Dr. Kevin Young
MD, PhD, FRCPC
Adjunct Clinical Investigator
Research Interests
Dr. Kevin Young is a physician leader and researcher whose work bridges foundational biomedical science, clinical innovation, and health-system evaluation. He holds an MD and a PhD in Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology from the University of Toronto. His early research in immune regulation helped characterize antigen-specific mechanisms of immune suppression, including the role of double-negative regulatory T cells, and resulted in peer-reviewed publications and a granted U.S. patent related to the modulation of tumour immunity.
His current research focuses on translating evidence into measurable improvements in clinical care and health-system performance. As Vice-President, Medical Affairs and Chief of Staff at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, and Co-Medical Director of Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario, Dr. Young supports and co-leads initiatives designed to improve safety, access, quality, and integration across hospital and community settings.
His primary interests include expanding pragmatic and equity-oriented clinical trials in psychiatric and older-adult populations; advancing research in geriatrics and seniors’ mental health, including public health approaches to prevention, early identification, and community-based support; and evaluating innovative models of care through implementation science and robust outcome measurement. These models include integrated clinical pathways, care-transition programs, and digitally enabled interventions.
Across his work, Dr. Young brings a rigorous, real-world perspective to research design, feasibility, interpretation, and knowledge mobilization. His goal is to ensure that promising clinical innovations are meaningfully evaluated, practical to implement in routine care, and capable of being scaled to improve outcomes across the health system.
Publications
Liming Yang, Zhu-Xu Zhang, Kevin J. Young, Barb DuTemple and Li Zhang. Identification and characterization of a novel antigen-specific regulatory T cell, Nature Medicine. 2000;6:782-789.
Kay K, Bingham K, Briscoe M, Campbell C, Easson-Bruno S, Elliott J, Gallagher N, Gardhouse A, Goldhar S, Heckman G, Hewitt A, Lachmann M, MacLeod H, Mensink C, Morrison A, Nicula M, Smith J, Wolfe F, Young KJ. Integrating Geriatric Teams in Primary Care: Transforming Aging Care Through Collaborative Models in Ontario. Healthc Q. 2026 Apr;29(1):24-30.
Kelly Kay, Sophiya Benjamin, Adam Morrison and Kevin Young. Designing for integrated older persons’ care across systems, networks, and people. International Journal of Integrated Care. 2022 Special Issue, Vol. 22, p1-2. 2p.