Dr. Robert McCormack
Dr. McCormack is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of British Columbia. The focus of his clinical practice has been on knee and shoulder injuries with subspecialty interest in articular cartilage regeneration and ligament reconstruction. His research has generated 200 peer reviewed publications, and he has made over 600 invited oral presentations. He is passionate about Evidence Based Medicine and was a founding member of three of the major multicenter Orthopaedic research groups in Canada. He also worked with the Royal College to establish the Area of Focused Practice for Sport and Exercise Medicine.
He is active in sports medicine and cares for athletes at all levels. This includes the varsity athletes at two universities, in both U Sports and the NCAA. At the professional level he is the head physician for the BC Lions (CFL), is an Orthopaedic Surgeon for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC (MLS) and works as a consultant for the NHL/NHLPA.
He is a physician for several national teams, in both summer and winter sports, and has been part of the medical team at numerous international multi-sport events (including twelve Olympic Games). He was the head physician for the Canadian Olympic team from 2004 to 2020.
Leadership roles in professional sports include being a Chief Medical Officer for the Canadian Football League as well as the Canadian Premiere League. Internationally he is the medical lead for the International Federation for Curling and is on the PASO medical commission, which is responsible for health care and antidoping at the Pan Am Games.
Dr. McCormack has been recognized by the COA with the Presidential Award for Excellence, by the CFL with the Hugh Campbell Leadership Award and by CASEM for the Medal of Service. He is a member of the BC Football Hall of Fame and the Sport Halls of Fame at Queen’s and Simon Fraser Universities. In 2024 he was inducted into the BC Sport Hall of Fame.