Dr. Ruth Vilayil is a Gynecologic surgeon and Obstetrician, educator, and global health advocate based in British Columbia. Her work focuses on improving access to safe surgical care and strengthening the skills of frontline providers in resource-limited settings.
She completed her training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Alberta and has been a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada since 2015. She is a recipient of the David Cook Award for Curricular Innovation. Her training included international experience in New York, India, and East Africa.
Dr. Vilayil spent three years working in Kampala, Uganda, where she served as Head of Department at a leading international women’s hospital.
She has been actively involved in developing and teaching the VitalSurg curriculum in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Global Surgery Pab in South Sudan, supporting non-surgeon clinicians to manage life-threatening surgical conditions. She is Faculty for the Branch for Global Surgical Care at UBC, and contributes to curriculum development delivered through UN’s SurgHub to reach surgical learners around the world.
Dr. Vilayil is passionate about closing the gap between what we know and what we do in surgery and maternal health, across the globe.