Josef E. Fischer

Josef E. Fischer is a native of New York City and a 1957 graduate of Yeshiva College, New York, NY. He earned a medical doctorate from Harvard University (magna cum laude) (1961), Boston, MA. before serving an internship and surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. Fischer also 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).

Dr. Fischer was appointed 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 in 2001. Prior to that he spent 20 years as the Christian R. Holmes Professor of Surgery and chairman of the department of surgery at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He was also a professor of molecular and cellular physiology and associate dean for community affairs at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Fischer's research interests have included medical ethics & surgical education models, entercutaneous fistulas, muscle protein turnover and amino acid uptake in sepsis, and muscle lactate production in sepsis. In 1999, he was one of 24 surgeons recognized by the journal, Archives of Surgery, for having made "significant contributions to surgery in the areas of research, clinical care, and surgical education."

He has published over 830 journal articles, edited 17 books, and co-authored several books, including the standard surgical atlas, Mastery of Surgery ISBN 9780781771658. 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).

Offices

 * American Board of Surgery, Board of Directors(1991-97)
 * American Board of Surgery, vice-chairman (1996-97) & chairman (1997-98)
 * Halsted Society, vice-president (1994) and president (1995-96)
 * Central Surgical Association, president
 * Society of Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, chairman
 * Society of Surgical Chairs, president
 * Surgical Infection Society, president
 * American College of Surgeons, Board of Governors (1991-97) Regent
 * Residency Review Committee board member

Awards
Distinguished Service Award of the American College of Surgeons 1997

Selected Publications

 * Maykel JA, Fischer JE. Current management of intestinal fistulas. Adv Surg. 2003;37:283-99. [PMID 12953638]
 * Hasselgren PO, Fischer JE. Muscle cachexia: current concepts of intracellular mechanisms and molecular regulation. Ann Surg. 2001 Jan;233(1):9-17.[PMID 11141219]
 * Fischer JE. The effect of litigation on surgical practice in the USA. Br J Surg. 2000 Jul;87(7):833-4. [PMID 10931013]
 * Hasselgren PO, Fischer JE. Sepsis: stimulation of energy-dependent protein breakdown resulting in protein loss in skeletal muscle. World J Surg. 1998 Feb;22(2):203-8.[PMID 9451937]
 * Archer SB, Burnett RJ, Fischer JE. Current uses and abuses of total parenteral nutrition. Adv Surg. 1996;29:165-89. [PMID 8720002]