Medical Officer of Health

Dr. Thomas Piggott (pronouns he/him) started with Peterborough Public Health in December 2021. In his position as MOH/CEO, Dr. Piggott brings experience working at various levels of public health in Canada and internationally. Prior to Peterborough, Dr. Piggott worked as Medical Officer of Health and VP lead for Population Health and Rural and Remote Health in the northern region of Labrador-Grenfell Health Authority. Prior to working with Labrador-Grenfell Health, Dr. Piggott worked as a field doctor with Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dr. Piggott is a public health and preventive medicine specialist, and a practicing family physician who completed his Masters in Public Health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and residency training as well as his PhD in Health Research Methods at McMaster University. Dr. Piggott is actively involved in research and teaching in public health at McMaster University and Memorial University. Dr. Piggott’s research work has focused on guideline development and health equity. He was the co-editor of the book Under-Served: Health Determinant of Indigenous, Inner-City, and Migrant Populations in Canada (2018). Dr. Piggott is a member of the GRADE Working Group and has advised in public health guideline development methodology for multiple organizations including the World Health Organization and European Commission. In 2019, Dr. Piggott was appointed to the provincial Health Accord Newfoundland-Labrador Task Force Social Determinants of Health Committee to provide expertise on health system reform. Dr. Piggott has previously served on the board of directors of the Public Health Physicians of Canada, the World Federation of Public Health Associations and Canadian Public Health Association.

Dr. Piggott is the father of young children and enjoys time outside with his family biking, hiking, canoeing, camping and skiing.

Declarations of Interests

Land acknowledgement: Peterborough/Nogojiwanong is on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory of the Williams Treaties First Nations. PPH serves Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations.
Employer: Peterborough Public Health.
Intellectual Interests:

• ­Member of GRADE Working Group and academic interest in evidence-based public health guidelines & practice;
• ­Co-editor of book: Under-Served

 Financial Conflicts of Interest: None

Prior to her arrival here, Dr. Bocking spent four years working as a public health physician with Thunder Bay District Health Unit and Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority. In her role, she supported the development of a community-based, First Nations-governed public health system for 31 rural and remote First Nations. This included overseeing tuberculosis and hepatitis C programming, population health assessment, and maternal and child health support.

In addition to her work in public health, Dr. Bocking has worked as a locum family physician in northwestern Ontario. She has published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at provincial and national conferences.

“I went into public health because I thought that some of the issues or health problems I was seeing in family medicine really could have been addressed so much more effectively at a population level and that was really where public health fit for me,” she says.

Dr. Bocking is a Public Health and Preventive Medicine Specialist and was certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2015, following the completion of her specialty training at the University of Toronto. Dr. Bocking’s academic training also includes a Medical Doctorate from McMaster University and Master’s in International Public Health from the University of Sydney, Australia.