Dr. Emil Schemitsch appointed as Chair of the Department of Surgery

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Emil Schemitsch has been appointed as Chair of the Department of Surgery, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University and Chief of the Department of Surgery for London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph's Health Care London, effective January 1, 2016.

Dr. Schemitsch graduated from the University of Toronto’s School of Medicine in 1984 and completed his Orthopaedic Surgery residency at the University of Toronto in 1991. He completed fellowships in Orthopaedic Traumatology, Research in Blood Flow and Biomechanics at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, and in Adult Joint Reconstruction at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. 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. Dr. Schemitsch is a Professor of Surgery and is cross-appointed as Professor in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto and is a Scientist at the Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital. In 2013, Dr. Schemitsch was appointed the University of Toronto ‐ St. Michael's Hospital Term Chair in Fracture Care Research. Dr. Schemitsch is Past-President of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association and is currently the President of the Canadian Arthroplasty Society.

Dr. Schemitsch’s research has focused upon the care of patients with musculoskeletal injuries and arthritis. His wide range of musculoskeletal interests has led to the investigation of the systemic response to trauma, gene therapies, biomechanics, bone substitutes, and the stimulation of fracture healing. His work spans the testing of devices (e.g. plates, surgical techniques) or treatments in randomized controlled trials, to developing and testing outcome measures and their statistical modeling while placing a strong emphasis on the application of the results in clinical practice and health policy.

Dr. Schemitsch has received international recognition for his research efforts including the Edouard J. Samson Award for a Canadian orthopaedic surgeon with the greatest impact on research in the last five years and the Lister Prize, the top award in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto for sustained research. Dr. Schemitsch’s program of research in musculoskeletal trauma and arthritis has led to more than 400 publications in top journals, numerous grants and hundreds of guest lectures around the world. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to orthopaedics from the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society, the Canadian Orthopaedic Association, the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons and the International Society for Fracture Repair.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Schemitsch on his appointment.

Dr. Michael J. Strong, Dean
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry

Dr. C. Robin Walker
Integrated Vice President, Medical Affairs and Medical Education
London Health Sciences Centre and
St Joseph’s Health Care London