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Vascular Tests, Systemic Sclerosis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Science Communication, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Platelet Function, Cardiovascular Risk, Biologics, Autoimmunity, Atherosclerosis, Anti-TNF agents, Academic Journals, Systemic Vasculitides, Thrombosis, Research Reporting Gudelines
United Kingdom

Biography

Professor George D. Kitas MD, PhD, FRCP qualified from the Medical School of Athens in Greece in 1985. He pursued postgraduate doctoral studies in Birmingham, UK, trained in medicine and rheumatology in several units in the UK and was appointed Consultant Rheumatologist at the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust (Teaching Trust of the University of Birmingham, UK) in 1995, where he has been/is Head of Rheumatology, Clinical Director of Ambulatory Medicine, Director of Research & Development and Deputy Medical Director.

Prof Kitas is the Chief Editor of the Mediterranean Journal of Rheumatology (since 2014) which is the leading online peer-reviewed source for rheumatologists and allied specialists from the Mediterranean region. The Journal is aimed at promoting high ethical standards in research and clinical practice in rheumatology and implementing innovative technologies in pre- and post-publication communication.

He is Honorary Professor of Clinical Rheumatology at the Arthritis Research UK Epidemiology Unit - University of Manchester, UK, Professor of Behavioural Rheumatology at the College of Life and Environmental Sciences - University of Birmingham, and Professor of Rheumatology, Musculoskeletal Health and Exercise at the Research Institute in Healthcare Sciences - University of Wolverhampton.
From 2011 he is also Director of the Department of Rheumatology at “Hygeia” Hospital, and Visiting Professor of Rheumatology at the Medical Schools of the University of Athens and the University of Thessaloniki in Greece.

In 2013 he was the “Boland” Professor of Rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic, USA. He is editorial board member of 6 international journals, acts as expert reviewer for more than 40 international journals, and is an expert evaluator for funding bodies and the quality assessment agencies for higher education and research of several countries, including the UK, France, Ireland, Holland, Greece, Italy, Spain, Hong Kong and South Africa.

He leads the “Rheumatoid Arthritis Co-morbidity Research Group”, has supervised more than 15 successful MD and PhD candidates and has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed original publications and book chapters, and over 300 published conference abstracts (current h-index 68, more than 18000 citations). He has received several research grants from multiple sources, including the Medical Research Council, Arthritis Research UK, British Heart Foundation and the pharmaceutical industry. He is Chief Investigator of TRACE RA, thus far the largest Academically-led multicentre prospective RCT in Rheumatoid Arthritis in the World. He is founding member of the West Midlands Rheumatology Forum, the first multidisciplinary rheumatology congress in the UK, and of the Birmingham Arthritis Resource Centre, the only community-based resource centre for rheumatic diseases in Europe. He has been Chairman of the West Midlands Rheumatology Services and Training Committee, Regional Specialty Advisor of the Royal College of Physicians, member of the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) Council, member and vice-chairman of the BSR Heberden Committee, and Associate International Director for European affairs of the Royal College of Physicians of London. He is convenor of the BSR Cardiovascular co-morbidity Special Interest Group and member of the European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) task force on cardiovascular risk management in rheumatic diseases. Since March 2015 he is also Chairman of the “National Action Plan for Rheumatology” implementation committee in Greece.

He heads the Academic arm of the Research & Development Directorate at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley, UK where issues of science writing, editing and ethical research reporting are focus of research and academic activities since 2008.

He has been granted several national and international awards, including, amongst others, a bronze and a silver Clinical Excellence Award in the UK, honorary doctorates at the Universities of Thessaly and Patras, Visiting Professorships at the Universities of Athens and of Thessaloniki in Greece, and the “Boland” Visiting Professorship of Rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic Medical School in the USA.