Joel Fish

Dr. Joel Fish is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who specializes in burns and complex wound care. He holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto and is the Medical Director of the Burn Program at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. SickKids has the largest paediatric burn program in Canada with more than 300 new patients treated each year. In addition, it is the only Canadian pediatric burn program that has been verified by the American Burn Association. Dr. Fish's clinical practice focuses on the treatment of pediatric burn injuries, and includes the full continuum from the acute injury, rehabilitation, and secondary reconstruction when needed. Dr. Fish also specializes in treating severe complex wound conditions from a variety of other causes. Prior to his current role, Dr. Fish was the Medical Director of an adult burn program where he treated many patients who had experienced electrical injuries and developed a clinical research program focused on understanding how these injuries are related to muscle fatigue, psychological changes, and pain control.
In addition to his clinical role at SickKids, Dr. Fish is an active member of the University of Toronto and currently supervises several graduate students. His research team is focused on evaluating the effectiveness of laser therapy to improve burn scars using objective measures as well as developing patient-reported outcome tools for children with scars.

Education:
1994: FRCS(C) – Plastic Surgery, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Toronto, ON.
1986: MD – Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON.
1982: MSc – Skeletal muscle ischemia, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
1982: BSc – Physiology and anatomy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.

Positions:
2020-Present: Full Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
2009-Present: Medical Director Burn Program, Plastic Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON.
2007-2014: Research Director, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
2002-2019: Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
1998-2008: Burn Program Director, Plastic Surgery, Ross Tilley Burn Center, Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto, ON.

Awards and Honours:
2018: Editor’s Choice Award, “Laser Therapy for Pediatric Burn Scars: Focusing on a Combined Treatment Approach,” – Journal of Burn Care and Research.
2017: James C. Fallis Award for Best Grand Rounds Presentation by an external speaker – Hospital for Sick Children.
2016: Ron Zuker Award – Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Toronto.
2014: Chair’s Award – Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Toronto.
2014: Best Pediatric Paper Award, “The construction and implementation of a novel post-burn pruritus scale for infants and children aged five years or less,” – Shriners Burns Institute.
2008: Dr. Charles Tator Surgeon Scientist Mentoring Award – Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.
2008: Colin Woolf Award for Excellence in Course Coordination – Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.
2006: Inaugural Canadian Burn Care Physician Award – Shriners Burns Institute.