Leadership Announcement: Chief, Tory Trauma Program

We are pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Rob Fowler as Chief of the Tory Trauma Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

In line with our Sunnybrook Medical-Dental-Midwifery Staff bylaws, a comprehensive review was conducted at the conclusion of his 5-year term. This review, supported by external experts from Harvard Medical School and McMaster University, highlighted the Tory Trauma Program as one of the most esteemed in the Canadian healthcare system and a global leader in trauma, burn, and critical care education. The reviewers emphasized that Dr. Fowler is recognized as a gifted, remarkable, and deeply respected leader by his colleagues and peers.

Under Dr. Fowler’s leadership, the Tory Trauma Program has achieved exceptional milestones, including the publication of over 1,400 manuscripts and receiving 154 awards for research, education, quality improvement, and care scholarship. His vision for advancing clinical and academic excellence in trauma and critical care continues to inspire growth at Sunnybrook and beyond.

Dr. Fowler's clinical and academic work focuses on improving access and outcomes for critically ill patients, particularly those facing infection-related critical illnesses. His leadership roles include spearheading the CIHR-funded COVID-19 Network of Clinical Trials Networks, serving as co-principal investigator of the Canadian Treatments for COVID-19 (CATCO) Trial, and contributing to the BALANCE Trial—a major international study on optimal antibiotic duration in bacteremia. He has also worked extensively with the World Health Organization during global health emergencies, including outbreaks of SARS, pandemic and avian influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, and Ebola in several countries.

Dr. Fowler is the H. Barrie Fairley Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and previously served as the Director of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health's Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation’s Clinical Epidemiology Program. He is also a past Chair of the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Rob Fowler on his reappointment and thanking him for his continued commitment to leading the Tory Trauma Program at Sunnybrook.