Johan von Schreeb

Professor of Global Disaster Medicine at the Department of Global Public Health.

I am the director for the Centre for Health Crises and research group leader for the group Global Disaster Medicine - Health Needs and Response. The group is a WHO collaborative centre that provides training in global disaster medicine and trauma care in austere settings, conducts research and supports policy work within the field. We were part of setting up the WHO-led Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) initiative and have co-authored key documents within the initiative.
I am a medical doctor specialised in general surgery an. I did my first field mission in 1989 with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and have since continued to work with MSF and other organisations in disasters world wide. Immediately following the earthquake in Turkey in February 2023, I assisted in the coordination of international medical assistance on site, via a collaboration between the Centre for Health Crises and the frontline medical aid organisation UK-Med. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic I served as an advisor on disaster medicine to the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare as well as to Stockholm County Council.

I am the co-founder of the Swedish section of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and served as its president for seven years and have been board member of MSF Belgium and Hong Kong.

Based on my field experience as a front line surgeon I published the book “Katastrofdoktorn” Brombergs förlag, 2015. I regularly appear as a disaster medicine expert in radio and television. I also spend lots of time working with the artist-run gallery Candyland, that I am part of.

Education
Professor, MD, PhD, Specialist in general surgery

Academic honours, awards and prizes
Awarded Swede of the year 2014 by the news magazine Fokus
Awardes the Prins Carl medal by the Swedish King in 2014 for outstanding humanitarian work

My research aims at providing scientific evidence to support improvements in assisting people and populations affected by disasters worldwide. Moreover, my research explores how health needs and risks vary depending on type of disaster and context. My research group also explores type and level of trauma care needed in resource scarce settings and assess predictions models for early trauma mortality. We also assess health system resilience to disasters. Please see the publication list for more information.

Global Disaster Medicine - Health Needs and Response runs several courses that focuses on managing significant number of disaster affected including management of injuries. The courses cover both clinical and public aspects of disasters using limited resources. Together with Anneli Eriksson I have developed several courses at our department.

We run a two year Erasmus Mundus course called Public Health in Disasters, that is conducted in partnership with two other European universities. Our 20 ECT course Public Health Response in Disasters is offered as a free standing course. Every semester we offer a two week elective course (SVK) in disaster medicine for medical students. Moreover, we offer a 9-week humanitarian health assistance course for volunteers deploying with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). We also offer specific trainings in disaster medicine for Swedish doctors undergoing specialisation.

Through KI Education our group also commissions courses and accepts assignments. In 2020 we developed online courses in hygiene procedures for health care staff working with COVID-19. During the pandemic, more than 160 000 people completed these courses. We also run trainings in mass casualty management and have developed the simulations tools ViTrieEX (Virtual Triage Exercise) and AnTriEx (Analouge triage exercise). We have conducted simulation trainings in Iraq, Yemen, Cambodia, Lebanon, Ukraine and Moldova. The tools are available free of charge.

Moreover, I frequently teach on other courses and in public lectures. Since 2020 I am a member of the Pedagogical Academy at Karolinska Institutet.