Media contact

Julia Timms
The George Institute
+61 410 411 983
jtimms@georgeinstitute.org.au

Executive Director of The George Institute Professor Vlado Perkovic is the first Australian to join the editorial board of the New England Journal of Medicine, the most widely read, cited and influential general medical periodical in the world.

More than 600,000 people from nearly every country read NEJM in print and online each week. NEJM has an impact factor of 72.406 (2016 Journal Citation Reports, Clarivate Analytics, 2017) – the highest ranking of any general medical journal.  

Professor Perkovic, who is also Professor of Medicine at UNSW Sydney and a Staff Specialist in Nephrology at the Royal North Shore Hospital, has published more than 250 journal articles with more than 20,000 citations.

Professor Perkovic said he felt honoured to be invited to join the board.

"The New England Journal of Medicine is the most influential medical journal in the world. The research it publishes has led to significant improvements in healthcare globally. I will strive to continue to meet these extraordinarily high standards and look forward to working with the board to deliver a real impact," he said.

The editorial board of the NEJM has 16 members, nine of whom are based in the US. Professor Perkovic is the only researcher from the Asia-Pacific region.

Professor Perkovic’s research focus is in clinical trials and epidemiology, in particular in preventing the progression of kidney disease and its complications. He leads several major international clinical trials, serves on the steering committees of several others and has been involved in developing Australian and global guidelines in kidney disease, cardiovascular risk assessment and blood pressure management.

Professor Perkovic is a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council Principal Committee on Research Translation; serves on the Boards of the Australian Clinical Trial Alliance and the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes; is Chair of the International Society of Nephrology Action for Clinical Trials (ISN-ACT) group; and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and of the American Society of Nephrology.