Dominique Vervoort Memorial Service

We invite the Massey College and University of Toronto community to join us in honouring the life of Junior Fellow Dominique (“Dom”) Vervoort, who passed away peacefully on February 16, 2026, at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, surrounded by his family and close friends. He was 31.

Dom lived a life of extraordinary purpose, generosity, and intellectual breadth. A physician, scholar, writer, and global health advocate, he devoted his work to advancing equitable access to surgical care—particularly cardiac surgery—across the world. From co-founding the international trainee network InciSioN to authoring hundreds of publications and advising global organizations, his impact reached every continent. At the time of his passing, Dom was a Vanier Scholar and PhD candidate at the Institute for Health Policy, Management & Evaluation at the University of Toronto, and was completing an MSc in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford. Please learn more about Dominique here: DOMINIQUE VERVOORT, MD, MPH, MBA – Home

Beyond his remarkable achievements, Dom will be remembered for his gentleness, humility, curiosity, and deep care for others. He brought people together across disciplines and cultures with warmth and conviction, guided by his belief that access to safe surgical care is a matter of global justice.

A memorial gathering will be held at Massey College to celebrate Dom’s life and legacy. Members of the community, colleagues, students, and friends are warmly invited to attend as we reflect on his work, his kindness, and the enduring impact of his vision.

Dom’s final wish was to be laid to rest in Belgium, where he grew up and began his medical training. In his memory, a Memorial Fund has been established to support his family in bringing him home and to continue the global surgery initiatives to which he dedicated his life.

We invite members of the Massey Community to donate to this fund here: Fundraiser by Anna Dare : Support Dominique (Dom) Vervoort’s Family & Legacy

He will be deeply missed by his family, partner, friends, and the countless colleagues and students whose lives he touched.

We welcome the family and friends of Dominique to stay for lunch at Massey as our guests after the Memorial service. Vouchers can be picked up from the Porter’s Lodge.