Rate My Professor Jacob George

Professor Jacob George serves as the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), a position he began on 5 January 2026 while on secondment from the University of Dundee. He is Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Dundee Medical School, where he has been employed since at least 2003, and acts as a Consultant Physician qualified in Clinical Pharmacology and General Internal Medicine. As Clinical Lead for the Cardiovascular Risk Service at NHS Tayside, he manages patients with high cardiovascular risk. An alumnus of the Universities of Sheffield and Dundee, Professor George is an accredited European Hypertension Specialist and holds fellowships from the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh, the European Society of Cardiology, and the British Hypertension Society. He also serves as Visiting Professor at Dnipro State Medical University, Ukraine, appointed Honorary Professor in 2025 for supporting Ukrainian medical education.

His research specializations center on cardiovascular risk factors, including left ventricular hypertrophy, the impact of dietary salt, and the vascular effects of smoking and vaping. Key publications include 'High-dose allopurinol improves endothelial function by profoundly reducing vascular oxidative stress and not by lowering uric acid' (Circulation, 2006; 757 citations), 'Cardiovascular effects of switching from tobacco cigarettes to electronic cigarettes' (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2019; 259 citations), 'High-dose allopurinol reduces left ventricular mass in patients with ischemic heart disease' (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2013; 214 citations), 'Role of urate, xanthine oxidase and the effects of allopurinol in vascular oxidative stress' (Vascular Health and Risk Management, 2009; 324 citations), and 'A randomized controlled trial of metformin on left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with coronary artery disease without diabetes: the MET-REMODEL trial' (European Heart Journal, 2019; 182 citations). His work has amassed over 7,220 citations on Google Scholar and received coverage from more than 50 news organizations worldwide, with over 80 media interviews. Professor George chairs the Scottish Government Access to New Medicines Horizon Scanning Advisory Board, serves as National Clinical Lead for the Scottish Medicines Consortium, is a member of the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway steering group, Co-Chair of the NIHR Capital Investment Funding Committee (2024-2027), former Senior Health Technology Advisor to NICE, Chair of the local Medicines Advisory Group, and member of the PACS Tier 2 Committee. Appointed in 2017 by Malaysia's Minister of Health, he is an International Expert Advisory Member of the Malaysian Scientific Review Panel for Phase I Clinical Trials and Clinical Advisor to PhaSER Biomedical Ltd, with expertise in regulatory medicine, health technology assessments, drug development, and clinical trials, particularly in hypertension and lipid management.