Dr. Bob Kass

Biography / Background

Dr Bob Kass is the Medical Director at Globe Medical and holds specialist qualifications in paediatrics and public health medicine. He is one of Australia’s pioneers in the discipline of travel medicine. After working overseas for a number of years, he returned to Australia in 1989 and took the role of General Manager and National Medical Director of the Travellers Medical & Vaccination Centre. Over a twelve year period he grew the organisation from just two centres to more than twenty-three centres throughout Australia and internationally. He was Chief Executive Officer of Travel Doctor TMVC Pty Ltd for eight years. In 2005 he established Globe Medical; an internationally recognised clinic for excellence in the practice of travel medicine.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (The University of Sydney)

Member of the Royal College of Physicians (United Kingdom)

Master of Science, Maternal and Child Health (University of London, United Kingdom)

Diploma of Child Health (University of London, United Kingdom)

Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (Australia)

Experience

Bob has vast international experience, having worked abroad in public health, paediatrics and tropical medicine. His work has taken him to a number of overseas destinations including Western Samoa, Papua New Guinea, United Kingdom, Tonga, Tokelau, Uganda and Burma. He has also worked as a paediatrician in Central Australia where much of his work was with aboriginal communities. Bob’s extensive and diverse international experiences allow him to offer rich and invaluable insights at health briefings. These are given to employees and their families being placed in medium to high risk overseas locations.

Teaching and Research Interests

Bob currently holds a senior lecturer’s appointment at the University of Adelaide's Department of General Practice, where he is involved in their course on international health. Bob is regarded as an entertaining and enthusiastic lecturer whose broad life experiences provide unique perspectives to aspiring medicos. His areas of research and teaching interest include malaria, traveller’s diarrhoea, emerging infectious diseases and tropical child health. He is a regular contributor of educational articles to a number of Australian medical magazines including the Medical Observer.

During the SARS crisis of 2003 he conducted numerous workshops on the "real risk" versus "perceived risk" of exposure to the disease. Over the years he has spoken at many conferences where he has highlighted the important role travel clinics play during disease outbreaks such as SARS and Avian Influenza. This was demonstrated by his visit to Singapore and Taiwan in 2004, where he spoke to public health specialists on the role of travel clinics in the practice of travel medicine.

Professional Associations

Dr Kass served on the Executive Board of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) for four years. He is also an active member in the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine which belongs to the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He is highly respected by his colleagues, which was exemplified in 2005, where he served as a member of the Tsunami Committee providing input to the Communicable Diseases Network of Australia. He has also represented his peers on the national committee for travel health; THAG (Travel Health Advisory Group). This is a joint venture initiative between the travel industry and travel medicine professionals. It aims to promote healthy travel amongst travellers and to develop national guidelines on travel health.

Publications

Selected Publications include;

Lawrence GL, Burgess MA, Kass RB. Age-related risk of adverse events following yellow fever vaccination in Australia. Commun Dis Intell. 2004; 28(2): 244-248

Gherardin AW, Scrimgeour DJ, Lau SC, Phillips MA, Kass RB. Early rabies antibody response to intramuscular booster in previously intradermally immunized travelers using human diploid cell rabies vaccine. J Travel Med 2001; 8:122-126

Phillips MA, Kass RB. User Acceptability Patterns for Mefloquine and Doxycycline Malaria Chemoprophylaxis. J Travel Med 1996; 3:40-45

Robinson P, Ruff T, Kass RB. Australian Case-Control Study of Adverse Reactions to Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine. J Travel Med 1995; 2:159-164

Kass RB, Meumann F. Hospitalisation for childhood diarrhoea in Central Australia. Aust Clin Rev. 1985; 5(19): 178-183

Hanna JN, Kass RB. Immunization status of aboriginal children in Central Australia. Med J Aust. 1985 Oct 28; 143(9 Suppl): S56-7