Alastair Younger
SCIENTIST, MB, CHB, MSC, CHM, FRCSC
Dr. Younger grew up near St. Andrews in Scotland and completed his medical degree in Aberdeen in 1985 and trained for a short time in the National Health Service before moving to Canada to do a Masters in Kinesiology at Simon Fraser University. He completed his residency at the University of British Columbia and a Master’s in Surgery between 1990 and 1995. After a fellowship in Arthritis surgery at Harvard in Boston in 1997, Dr. Younger went to Seattle to complete a foot and ankle fellowship. He then returned to UBC and St. Paul’s in 1998 to take over the role of teaching residents foot and ankle surgery.
Research Interests
- Bone healing and growth factors
- Outcomes research in foot and ankle
- Ankle arthritis
- Minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery
Dr. Younger is the past president of the Canadian Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society and a founding member. He has been active on many committees of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association, the American Foot and Ankle Society, and the Arthroscopy Association of North America. He is the British Columbia Orthopaedic Association President.
Dr. Younger has been recognized by the Canadian Orthopaedic Association (COA), by being awarded the North American Travelling Fellowship in 1997 and the American/British/Canadian Traveling Fellowship in 2007. He has represented British Columbia on a number of national committees at the COA.
He has been appointed to full Professor at the University of British Columbia in 2014 in recognition of his contribution towards the research and teaching of foot and ankle conditions. He is head of the distal extremity division in the Department of Orthopaedics.
He has published 155 peer reviewed articles and 35 book chapters. He has been awarded the AOFAS Roger Mann award four times. Dr. Younger presently enjoys the outdoors, cycling, and skiing. He also still tries to match his cultural heritage of being able to play golf, but still to a very poor level.
Additional Affiliations
- Head, Division of Distal Extremities, University of British Columbia
- Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia
- President, British Columbia Orthopaedic Association
Media Coverage
- Ask an Expert: orthopedic surgery wait times (Global News, July 2021)
- Cancelled surgeries take physical, emotional toll on patients (CTV News, April 2020)