Skip to main content
APSA 2025 Annual Meeting Main banner

Jacob C. Langer, MD (he/him/his)

Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto
Hospital for Sick Children
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Jacob C. Langer, MD, Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto and Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Jacob C. Langer was educated and trained at the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He did research fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco and McMaster University, and then practiced as a pediatric surgeon at the McMaster Children’s Hospital from 1989 to 1992 and at St. Louis Children’s Hospital from 1992 to 1999. He returned to Toronto in 1999 to become Professor of Surgery, Chief of General and Thoracic Surgery, and inaugural holder of the Robert M. Filler Chair in Pediatric Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto, a position that he held until 2012.

Through his career Dr. Langer has received multiple awards, including Innovative Scientist of the Year from the St. Louis Academy of Science, James IV traveling fellowship, and Detweiler fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He has written over 360 papers in peer-reviewed journals and over 95 book chapters. His primary interests involve the natural history and management of prenatally diagnosed congenital anomalies, (particularly abdominal wall defects and congenital diaphragmatic hernia), the development of new ways of managing children with Hirschsprung disease, inflammatory bowel disease and other intestinal disorders, and new advances in the field of minimally invasive pediatric surgery. He has traveled widely to operate and to lecture on these and other topics in pediatric surgery. He has been on many medical advisory and editorial boards. He has served as Chair of the APSA Informatics and Nominating committees and has also sat on the Fetus and Newborn Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Practice, Fetal Therapy, Bylaws, Program, and Critical Care Committees of APSA. He has served as a Director and Chaired several committees of the Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons and was President of that organization from 2012-14.

Dr. Langer retired from clinical practice in June 2023 but has continued to be active as a teacher and mentor. He leads the University of Toronto Department of Surgery Academy of Senior Surgeons Experiencing Transition (ASSET) group and is involved in a number of other initiatives within the University.

Dr. Langer is married to Ferne Sherkin-Langer, a pediatric nurse, author, and realtor. They have three children and five very cute grandchildren.

Presentation(s):