George S. Athwal is a Professor of Surgery and a Clinician-Scientist at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.

George Athwal is a shoulder surgeon from London, Ontario, Canada. He completed his medical school at the University of British Columbia and his residence at Queens University. He conducted his fellowship training at the Hospital for Special Surgery and the Mayo Clinic. His interests are in shoulder biomechanics, cell biology and clinical outcomes. He has published over 300 scientific articles and is an associate editor for the Journal of Shoulder & Elbow Surgery.  Additionally, he will be Co-Chairing the 2026 International Congress of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery in Vancouver Canada.  

EDUCATION

1990-94: Bachelor of Science (Microbiology) University of British Columbia, BC, Canada

1994-98: Doctor of Medicine / University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

1998-03: Resident, Orthopedic Surgery / Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

2003-04: Hand & Elbow Surgery Fellowship / Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA

2004-05: Shoulder & Elbow Surgery Fellowship / Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

HIGHLIGHTS

Professor of Surgery
Co-Founder and Co-Director, Advanced Shoulder Arthroplasty Meeting, Snowbird, Utah
Past-President, Association of Clinical Elbow and Shoulder Surgeons
President, International Congress of Shoulder & Elbow Surgery Meeting Vancouver 2026
Executive Board Member, American Shoulder & Elbow Surgeons, 2022 – Present
Executive Board Member, Canadian Shoulder & Elbow Society, 2021 – Present
Scientific Publications >350
Presentations >700
Honored Professorships at International or National Societies >30
Associate Editor, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery
Editorial Board, Clinics in Shoulder & Elbow
Graduate Students (Masters/PhD) Supervised >25
Courses or Meetings Chaired/Developed/Organized >20
Neviaser Award Winner for best paper published in JSES 2024
Neer Award Recipient 2017 & 2022 (Premier Award for Shoulder Research in the ASES)
Morrey Award Winner 2021
Samson Award Recipient (Premier Award for Orthopedic Research in Canada)
Maclean’s Magazine Power List Top 100, May 2024

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS and AWARDS (SELECTED)

– Dean’s Award of Excellence, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
– American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons European Fellowship
– Top 28 Shoulder Surgeons in North America by Orthopedics This Week
– Clinical Scientist Award, UWO Department of Surgery
– University Student’s Council of Western University Award for Excellence in Teaching
– H.S. Cameron Award for Teaching Excellence, Orthopedic Surgery, Western University Kirkley Young Investigator Award (Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation)
– AMOSO Opportunities Award to Support Research Excellence
– John J. Fahey, MD, North American Traveling Fellowship Sponsored by AOA and COA
– Margaret Ho Scholarship in Medicine
– Samuel Diamond Scholarship in Medicine
– Dr. Ernest Roland Myers Scholarship in Medicine
– Lewis Lipsey Toohill Scholarship in Medicine
– Florence E. Heighway Research Award
– Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Award