I've worked on some fun and useful projects while in undergrad/medical school, at Oxford, during residency, and while working as a physician. Here are some of these initiatives:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has forced doctors to provide more medical care virtually. Since I'm seeing less patients in person, I'm making a series of videos that answer commonly asked questions. Hopefully my patients will find this useful when they can't see me in person. Here's the link to the "Dr Yu Explains" playlist! (In progress: Dec 2020 to present)

• The Calgary Guide to Understanding Disease: a resource that finally helps medical students understand the diseases we learn about. I created this resource because I believe that medicine should be learned, and not simply memorized and regurgitated. I also believe that there are simple, concise, yet accurate and comprehensive explanations that can help students understand why diseases manifest as they do. I further believe that this resource should be freely accessible to all those who seek to learn. So, I founded the Calgary Guide. Together with fellow students, U of C faculty members and staff, we've created a resouce that is now accessed over 2,000 times per day, and has been downloaded over 3.5 million times by learners across Canada and in 180 other countries worldwide. (In progress, Aug 2012 to present) 

• Summary/Review Notes from Medical School: Concise yet detailed, complex yet simplistic. These notes contain and explain the basics of medicine and they're what I use to study this amazing profession. I've posted them here for the benefit of my colleagues at the University of Calgary and maybe even across Canada. Hopefully they will also help simplify things and help other students with their learning too! (In progress: July 2011 to present)

• A National Advanced Care Planning Conversation Teaching Guide: In September 2016, I joined the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) as a Resident Representative from Calgary. Sitting on the Section of Residents Council, my colleages Kiran, Dave, Rajiv and I realized that, as the population of Canada ages and people start needing more healthcare, our healthcare system must provide the services that patients actually want, instead of what healthcare professionals think they want. To know what patients actually want requires a conversation with patients and their families, known as an Advance Care Plan. However, the status-quo in September 2016 was that medical trainees were being poorly taught about how to carry out these conversations with patients, if at all. So, we undertook a thorough literature review and consulted with over 30 experts in Advance Care Planning around the country, and developed a simplified, CFPC-approved curriculum, consisting of a 1-page summary and a point-of-care lanyard card. Medical educators nationwide can feel free to use these resources to improve their Advance Care Planning education.(September 2016 to April 2018)

• YurPearls, Inc.: A socially-responsible pearl jewellery online store that donates a pair of pearl earrings for every sale. I started this company in mid-2016 to help my impoverished aunt and uncle, who are pearl jewellers living in the one city in the world that produces over 90% of the world's freshwater pearls. Suffering from medical issues diagnosed at the start of 2016, my aunt and uncle are now unable to work and make a living as jewellers. But they still have insider connections to pearl clam farmers, enabling us to source the world's highest-quality pearls at insider prices. Furthermore, we've also partnered with women's empowerment organizations in Canada to support underprivileged Canadian women. We donate pearl earrings to women in need, so that they can walk into their jobs or interviews with added confidence. Check out this short video that explains what we are about, or better yet, visit our Facebook page. (Aug 2016 to Nov 2017)

• Vermicomposting in the Queen's University Residences: the first large-scale, student-run university vermicomposting system in Canada. I started this initiative in the Fall of 2009 in collaboration with students, administrators, and a Kingston sustainability company. Now, there are vermicomposters in almost a third of all floors in the 3000-person residences at Queen's - and they are all maintained directly by student residents.

• It Starts Here (ISH) Email Newsletters: In one of our typical late-night discussions about the state of the world, my friends and I wanted to create a forum where we kept in touch about sustainability issues and how we can do our bit for the world. After one such discussion in March 2010, we founded the ISH, a members-driven, community-based weekly email newsletter about world issues, with a keen focus on environmental, social, and economic sustainability. I served as its coordinator from August 2010 to August 2011.

• Cell Biology Comedy Radio: An intriguingly different look at the all-purpose animal cell, which not only describes each organelle but also introduces you to their respective personalities! I worked on this project in collaboration with two friends from my third-year undergrad cell biology course (Fall 2009). For the project, I drew the main cell image, researched and wrote the scientific descriptions of each organelle presented, and helped plan and present the radio broadcasts. Enjoy!

• The Green Dining Standard: Expanding on my work to reduce food waste in the Queen's University dining halls, I worked with two other colleagues to come up with the new standard for green dining - a conceptual framework for the model waste-minimizing, energy-saving, and resource-efficient cafeteria.