George Jelinek Explained

George A. Jelinek
Birth Date:21 February 1954
Birth Place:Perth, Western Australia
Profession:Professor and founder, Neuroepidemiology, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Research Field:Emergency medicine, multiple sclerosis, chronic disease
Years Active:1979–present
Education:University of Western Australia, Royal College of Surgeons, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine
Work Institutions:Fremantle Hospital, Western Australia, St Mary's Hospital, London, The University of Melbourne, Sir Gairdner Hospital, Western Australia, The University of Western Australia

George Jelinek is an Australian doctor who is professor and founder, Neuroepidemiology Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health.[1] [2] This unit expressly evaluates modifiable risk factors that predict the progression of Multiple sclerosis. He has served since 2017 as the Chief Editor for Neuroepidemiology in the journal Frontiers in Neurology, and he was Founding Editor – and is currently the Editor Emeritus – for Emergency Medicine Australasia.[3] Jelinek also has the distinction of being the first Professor of Emergency Medicine in Australasia.[4] Between 1987 and 2018, he published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, seven book forewords and eight books, and received more than 20 research grants. He is a frequent invited speaker.

In 2012, Jelinek supported the establishment of the Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis charity in the UK,[5] with registration with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit commission (ACNC) following in December 2014[6] and then not-for-profit 501(c)(3) registration in the United States in 2015.[7]

Biography

Jelinek received his MBBS at the University of Western Australia in March 1979, and a Doctor of Medicine in 1995. The focus of his doctoral thesis was Casemix classification of emergency patients.[8] His internship and residency were at Fremantle Hospital. He passed the first part of his Fellowship at the Faculty of Anesthetists, Royal College of Surgeons in 1983, and gained the Fellowship of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine in 1986. He was appointed as Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Western Australia, and Winthrop Professor and Head, Discipline of Emergency Medicine at the University of Western Australia, beginning in 1997; Director of the Emergency Practice Innovation Centre at St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne beginning in 2007 and took his position as Professor and Head at the University of Melbourne Neuroepidemiology Unit in 2015.[9]

Jelinek was diagnosed in 1999 with MS,[10] a condition that also afflicted his mother.[11] In 2011, he founded the non-profit Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis organization.[12] [13]

He is married to Dr. Sandra Neate, a specialist in emergency medicine with experience in coronial and forensic medicine and medical research. She is one of several trained professionals who run retreats for people with MS through the non-profit.[14]

Research

Grants

Grants since 2015 amount to more than AUD 5,000,000 in funding from various anonymous philanthropic donors and competitive funding bodies that support MS research.

YearPurpose
2018Partial Funding of the Neuroepidemiology Unit at the University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health until 2028
2015–2017HOLISM MS Study[15] [16]
2015Establish the Neuroepidemiology Unit at the University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

Emergency medicine

While Vice-President of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and a member of the Court of Examiners, Jelinek established the first academic department of emergency medicine in Australia at the University of Western Australia in 1997, ushering emergency medicine into the mainstream of academic medicine in Australia.

He published 50 papers in the specialty and introduced emergency medicine into the undergraduate medical curriculum at the University of Western Australia by the time he left this appointment in 2010.

He was awarded the Medal of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, its highest honor, for services to emergency medicine in 2003.

Multiple sclerosis

In 2012, Jelinek began an ongoing study entitled HOLISM (Health Outcomes and Lifestyle In a Sample of people with Multiple sclerosis) that investigated the association of lifestyle with health outcomes in people with MS.[17] [18]

Based on his work, Jelinek devised a dietary-based program, "Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis".[19] [20] The medical community and some organizations that specialize in MS remain unconvinced of the results of dietary regimens and await higher level evidence before making definitive recommendations. Jelinek asserts that there is little downside to the adoption of such lifestyle behaviors while he and others continue to pursue a more robust evidence base.

Jelinek's non-profit organization conducts live-in workshops, seminars and self-help groups for MS patients around the world.[21] Jelinek is active in fundraising for the continuing activities of the Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis charity.[22]

Honors and awards

Publications

Books

Articles

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Professor George Jelinek . University of Melbourne . 10 November 2018.
  2. Australian of the Year Finals . The Medical Journal of Australia . 203 . 11 . 11 November 2018. 10.5694/mja15.1214C3 . 2015-12-14 . Swannell . Cate . 31 January 2024 .
  3. Web site: Applying Research to Prevention One Article at a Time . 14 November 2018. 2017-05-31 .
  4. Web site: Editors & Contributors . Intellect, Ltd. . 14 November 2018.
  5. Web site: 1157579 – OVERCOMING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS . Charity Commission, UK . 2 January 2019.
  6. Web site: Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis Limited . Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission . 2 January 2019.
  7. Web site: Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis USA Inc. . 9 May 2013 . Nonprofit Explorer . 2 January 2019.
  8. Web site: Investigative review of classification systems for emergency care . Independent Hospital Pricing Authority . 10 October 2018.
  9. Web site: George Jelinek Profile . ResearchGate . 14 November 2018.
  10. Web site: Meditating On Our Health . Andrew . Trounson . . 17 April 2022. 9 May 2016 .
  11. Web site: Professor George Jelinek. Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis.
  12. Web site: Famous Aussies with MS . OzMS . 13 October 2018.
  13. Web site: About: Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis . OMS . 6 December 2018.
  14. Web site: An MS diagnosis led Professor George Jelinek's quest to stop history repeating . The Sydney Morning Herald . 19 December 2018. 2017-01-20 .
  15. Web site: The HOLISM Study . Melbourne of Population and Global Health . 12 October 2018.
  16. Methodology of an International Study of People with Multiple Sclerosis Recruited through Web 2.0 Platforms: Demographics, Lifestyle, and Disease Characteristics . 3649686 . 23691313 . 10.1155/2013/580596 . 2013 . 2013 . Neurol Res Int . 580596 . Hadgkiss . EJ . Jelinek . GA . Weiland . TJ . Pereira . NG . Marck . CH . van der Meer . DM. free .
  17. Web site: An Interview With Dr. George Jelinek . MultipleSclerosis.net . 2 December 2018. 2014-06-23 .
  18. Web site: MS: retreat programs have major health benefits . The Gawler Cancer Foundation . 5 December 2018. 2015-02-28 .
  19. Web site: Specific Diets for Multiple Sclerosis . MS / ACT NSW . 5 December 2018.
  20. Web site: Special diets and MS . MS Society . 5 December 2018.
  21. Web site: Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis Group Expands into the United States . Multiple Sclerosis News Today . 5 December 2018. 2015-10-30 .
  22. Web site: Professor George Jelinek overcame multiple sclerosis the natural way . The Bellingen Shire Courier-Sun . 5 December 2018. 2015-03-15 .
  23. Web site: ACEM – Honorary Awards . Australian College for Emergency Medicine . 14 November 2018.
  24. Web site: George Jelinek – The Conversation . 26 November 2012 . The Conversation . 14 November 2018.
  25. Web site: Victorian Australian of the Year 2016: The finalists . The Wauchope Gazette . 14 November 2018. 2015-10-08 .
  26. Web site: Professor George Jelinek. https://web.archive.org/web/20220221071014/https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/george-jelinek/554/. dead. 21 February 2022. Australian of the Year Awards . 21 February 2022.
  27. Textbook of adult emergency medicine . Emergency Medicine Journal . 18 . 4 . 322 . BMJ/Emergency Medicine Journal . 10.1136/emj.18.4.322-a . July 2001 . Freeman . Peter . 1725638 .