Dr. Hwang was the first to quantify the profound impact that homelessness can have on a person’s life expectancy, proving that homeless men are eight times as likely to die as men in the general population. He co-led the At Home/Chez Soi study, the largest randomized controlled trial in history to evaluate solutions to address homelessness. Its success testing the “Housing First” approach persuaded the federal government to commit resources to scale up Housing First interventions across the country.
Dr. Hwang is the director of MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, a scientist with the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, and a professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Medicine, Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. An internal-medicine physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, Dr. Hwang conducts a weekly clinic at Seaton House, Canada’s largest homeless shelter for men. Dr. Hwang’s awards include the 2022 Alumni Award of Merit from the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, and the 2020 University of Toronto President’s Impact Award.