George S. Athwal is a Professor of Surgery and a Clinician-Scientist at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.

George Athwal is a shoulder surgeon from London, Ontario, Canada. He completed his medical school at the University of British Columbia and his residence at Queens University. He conducted his fellowship training at the Hospital for Special Surgery and the Mayo Clinic. His interests are in shoulder biomechanics, cell biology and clinical outcomes. He has published over 300 scientific articles and is an associate editor for the Journal of Shoulder & Elbow Surgery.  Additionally, he will be Co-Chairing the 2026 International Congress of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery in Vancouver Canada.  

EDUCATION

1990-94: Bachelor of Science (Microbiology) University of British Columbia, BC, Canada

1994-98: Doctor of Medicine / University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

1998-03: Resident, Orthopedic Surgery / Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

2003-04: Hand & Elbow Surgery Fellowship / Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA

2004-05: Shoulder & Elbow Surgery Fellowship / Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1) Lanohr GD, Giles JW, Athwal GS, Johnson JA. The effect of glenosphere diameter in reverse shoulder arthroplasty on muscle force, joint load, and range of motion. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014 Dec 26. pii: S1058-2746(14)00584-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2014.10.018. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 25547853

2) Creech MJ, Yeung M, Denkers M, Simunovic N, Athwal GS, Ayeni OR. Surgical indications for long head of biceps tenodesis: A systematic review. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2014 Oct10. DOI 10.1007/s00167-014-3383-9

3) Athwal GS, Faber KJ, Drosdowech D. Does bony increase offset reverse shoulder arthroplasty decrease scapular notching? J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014 Oct21.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jse.2014.08.015 [Epub ahead of print]

4) Knowles NK, Keener JD, Ferreira LM, Athwal GS. Quantification of the position, orientation, and surface area of bone loss in type B2 glenoids. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014 Oct 29. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jse.2014.08.021

5) MacDermid JC, Khadilkar L, Birmingham TB, Athwal GS. Validity of the QuickDASH in Patients with Shoulder Related Disorders Undergoing Surgery. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2014 Nov 13:1-43. [Epub ahead of print]

6) Giles J, Ferreira L, Athwal GS, Johnson JA. Validation of a Multi-PID Driven In-Vitro Active Motion Shoulder Simulator and Application to Assessing Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty. J Biomech Eng. 2014 Oct 1. doi: 10.1115/1.4028820. [Epub ahead of print]

7) Knowles NK, Athwal GS, Keener JD, Ferreira LM. Regional bone density variations in osteoarthritic glenoids: a comparison of symmetric to asymmetric (type B2) erosion patterns. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014 Oct 8. pii: S1058-2746(14)00386-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2014.07.004. [Epub ahead of print]

8) Lapner PL, Jiang L, Zhang T, Athwal GS. Rotator Cuff Fatty Infiltration and Atrophy Are Associated With Functional Outcomes in Anatomic Shoulder Arthroplasty. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2014 Sep 30. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 25267270 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

9) Lapner PL, Wood KS, Zhang T, Athwal GS. The return of subscapularis strength after shoulder arthroplasty. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014 Sep 5. pii: S1058-2746(14)00344-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2014.06.042. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 25200918 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

10) Giles J, Degen R, Johnson J, Athwal GS. The bristow and latarjet procedures: why these techniques should not be considered synonymous. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2014 Aug 20;96(16):1340-8. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.M.00627.

11) Chan K, MacDermid JC, Hoppe DJ, Ayeni OR, Bhandari M, Foote CJ, Athwal GS. Delayed versus early motion after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: a meta-analysis. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014 Aug 12. pii: S1058-2746(14)00318-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2014.05.021. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 25127908

12) Khadilkar L, MacDermid JC, Sinden KE, Jenkyn TR, Birmingham TB, Athwal GS. An analysis of functional shoulder movements during task performance using Dartfish movement analysis software. International Journal of Shoulder Surgery. 2014 Jan;8(1):1-9. doi: 10.4103/0973-6042.131847

13) Chan K, MacDermid JC, Faber KJ, King GJ, Athwal GS. Can We Treat Select Terrible Triad Injuries Nonoperatively? Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2014 Feb 19. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 24549776

14) Simone JP, Streubel PH, Sperling JW, Schleck CD, Cofield RH, Athwal GS. Anatomical total shoulder replacement with rotator cuff repair for osteoarthritis of the shoulder. Bone Joint J. 2014 Feb;96-B(2):224-8. doi: 10.1302/0301-620X.96B.32890.

15) Degen RM, Giles JW, Johnson JA, Athwal GS. Remplissage Versus Latarjet for Engaging Hill-Sachs Defects Without Substantial Glenoid Bone Loss: A Biomechanical Comparison. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2014 Jan 3. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 24385035

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS and AWARDS (SELECTED)

– Dean’s Award of Excellence, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
– American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons European Fellowship
– Top 28 Shoulder Surgeons in North America by Orthopedics This Week
– Clinical Scientist Award, UWO Department of Surgery
– University Student’s Council of Western University Award for Excellence in Teaching
– H.S. Cameron Award for Teaching Excellence, Orthopedic Surgery, Western University Kirkley Young Investigator Award (Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation)
– AMOSO Opportunities Award to Support Research Excellence
– John J. Fahey, MD, North American Traveling Fellowship Sponsored by AOA and COA
– Margaret Ho Scholarship in Medicine
– Samuel Diamond Scholarship in Medicine
– Dr. Ernest Roland Myers Scholarship in Medicine
– Lewis Lipsey Toohill Scholarship in Medicine
– Florence E. Heighway Research Award
– Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Award