Short Biography

Professor Christian Gericke, MD PhD MPH (Cantab) MSc MBA FRACP FAFPHM, is an experienced Consultant Neurologist with a special interest in Epilepsy and a Public Health Physician.

He studied medicine at the Free University of Berlin and was awarded a DAAD scholarship to study at Tufts and Harvard Medical Schools in Boston, USA. He then completed his specialist training in neurology at the Charité University Hospital in Berlin, epileptology at the University Hospitals of Strasbourg and Geneva, and public health medicine at the University of Cambridge and the NHS Eastern Deanery.

He holds two research doctorates; an MD (magna cum laude) in Cognitive Neurology from the Free University of Berlin and a PhD in Health Systems Research from Berlin University of Technology, and three Masters degrees (MPH University of Cambridge, MSc University of London, MBA Deakin Business School).

He is the Convener of the Australian Government Specialist Medical Review Council (SMRC), a Member of the Queensland Neurology/Neurosurgery Medical Assessment Tribunal, and a Clinical Advisor to the Queensland Health Ombudsman. He holds an Advanced Diploma in Medical Law from King’s Inns School of Law in Dublin and is an American Board Certified Independent Medical Examiner (CIME). He has also completed the Cardiff University Bond Solon Expert Witness Training in expert report writing, courtroom skills, cross-examination, and civil and criminal law and procedures. He is a graduate of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and a Member of the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) Medical Law Special Interest Group.

He is a Consultant Neurologist at Calvary Bruce Private Hospital and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Australian National University. Previously, he worked as Clinical Director of Neurology at the Prince Charles Hospital and Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland. He also worked as a Consultant Neurologist, Epileptologist, and Clinical Neurophysiologist at leading hospitals in the UK, including King’s College Hospital London and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.

He has a special interest in aerospace neurology. He serves as Squadron Leader and Aviation Neurologist in the Royal Australian Air Force and as a CASA-Approved Aviation Consultant in Neurology and Designated Aviation Medical Examiner (DAME). He is a Member of the Australasian Society of Aviation Medicine (ASAM) and the International Aerospace Neuroscience Consortium (IANC).

He held senior health system leadership roles in Australia and the UK, including as Clinical Dean and Director of Research at Calvary Mater Newcastle in New South Wales, Medical Director for Safety and Quality for the Tasmanian Department of Health, Medical Director of the Communicable Diseases Branch in the Queensland Department of Health, and Deputy Director of the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for Devon and Cornwall.

As a committed educator and researcher, Prof Gericke’s academic positions included the Inaugural Professor in Health Policy at the University of Adelaide, Professor of Public Health at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, Honorary Professor in Medicine, Public Health, and at the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland, and Clinical Dean and Conjoint Professor of Medicine at the University of Newcastle. He held visiting appointments at leading universities in Poland and China (Fudan and Shanghai Jiaotong Universities). He is currently Adjunct Professor of Neurology at Fiji National University and Visiting Professor of Neuroophthalmology at Chandigarh University.

Professor Gericke has given over 150 oral presentations, mostly as an invited or keynote speaker in recent years, and has published over 170 peer-reviewed publications, including in the NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, BMJ, Neurology, Epilepsia, and Brain. He serves as Associate Editor for the peer-reviewed journals Frontiers in Neurology, Australian Health Review, and PLOS One. He has attracted over $12 million in research grants from diverse funding agencies, including large national competitive grants (NHMRC, ARC, NIHR), Federal and State Departments of Health, and international organisations (WHO, OECD, World Bank, European Commission), philanthropic and industry funding.

Professor Gericke holds leadership roles in national and international professional societies, including as Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists (ANZAN) Therapeutics Committee, Chair of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Ethics Section, and Chair of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) Research Committee. He is the former Vice-Chair of the AAN Neuroepidemiology Section and serves as Federal Councillor for the Australian Medical Association (AMA).

He is a Member of the International Consortium on Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) Epilepsy Working Group, which defined a new set of global, evidence-based, and patient-centred outcomes for research and care for children and adults with epilepsy, published in Epilepsia in 2024. He is also a Member of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Standards and Best Practice Council. Currently, he works with leading epileptologists worldwide on a systematic review of the ILAE clinical guidelines for epilepsy diagnosis and treatment.