Kamran Abbasi is the editor-in-chief of the ''
British Medical Journal
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...
'' (''BMJ''), a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
,
visiting professor
In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...
at the Department of Primary Care and Public Health,
Imperial College, London, editor of the ''
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
The ''Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal. It is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Medicine with full editorial independence. Its continuous publication history dates back to 1809. Since July 20 ...
'' ''(JRSM)'', journalist,
cricket writer This is a list of writers about the sport of cricket.
* John Arlott
* Philip Bailey
* Brian Bassano
* Richie Benaud
* Rahul Bhattacharya
* Lawrence Booth
* Dick Brittenden
* Robert Brooke
* Neville Cardus
* Stephen Chalke
* Charles Fortune ...
and broadcaster, who contributed to the expansion of international editions of the ''BMJ'' and has argued that medicine cannot exist in a political void.
He was raised in Yorkshire, graduated in medicine from
Leeds School of Medicine
The School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Leeds, in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The School of Medicine was founded in 1831.
The School of Medicine now forms part of the University's Faculty of Medicine an ...
in 1992 and worked in
general medicine before commencing a career in journal editing in 1997, beginning with the ''BMJ'', followed by the ''
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
The ''Bulletin of the World Health Organization'' is a monthly public health journal published by the World Health Organization that was established in 1947. Articles are published in English and abstracts are available in Arabic, Chinese, Englis ...
'' and later the ''JRSM''. He is a fellow of the
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
and the
Royal College of Physicians of London
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...
.
Abbasi has been a consultant editor for ''
PLOS Medicine
''PLOS Medicine'' (formerly styled ''PLoS Medicine'') is a peer-reviewed weekly medical journal covering the full spectrum of the medical sciences. It began operation on October 19, 2004, as the second journal of the Public Library of Science (PLO ...
'' and has created
e-learning
Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and Education sciences, educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edt ...
resources for
professional development
Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning
Informal learning is characterized "by a low degree of planning and ...
of doctors, including
BMJ Learning and the
Royal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London.
History
The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chamber ...
's video lecture service.
He has authored books on cricket; ''Zindabad; The English Chronicles: a Modern History of Pakistan Cricket'', published in 2012 and ''Englistan: An immigrant’s journey on the turbulent winds of Pakistan cricket'' in 2020.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, he has produced a series in the ''JRSM'' titled "Spotlight on COVID-19", and written on the
UK's response to COVID-19, including the provision of
personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...
for frontline staff, preparedness for the pandemic, the fear of going into hospital and political accountability.
Early life and education
Kamran Abbasi was born in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
, Pakistan and moved to
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
, Yorkshire in 1974.
He completed his early education at
Oakwood School before attending the
Thomas Rotherham College
(Lest We Should Appear Ungrateful)
, established =
, closed =
, type = 16–19 academy
, religious_affiliation =
, president =
, head_label = Interim Principal
, head = David Naisbitt
, r_head_label =
...
, both in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. In 1992, he graduated in medicine from
Leeds School of Medicine
The School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Leeds, in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The School of Medicine was founded in 1831.
The School of Medicine now forms part of the University's Faculty of Medicine an ...
.
Career
In 1997, following five years in
internal medicine in both Yorkshire and London,
he joined the ''BMJ
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origina ...
'' from the Royal London and St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
History
Early history
Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...
s. He took up the post of editorial registrar and then assistant editor, before becoming deputy editor in 2002 and acting editor in 2004. He was influenced by editor Richard Smith.[ He took up the appointment of editor-in-chief of the ''BMJ'' on 1 January 2022, succeeding ]Fiona Godlee
Fiona Godlee (born August 4, 1961) was editor in chief of '' The British Medical Journal'' from March 2005 until 31 December 2021; she was the first female editor appointed in the journal's history. She was also editorial director of the other jo ...
.
Global health and politics
In 1999, he published a series of six articles in the ''BMJ'' looking at the role of the World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
in global health
Global health is the health of the populations in the worldwide context; it has been defined as "the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide". Problem ...
. A year later, he was appointed editor of the ''Bulletin of the World Health Organization
The ''Bulletin of the World Health Organization'' is a monthly public health journal published by the World Health Organization that was established in 1947. Articles are published in English and abstracts are available in Arabic, Chinese, Englis ...
''.
Abbasi became the ''BMJ's'' executive editor for content, developing the journal's expansion internationally, digitally, and in print,[ particularly the ''BMJ'' International editions,][ which he considers his greatest achievement.][ The first of the themed issues was in 2003,] and shortly after, he was one of the three main organisers of the ''BMJ’s'' first international theme issue on South Asia, where investment in primary care
Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care t ...
and particularly the education of girls in Sri Lanka and Kerala was shown to be beneficial. Their interest and continued work in South Asia has led to the ''BMJ'' offering a dedicated page to South Asia on their website since 2013.
In October 2004, while he was acting editor of the ''BMJ'', Abbasi became the recipient of an unusually large number of responses to a ''BMJ'' article written by Derek Summerfield, who published his personal view over what he saw as organised violations of the fourth Geneva Convention by the Israeli army in Gaza and their effects on public health. The reaction to that article was later analysed by Karl Sabbagh and revealed the hostility that editors can receive when publishing on a sensitive issue. In response to the messages sent to the journal's website and the over 1000 emails sent directly to Abbasi, a sample number were published on-line within 24 hours of submission. Sabbagh explained that the published messages "were a skewed sample of what had been received, as abusive and obscene contributions were not posted",[ In response to these messages, many of which "abused the ''BMJ'' or Abbasi personally",][ Abbasi published an editorial entitled: "Should journals mix medicine and politics?” Abbasi noted that the messages were "largely biased and inflammatory on both sides"] and that a number of people felt that dialogue could resolve the conflict. He specified that "in a state of conflict hoseviews will be sometime abrasive and unpalatable" and argued that medicine cannot exist in a political void.[
]
COVID-19 pandemic
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, he published his commentary on the "scandals of COVID-19", which included the topics of personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...
for frontline National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
staff, the UK's preparedness for the pandemic, and the fear of going into hospital. In May 2020, he co-authored a paper titled "The UK’s public health response to covid-19". Together with Bobbie Jacobson from the Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
and Gabriel Scally, they described the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
as "too little, too late, too flawed", with no adequate plan for community-based case-finding, testing, and contact tracing
In public health, contact tracing is the process of identifying persons who may have been exposed to an infected person ("contacts") and subsequent collection of further data to assess transmission. By tracing the contacts of infected individua ...
. Their findings were published in the ''New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'',[ and discussed in '' Medscape'',] the '' British Journal of Social Psychology'' and the '' Practice Nurse''. His editorials relating to COVID-19 for the ''JRSM'' appear in a series titled "Spotlight on COVID-19". During the pandemic he has written on the politicization of science
The politicization of science for political gain occurs when government, business, or advocacy groups use legal or economic pressure to influence the findings of scientific research or the way it is disseminated, reported or interpreted. The pol ...
, and following the global death toll from COVID-19 surpassing two million by February 2021, he used the term " social murder" to call for political accountability.
Other journals
Abbasi has been editor of the ''Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
The ''Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal. It is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Medicine with full editorial independence. Its continuous publication history dates back to 1809. Since July 20 ...
'' since 2005. He also founded BMJ Learning, an e-learning resource.[
]
Other roles
He has been appointed visiting professor
In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...
at the Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College, London, member of the General Advisory Council of the King's Fund, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
and the Royal College of Physicians of London
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...
, and patron of the South Asian Health Foundation. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
and the Royal College of Physicians of London
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...
.
He has been a consultant editor for ''PLOS Medicine
''PLOS Medicine'' (formerly styled ''PLoS Medicine'') is a peer-reviewed weekly medical journal covering the full spectrum of the medical sciences. It began operation on October 19, 2004, as the second journal of the Public Library of Science (PLO ...
'' and has created three e-learning resources for professional development
Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning
Informal learning is characterized "by a low degree of planning and ...
of doctors, including BMJ Learning and the Royal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London.
History
The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chamber ...
's video lecture service.[
He has consulted for a number of organisations including ]Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, the NHS, the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
and McKinsey & Co
McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...
.[
He has also made contributions on radio and television,][ particularly with Mark Porter. In this role, Abbasi has acted as a sceptic to ]BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's weekly medical programme, Inside Health. He also writes for ''Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...
'', a Pakistani English-language newspaper.[
He has in several years been listed as one of "the 50 most influential ]BAME
A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship betwe ...
people in health", by the '' Health Service Journal''.
Cricket
Following cricket since the 1970s, Abbasi has been an international writer on Pakistan cricket since 1996, starting as a blogger for Cricinfo.com
ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...
with a blog called Pak Spin, and with a particular interest in the politics of cricket.
He was the first Asian columnist in an English cricket publication when he started writing for Wisden Cricket Monthly
''Wisden Cricket Monthly'' (WCM) is a UK-based print and digital cricket magazine available to buy worldwide.
The original version ran from June 1979 to September 2003. The magazine was revived in November 2017, launching with an Ashes Special whi ...
. In 2000, in one ''Wisden Cricket'' entry, he reported on Hansie Cronje
Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje (25 September 1969 – 1 June 2002) was a South African international cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s. A right-handed all-rounder, as captain Cronje led his team to vi ...
and the South Africa cricket match fixing South Africa cricket match fixing refers to match fixing performed by several players of the South African cricket team, during their tour to India in the year 2000. The team was led by Hansie Cronje.
Timeline
On 7 April 2000, Delhi police Cri ...
and responded by saying that the "enigma of match fixing will remain. But the reflex judgement that white is good and brown is bad is now less sustainable than it ever was. For that at least, thank you, Hansie".
In 2004, he co-authored a paper on the influence of a 1986 Pakistani victory in cricket over India on subsequent matches up to 2003. In 2012, he published a book titled ''The English Chronicles: Zindabad: A Modern History of Pakistan Cricket''. Eight years later he wrote ''Englistan: An immigrant’s journey on the turbulent winds of Pakistan cricket''.
Selected publications
Articles
*
*
*
*.
*
*
*
*
''BMJ'' theme issues
"Forthcoming BMJ theme issues"
''British Medical Journal'' 18 January 2003; 326
"Why a special issue of the BMJ on South Asia?"
Co-authored with Zuliqar A Bhutta and Samiran Nundy. ''British Medical Journal'' 25 October 2003; 327(7421): 941–942.
“Maternal and child health vital to progress of South Asia”
''British Medical Journal'' 1 April 2004.
“Twelve years on: a call for papers for another special collection of articles on South Asia”
Co-authored with Zuliqar A Bhutta and Samiran Nundy. BMJ 10 June 2016. 2016;353:i3252
Journalism
"East or West, Nasser's best"
An extract from a piece in the Wisden Cricket. ''The Guardian'' 25 August 1999
"United Front"
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 20 August 2006
Books
Zindabad: The English Chronicles: a Modern History of Pakistan Cricket
Createspace Independent Pub, 2012.
*''Englistan: An immigrant’s journey on the turbulent winds of Pakistan cricket''. Independently published, 2020.
References
Further reading
“Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes”
Derek Summerfield, ''British Medical Journal'' 2004; 329
"Emails sent to acting editor, Kamran Abbasi, about “Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes” between 16 October 2004 and 15:03, 15 November 2004"
*
External links
The Night Watchman
Wisden's Cricket
‘’Dawn’’
publications
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbasi, Kamran
English people of Pakistani descent
Alumni of the University of Leeds
British medical writers
Pakistani medical writers
Cricket historians and writers
Medical journal editors
Pakistani sportswriters
Science bloggers
Pakistani bloggers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Academics of Imperial College London