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Extension Announcement: Dr. Emil Schemitsch as Chair/Department Head, Department of Surgery
Office of the Dean
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Emil Schemitsch’s appointment to the Department of Surgery has been extended in the following roles: Chair (Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University) and Department Head (London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s)).
The continued appointments will be effective January 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026, or until a new Chair/Department Head is appointed.
Dr. Schemitsch graduated from the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine in 1984 and completed his Orthopaedic Surgery residency at the University of Toronto in 1991. He completed fellowships in Orthopaedic Traumatology, Biology and Biomechanics at the University of Washington and in Adult Joint Reconstruction at Harvard Medical School. In 1993, he joined St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto and served as Head of Orthopaedic Surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital from 2000 to 2012. In 2013, Dr. Schemitsch was appointed the University of Toronto ‐ St. Michael's Hospital Chair in Fracture Care Research. In 2016, he began his role as Chair/Department Head, Surgery at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, LHSC and St. Joseph’s.
Dr. Schemitsch has received international recognition for his research efforts, including the Bovill Award from the Orthopedic Trauma Association, the North American Travelling Fellowship and the American-British-Canadian Travelling Fellowship. Dr. Schemitsch is Past-President of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association, the Canadian Arthroplasty Society and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association. Dr. Schemitsch is the founding Editor-in-Chief Emeritus for Orthopaedic Trauma Association International and an Executive Editor for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Dr. Schemitsch’s research program in musculoskeletal trauma and arthritis has led to more than 680 publications in top journals, numerous grants (CIHR, PSI, OTA, OREF, AO and OMEGA) with $47,000,000 in funding as a principal or co-investigator, an h-index of 94 and hundreds of guest lectures around the world. Dr. Schemitsch has supervised numerous students, graduate students, residents and fellows and has won numerous teaching awards.
In 2018, Dr. Schemitsch was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences as a Fellow. Dr. Schemitsch received the Award of Merit from the Canadian Orthopaedic Association in 2019. In light of his sustained contributions, Dr. Schemitsch has been inducted as a Fellow of International Orthopaedic Research of the International Combined Orthopaedic Research Societies College of Fellows and a Fellow of the International Orthopaedic Trauma Association. Dr. Schemitsch received the inaugural Keystone Honor from the Orthopaedic Trauma Association in 2024 for his leadership efforts as, “the ‘keystone’ of his profession.” In 2025, Dr. Schemitsch received the Distinguished University Professor Award from Western University which recognizes the most outstanding members of the University community, those who have sustained excellence in teaching, research and service over a substantial career at Western.
We extend our thanks and appreciation to Dr. Schemitsch for his continued dedication and commitment to the Department of Surgery, LHSC, St Joseph’s and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.
John Yoo, MD, FRCS(C), FACS
Dean, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Western University
Adam Dukelow, MD, FRCPC, MHSc, CHE
Integrated Vice President, Medical & Academic Affairs
London Health Sciences Centre & St. Joseph’s Health Care London