Jimmy Volmink
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Wellcome Trust
Jimmy Volmink | |
|---|---|
 Official image of Volmink at the Wellcome Trust, 2023 | |
| Born | James Volmink |
| Alma mater | University of Cape Town Harvard University University of Oxford |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Stellenbosch University Wellcome Trust |
| Thesis | The Oxford myocardial infarction incidence study (1996) |
James Volmink is a South African physician who is a professor and chief executive officer of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the Wellcome Trust. He is an advocate for evidence-based medicine and has campaigned to improve healthcare in South Africa. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Science of South Africa and Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Volmink grew up in Cape Town during apartheid, where he had limited educational opportunities.[1] He went to a segregated township school.[1] He said that his parents believed in him and made him feel that he could do anything he wanted.[1] He applied to study at Stellenbosch University in the 1980s, but was rejected because he was Black.[1] He eventually studied medicine at the University of Cape Town,[2] and started his career as a doctor, working in disadvantaged communities across South Africa. He completed his medical internship in Cape Town, where he became frustrated with the hospital hierarchy system.[1] He applied for a job in rural Switzerland, where he became interested in public health.[1] He returned to Cape Town, where he rotated through hospital positions in Cape Town. He worked at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and in Mitchells Plain as a family practitioner.[3] He became passionate about being a health practitioner who practised health promotion.[1] Volmink eventually applied for a training position at Stellenbosch University, but also for postgraduate positions overseas. He completed his training in public health at Harvard University,[2] before moving to the University of Oxford on a scholarship. He became aware of the Cochrane group whilst out cycling with his son, where he met Iain Chalmers.[1][3] He has said that this chance encounter was "a life-changing moment,".[3]
Research and career
Volmink founded Cochrane South Africa, a non-profit that looks to disseminate information of what works in healthcare.[4] He commissioned studies into antiretrovirals, demonstrating that whilst they caused minor adverse effects, they prevented mother-to-child transmission.[1] He campaigned to improve access to antiretrovirals for people in South Africa, and after many attempts to convince government to update their policies, the courts eventually mandated their use.[1] At Cochrane, he coordinated public health summits in South Africa.[1] He campaigned for Cochrane to adopt a global health equity strategy.[5]
Volmink served as Professor and Dean of Medicine at Stellenbosch University. His research considered evidence-based medicine, with a focus on tuberculosis, HIV and cardiovascular disease.[6] He advocated for equity and inclusion, and developed a master's program in clinical epidemiology.[1]
He joined the Wellcome Trust at Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer in 2023.[7]