Dr. Angus D. McLachlin Professorship
Dr. Angus D. McLachlin Professorship Recipients
The Angus D. McLachlin Professorship was established in 1991 through the generous support of former trainees and colleagues—in honour of Dr. McLachlin’s dedication and contributions as an esteemed teacher and clinician. Previous holders of the McLachlin Professorship include Dr. Bill Jamieson, Dr. Ed Meads, Dr. Robert Bourne, Dr. Robert Litchfield, Dr. Doug Ross, Dr. Brian Taylor, and Dr. Vivian McAlister.
The Professorship provides funding to a surgeon who has a strong focus on surgical education and teaching. And with that, the holder has an opportunity to spend time away from the clinic to advance surgical education and teaching. For example, Dr. Edward Meads, MD’63, directed the available funding to support medical students to pursue global health electives overseas. Meanwhile, Dr. Brian Taylor, MD’75, helped to revamp the surgical curriculum for undergraduate medical education.
Learn about our previous recipients below!
Dr. Jamieson obtained his medical degree from Western University in 1960 followed by surgical training at Western under Dr. Angus McLachlin. He then completed fellowships in both Boston, Massachusetts and London, England before returning to Victoria Hospital to a career of general surgery and the then new specialty of vascular surgery.
Over the next 30 years he and his colleagues built the Division of Vascular Surgery, trained the next generation of surgeons while Dr. Jamieson himself developed a specific interest and expertise in the surgical treatment of chronic venous insufficiency and thoracic outlet syndrome. His leadership in vascular surgery was recognized when he became President of the Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery in 1992. Dr. Jamieson retired from clinical practice in 1998 but remained actively involved in the division
Dr. Bill Jamieson has since passed away in 2012.
Dr. Ed Meads obtained his medical degree from Western University and completed his residency at Western under Dr. Angus McLachlin. Dr. Meads then went onto the Samuel McLaughlin Traveling Fellowship at Vanderbilt University, his time there only cut short by his drafting into the U.S Army Medical Corps for 2 years. Dr. Ed Meads was the Chief of Surgery at the 93rd Evac., promoted to Major and further received the Bronze Star Medal.
Dr. Meads joined the faculty of the Department of Surgery at Western University upon his discharge. He worked in a private practice at St. Joseph’s Hospital and ten years later he became a full-time surgeon there. Dr. Ed Meads served as Chief of Surgery for 10 years at St Joseph’s Hospital, before retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2004.
Dr. Robert Bourne is a leading expert in the field of orthopedic surgery and has played a key role in the establishment of the Ontario and Canadian joint replacement registries. He was a former surgeon at the London Health Sciences Centre and has advanced hip and knee replacement procedures, as well as prosthetics, improving the long-term outcomes of these surgeries for Canadians. Dr. Bourne further volunteers his time with Operation Walk Canada, which provides joint replacement surgery and care to patients living in developing countries.
Dr. Robert (Bob) Litchfield is Medical Director of the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic and Professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University since 2002. His primary area of clinical interest is the management of activity related injuries and conditions of the shoulder and knee. He is active in several professional societies including the American Shoulder and Elbow Society, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Herodicus Society, the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine. As well, he is a member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team Physician Group.
Dr. Litchfield obtained his medical degree from Western University and subsequently completed his orthopaedic residency there as well. Following his residency, Dr. Robert Litchfield went onto completing fellowships in paediatric orthopaedics at Auckland Children’s Hospital in New Zealand and Adelaide Children’s Hospital in South Australia. As well, he further completed an orthopaedic sport medicine fellowship at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Colorado. Dr. Litchfield returned to Western University and London Health Sciences Centre in 1994.
Dr. Douglass Ross is the past Chair of the Division of Plastic Surgery at Western University and a staff member at the Hand and Upper Limb Centre at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London. He obtained his medical degree from the University of British Columbia and completed his plastic surgery training at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ross then went onto completing fellowships in Toronto (Hand and Microsurgery) and Louisville, Kentucky (Hand Surgery).
His clinical interests include upper extremity surgery, reconstructive microsurgery, and peripheral nerve surgery. In addition to these, Dr. Ross has a strong interest in surgical education, having completed his Masters of Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto in 2004. Dr. Douglas Ross has been a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Examination Board in Plastic Surgery from 2002-2013 and served as the Chief Examiner from 2008-2013.
Dr. Brian Taylor obtained his medical degree from Western University and completed his training in Colorectal Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He then went on to a position as a teaching surgeon at Western University from 1983 until he retired in 2015.
Dr. Vivian McAlister is a professor emeritus at Western University and an adjunct professor in the department of history. Previously, he was a general surgeon with an expertise in transplantation and military medicine and his research interests include biography and medical history. Dr. McAlister has also been president of the Canadian Society of Transplantation and the Canadian Organ Replacement Registry. Dr. Vivian McAlister further served on the Council of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and was also chair of its Region Advisory Committee for Ontario and Nunavut. Currently, Dr. McAlister is president of the James IV Association of Surgeons (Canada).
Dr. McAlister was a regular force member of the Royal Canadian Medical Service, Canadian Armed Forces until 2019 and has deployed overseas many times. In fact, he is the founding director of Western’s Office of Military Academic Medicine. Awards received include The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal (2012), the Angus McLachlin chair of surgery (2014); the Canadian Medical Association John McCrae Memorial Medal (2019) and the Canadian Society of Transplantation lifetime achievement award (2019). Dr McAlister was made an officer in the Order of Canada in the 2021 Honours List.
Dr Andreana Bütter
Dr. Andreana Bütter obtained her medical degree from the University of Ottawa and completed her residency in General Surgery at Western University. During her residency, she also pursued a year of research at the Montreal Children’s Hospital in pediatric surgery; specifically related to fetal surgery and congenital diaphragmatic hernia. This research culminated in her obtaining a Master of Science degree from McGill University in 2001. Upon completing her General Surgery residency at Western, Dr. Bütter returned to Montréal for Pediatric fellowship at Sainte Justine Hospital (Université de Montréal). She then went on to join the Division of Pediatric Surgery and the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor, at the Children’s Hospital connected to London Health Sciences Centre. In 2012, Dr. Andreana Bütter was promoted to Associate Professor and assumed the role of Associate Director of Surgical Education in 2014.
Dr. Bütter’s clinical interests include Pediatric Thoracic and General Surgery, especially congenital diphragmatic hernia, bracing for pectus carinatum, nonoperative management of appendicitis, and minimally invasive surgery. Her research interests are in the areas of fetal surgery with minimally invasive ways of correcting or improving outcomes for congenital anomalies, such as bladder outlet obstruction and diaphragmatic hernia. Dr. Andreana Bütter also helped develop the first Canadian Robotic Pediatric Surgery program.
Dr. Adam Power
Dr. Adam Power obtained his medical degree from Dalhousie University, after which he completed his general surgery residency at McMaster University. Dr. Power also received a Master of Bio-Science Enterprise (MBE) degree from the University of Cambridge while completing his residency, and then went on to a Vascular Surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Dr. Power’s research interests include the areas of innovation, new products and intellectual property surrounding medical devices.
Dr. Debra Bartley
Dr. Bartley graduated from the University of Toronto and completed her orthopedic residency at the University of Manitoba. She then went on to do a Pediatric Orthopedic Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario in 2006, followed by an Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Fowler Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic in 2008. She is currently a Professor of Surgery in the Departments of Surgery and Pediatrics at Western University, specializing in pediatric orthopedic surgery.
Dr. Sumit Dave
Dr. Sumit Dave completed Medical school at the Jawaharlal Institue of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry, India. Following the completion of his Pediatric Surgery residency from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi), Dr. Dave moved to Sydney, Australia to complete a Fellowship in Pediatric General Surgery at the Sydney Children’s Hospital with the University of New South Wales. Wanting to specialize further and pursue a career in Pediatric Urology, Dr. Sumit Dave then completed a Pediatric Urology fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Dr. Dave has since completed a Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology and the Faculty Scholar’s Program at Western University. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery and Pediatrics, and was previously Program Director for the Urology residency program at Western University.
Dr. Sumit Dave’s research and clinical interests include robot-assisted reconstructive pediatric urology, surgical management of neurogenic bladder, and vesicoureteric reflux. He was instrumental ni establishing the first and only pediatric robotic program in Canada at London Health Sciences Centre in 2014.
