UW News

January 24, 2002

Surgery’s Schilling Lecture:University of Toronto expert on shock and fluids to speak Feb. 1

The Department of Surgery’s eighth annual Helen and John Schilling Lecture next week will feature Dr. Ori Rotstein, who holds the Peter Crossgrove chair in general surgery at the University of Toronto.


Rotstein, who has done extensive research on how to best resuscitate people in shock, will speak on “Hyperosmolar Solutions for Fluid Resuscitation During Critical Illness” at 3:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 1, in Hogness Auditorium at the Health Sciences Center. The event is open to everyone.


Born in Pennsylvania, Rotstein earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Toronto and completed his training in general surgery there. He later went to the University of Minnesota as a research fellow in critical care and surgical infections, working in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Simmons and gaining an appreciation for research training and mentorship.


Rotstein returned to the University of Toronto as a faculty member in 1985. He is known as an outstanding clinician who specializes in general surgery and complex problems related to infection and inflammation, as well as a researcher with an international reputation for important work in trauma, infection and critical care. He is particularly interested in how cells are activated during shock resuscitation.


In addition to his role in training surgical residents in fundamental research skills, Rotstein has directed the University of Toronto’s Surgeon/Scientist Training program for the last decade. He is now also director of the Institute of Medical Science, the postgraduate arm of the Faculty of Medicine at the university.


He is past president of the Surgical Infection Society and has been active in the American College of Surgeons’ Program Committee and Surgical Forum Committee, among other professional organizations. In his biographical sketch, he notes that “Like most good Canadian fathers, he balances a busy work schedule with hanging out at hockey arenas watching his son develop into the next Bobby Orr.”


The lecture is named for the late Dr. John Schilling, who chaired the UW Department of Surgery from 1975 until 1983, and his wife. Helen Schilling established the endowed lectureship in honor of her husband, who died in 1999 at the age of 82.