About Dr Rocco Lombardi
MD, MSc, MAvMed, BSc(Hon), PGDipAeroRT, CCFP(EM), FCFP
Dr Rocco Lombardi is a physician in Whitby, Ontario, whose practice is devoted to aviation and occupational medicine. He has been a Transport Canada Civil Aviation Medical Examiner (CAME) since 2015, and he is also Senior Medical Advisor with Air Canada in Toronto.
Before aviation medicine became his full-time focus, Dr Lombardi spent nearly two decades as an emergency physician in Durham Region and Toronto, including seventeen years in the emergency department at Lakeridge Health, where he continues to work as a surgical assistant. Along the way, he served as Medical Director of an aeromedical repatriation company and worked as a cruise ship physician.
He trained in aviation medicine at the University of Otago in New Zealand, earning a Postgraduate Diploma in Aeromedical Retrieval and Transport and a Master of Aviation Medicine. He continues to teach as a Lecturer in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, and previously taught at Queen’s University and the University of Otago.
Dr Lombardi has also given his time to disaster relief. With the Canadian Medical Assistance Teams, where he later served as National Chair, he deployed to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. In 2013 he deployed to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan as Medical Officer for Emergency Response Team: Search and Rescue.
Flying and aircraft have fascinated him since childhood, so his work with pilots and air traffic controllers is where his career and his lifelong interest meet. He speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish.
Education and qualifications
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2027 (in progress): Part B, Foundation Course in Occupational Medicine, University of Alberta
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2026: Part A, Foundation Course in Occupational Medicine, University of Alberta
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2015: Civil Aviation Medical Examiner (CAME), Transport Canada
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2014: Master of Aviation Medicine (MAvMed), University of Otago
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2013: Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (FCFP)
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2012: Postgraduate Diploma in Aeromedical Retrieval and Transport (PGDipAeroRT), University of Otago
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2012: Certification of Special Competence in Emergency Medicine, CCFP(EM), College of Family Physicians of Canada
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2002: Certification in Family Medicine (CCFP), College of Family Physicians of Canada
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2000: Doctor of Medicine (MD), University of Toronto
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1996: Master of Science (MSc), Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto
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1993: Honours Bachelor of Science (BSc Hon), Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto
Current positions
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Civil Aviation Medical Examiner, Transport Canada (2015 to present)
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Senior Medical Advisor, Air Canada (2015 to present)
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Lecturer, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto (2004 to present)
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Surgical assistant, Lakeridge Health (2002 to present)
Professional memberships
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College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
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College of Family Physicians of Canada
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Ontario Medical Association
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Aerospace Medical Association
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Civil Aviation Medical Association
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Canadian Aerospace Medicine and Aeromedical Transport Association
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International Airline Medical Association
Search and Rescue training exercise, 2012
At the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, 2013
Typhoon Haiyan relief, the Philippines, 2013
Dr Lombardi teaching on a training mannequin