Professor
University of Toronto/University Health Network/Cancer Care Ontario, Canada
Dr. Jonathan Irish graduated with his M.D. degree and then completed his residency training at the University of Toronto and the University of California in Los Angeles. He completed his Master of Science degree in Molecular Biology where he studied the molecular biological characteristics of head and neck cancers. Dr. Irish completed the American Head and Neck Society Fellowship in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, and joined Toronto General Hospital and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in 1992.
Dr. Irish is currently a Professor of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and the Head of the Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery Division at the University of Toronto. Dr. Irish served as the Chief of the Department of Surgical Oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre from 2000 to 2016 and currently continues the be the Kevin and Sandra Sullivan Chair in Surgical Oncology at the University of Toronto. Since 2004, he has been a major health policy advisor and responsible for access to care, quality improvement, and health care funding for the Surgical Oncology Program at Cancer Care Ontario. In 2004, he became the Clinical Lead for Access to Care and Strategic Funding Initiatives for the Surgical Oncology Program at Cancer Care Ontario and is responsible for the Cancer Surgery Wait Times portfolio. In 2008, Dr. Irish was appointed as the Provincial Head of the Surgical Oncology Program at Cancer Care Ontario where he has provided leadership and oversight linking volume funding to quality improvement. In 2021, Dr Irish was appointed Vice President, Clinical, Cancer Care Ontario and in that role has oversight over all cancer services in the Province. Dr Irish has served as the President of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) for 2017-2018.