Andrew Howard Appointed Head, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Sick Children

Dear Colleagues,
Please join me in congratulating Andrew Howard on his appointment as the Head of the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children.
Dr. Andrew Howard

Andrew was the successful candidate from a group of highly qualified candidates for this position. He has articulated a fanstastic and ambitious vision for the Division over the next few years, and I look forward to working synergistically with Andrew to ensure the mutual goals of the hospital and University divisions are achieved.

The formal announcement from Jim Drake the Surgeon-in-Chief at Sick Kids is below. Congratulations, Andrew, on your appointment!

Peter C. Ferguson MD MSc FRCSC FAOA
Albert and Temmy Latner Chair,
Division of Orthopaedics, Department of Surgery
University of Toronto


On behalf of Jim Drake

Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Howard to Head, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, effective March 1, 2021 after an international search.

Andrew completed his MD at Queen’s University and his MSc degree in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa followed by his paediatric orthopaedic Fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children. Andrew has been a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon at SickKids since 1999. His clinical practice focuses on rare orthopaedic conditions, particularly metabolic bone disease and skeletal dysplasia. He is committed to quality patient care, teaching, and research, with a focus on population health and injury prevention.

Andrew is a Senior Scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program at the SickKids Research Institute, and Professor of Surgery and Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Andrew’s work on prevention of child road traffic injuries led to development of a new generation of child passenger safety seats, and to understanding and implementation of roadway improvements to prevent child pedestrian and bicycle injuries. In this ongoing work, Andrew collaborates with scientists across Canada, as well as with Transport Canada, vehicle manufacturers, city transportation departments, and school boards.

Andrew has had continuous national peer reviewed grant funding since 2001. Publication lists are available on Google Scholar or Pubmed. Andrew’s research has been recognized by his peers with both the Arthur Huene Memorial Award from the Paediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, and the Sharrard Medal from the British Society for Children’s Orthopaedic Surgery.

Andrew has also led the development of global surgery as an emerging academic surgical specialty at the University of Toronto. He has longstanding collaborations with the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa supporting training and examination in orthopaedics, including recently helping to create an accredited specialty training in paediatric orthopaedics within the region.

Andrew was instrumental in the creation of the Bethune Round Table in Global Surgery, Canada’s national meeting, now in its 21st year. Andrew is presently also Consulting Staff, Northern Clinics Program, Ontario March of Dimes, Timmins and Bloorview-MacMillan Children’s Rehabilitation Centre. Andrew has chaired boards for SafeKids Canada and the Canadian Network for International Surgery. Andrew also manages the Prakash scholarship fund for training surgeons from low-income countries at UofT.

Andrew has led the Division as the interim Head of the Division from June 2013 – August 2014 and May 2018 to February 2021 and I wish to thank Andrew for his leadership during the interim periods. I am very pleased that Andrew will be leading the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery during this transformational time in the Hospital’s history. Please join me in welcoming Andrew as Head, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Sincerely,

James M. Drake CM, BSE, MBBCh, MSc, FRCSC, FACS
Surgeon in Chief and Chief of Perioperative Services
Professor of Surgery, Neurosurgery, University of Toronto
Robert B. Salter Chair in Surgery
Director Centre for Image Guided Innovation and Therapeutic Intervention