Kamran Abbasi
Editor in Chief, The BMJ
Kamran Abbasi
Kamran Abbasi FRCP Edin Lon has been editor-in-chief of The BMJ since 2021 and has spent much of his career at the publication, first working there in 1997. He has led its international growth and helped its digital offering evolve, including creating e-learning resources for doctors’ professional development through BMJ Learning.
His period as editor-in-chief has included much of the covid pandemic. He has highlighted the impact covid has continued to have on the NHS and the need for public health measures to control the virus. He has also been instrumental in the 2024 launch of The BMJ Commission on the Future of the NHS. This initiative identifies key areas for analysis, combining them in a series of papers published in The BMJ.
By highlighting critical issues such as funding, workforce shortages, and sustainability, the commission has encouraged a broader public discourse, involving patients, health professionals, and stakeholders in meaningful discussions about the future of the NHS in the UK.
For multiple years, Kamran has been listed as one of the top 50 most influential Black, Asian and minority ethnic leaders in English health and care – listed alphabetically.
A qualified doctor, Kamran studied medicine at Leeds University and joined BMJ after postgraduate training in general medicine. In addition to contributing to radio and television, he is an honorary visiting professor at Imperial College London and a member of the King’s Fund’s general advisory council. He trained as a doctor and worked in psychiatry and cardiology before concentrating on journalism. He is also the editor of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and JRSM Open.
Outside of medicine, Kamran loves cricket, which he has covered extensively on social media, television, and in national newspapers. He has also authored best-selling books, including Zindabad, The English Chronicles: a Modern History of Pakistan Cricket, published in 2012, and Englistan: An Immigrant’s Journey on the Turbulent Winds of Pakistan Cricket, published in 2020.
