Joint Expert Group on
Human Biology & Medicine

The Joint Expert Group on Human Biology & Medicine (JEGHBM) is a joint group with SCAR and it provides advice on a range of medical issues. The group draws on a vast pool of international experience consisting of doctors, psychologists and human physiologists and biologists who are actively engaged in medicine support and medical and biomedical research in the Antarctic and other areas where healthcare is undertaken in remote and austere environments.

The Officers of the JEGHBM are:
Chair: Dr Giichiro Ohno (Japan),
Deputy Chairs: Dr Nathalie Pattyn (Belgium), Dr Paul Laforet (France), Dr Mark A. Shepanek (USA)
Secretary: Dr Matt Warner (UK)

The JEGHBM maintains its own website called “Medical Antarctica”.

In August 2010, COMNAP held a workshop “Planning for Infectious Disease in Antarctica”. Much of the discussion and advice is applicable to the COVID-19 situation. The outcomes of the workshop can be found here.

The list of presentations from the SCAR OSC (2020/online) JEGHBM session on “Current Challenges in Antarctic Medicine” is available here.

The SCAR COMNAP JEGHBM Poster no 21 SCAR OSC (2016) provides information on this Expert Group: