abstract – it shows up in activities that help people move their work forward. The MERIT thinkTank provides a structured, multidisciplinary research consultation, bringing together scientists and scholars with diverse methodological and disciplinary perspectives to strengthen study design and analysis. Through virtual MERIT Rounds and in-person MERIT Wildcard seminars, we learn together and thoughtfully debate controversies in health professions education. And through Norman Education Research Day (NERD), the PSI-sponsored Mixed Methods Research Conference and the Norman Lecture in Education Research, we continue to celebrate the rich history and ambitious future of education research at McMaster. Beyond events, our open-access resources, such as the Teacher’s Toolkit and The Library reading list, continue to support educators and learners who want evidence-informed, practical, just-in-time guidance.

As you read this report, I hope you’ll see not only what MERIT produced, but how we produced it: by investing in people, building scholarly infrastructure, and creating spaces where rigorous ideas can be explored. Thank you to everyone – scientists, scholars, members, learners, staff, and partners – who showed up, contributed, and helped MERIT grow.

– Jonathan Sherbino