JOSEF E. FISCHER, MD, FACS, FRCS,
APPOINTED CHAIR OF ACS BOARD OF REGENTS

CHICAGO: Josef E. Fischer, MD, FACS, a general surgeon from Boston, MA, was elected Chair of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Board of Regents on October 12, during the College’s 92nd annual Clinical Congress in Chicago. Dr. Fischer is the William V. McDermott Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and chairman of the department of surgery and surgeon-in-chief at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA.

A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons since 1973, Dr. Fischer has been a member of the Board of Regents since 2000 and a member of its Executive Committee since 2004. As a Regent, he has served on the Nominating Committee (2001-02 and 2004-05) and the Finance Committee (2000 - present) of the Board of Regents. In addition, Dr. Fischer served as a member of the Board of Regent’s Communications Committee (1998-99) and Organization Committee (1998-99). He currently is Chair of the College’s Health Policy Steering Committee (2001 – present) and a member of the College’s Public Profile and Communications Steering Committee. Before he became a Regent, Dr. Fischer served on the ACS Board of Governors (1991-97).

Dr. Fischer is a native of New York City and a 1957 graduate (summa cum laude) of Yeshiva College, New York, NY. He earned a medical doctorate from Harvard University (magna cum laude) (1961), Boston, MA. Dr. Fischer served an internship at Massachusetts General Hospital (1961-62), where he also completed his surgical residency (1962-63, 1965-69), serving as chief resident. Additionally, Dr. Fischer served as a research associate in the laboratory of clinical science at the National Institute of Mental Health (1963-65) and as a teaching fellow in surgery and fellow of the American Cancer Society at Harvard Medical School (1968-69). He was named a Diplomate by the American Board of Surgery in 1970.

In addition to his service to the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Fischer has held many leadership positions in organized surgery. He was a member of the Board of Directors, American Board of Surgery (1991-97); and served as its vice-chairman (1996-97) and chairman (1997-98). In addition, Dr. Fischer was vice-president (1994) and president (1995-96) of the Halsted Society, president of the Central Surgical Association, president and chair of the Society of Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, president of the Society of Surgical Chairs, and president of the Surgical Infection Society. He is also a member of numerous surgical and medical organizations, including the American Surgical Association, Southern Surgical Association, Society of University Surgeons, Association of Program Directors in Surgery, International Society of Surgery, Collegium International Chirurgiae Digestivae, Association for Academic Surgery, Society of American Gastro-Endoscopic Surgeons, Surgical Infection Society, and Association for Surgical Education.

Dr. Fischer has devoted his professional life to several significant research endeavors. His research interests have included the muscle protein turnover and amino aced uptake in sepsis and muscle lactate production in sepsis, for which he received National Institutes of Health grants and Shriners of North America funding for studies on the influence of sepsis on intestinal protein metabolism, the regulation of muscle protein metabolism following thermal injury, the regulation of muscle protein during sepsis, and the effect of burn and/or sepsis on hepatic protein synthesis.

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Fischer has shown a strong commitment to the dissemination of surgical knowledge. He has published 835 journal articles, edited 17 books, and co-authored several books. He has served as editor of Liver Assist Devices: International Journal of Artificial Organs (1977-94), associate editor of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (1996 - present), and associate editor of the American Journal of Surgery (2005 – present). Furthermore, he has served as a member of 13 editorial boards including the Archives of Surgery, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Journal of Surgical Research, Nutrition, Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, Surgical Gastroenterology, and Current Surgery.

Dr. Fischer currently resides in Boston, MA, with his wife Karen, and has two children, Erich and Alexandra.

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 70,000 members and it is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. The 22-member Board of Regents directs the affairs of the College and is assisted in its work by numerous College committees, councils, and advisory councils.

Online November 29, 2006

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