Jeremy David Kark

Jeremy David Kark (9 September 1943 - 24 May 2018) was a South African-born Israeli epidemiologist. He was a Professor of epidemiology at the Hebrew University – Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine in Jerusalem and an adjunct at Stanford University Center for Health Policy Research.[1][2]

Jeremy David Kark
Born9 September 1943
Pholela, Zululand, South Africa
Died24 May 2018
Jerusalem, Israel
OccupationProfessor of Epidemiology and Public Health
Spouse(s)Ruth Kark
Children3
Parent(s)Emily and Sidney Kark
Academic background
EducationWestville Boys High School, Durban, South Africa (1955-1958)

Chapel Hill High School, NC, USA (1958-1960) The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (1960-1974)

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA (1974-1977)
Alma materHebrew University of Jerusalem (MD, MPH) University of North Carolina (PhD)
Academic work
DisciplineMedicine

Epidemiology

Public Health

Biography

Jeremy David Kark was born in Pholela, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. His parents, Sidney Kark and Emily Kark, were physicians.[3] They established the first Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) program and health centre in South Africa[4][5][6][7][8] in a Zululand rural area, where Kark grew up until 1946.[3] Kark attended Westville Boys' High School in Durban, and moved with his family to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA in 1957.[5] In 1958, his father founded the Department of Epidemiology of the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina. In 1959, Kark's parents immigrated to Jerusalem, where they worked to establish the Department of Social Medicine of the Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Organization.[9] When Kark graduated from Chapel Hill High School in 1960,[10] he joined his family in Israel.[11]

Kark studied medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, graduating in 1968. He earned an MPH (Master of Public Health) between 1972 and 1974 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[1] Between 1974 and 1977 he pursued a PhD in Epidemiology with Professor John Cassel at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, USA.[1]

Kark was married to Ruth Kleiner Kark, whom he met in 1960, and had three children. He died in May 2018.[12]

Academic and Medical career

Kark served in the Israel Defence Forces in the 1960s to 1980s. Between 1976 and 1980, he was the Director of Army Health (Public Health) of the IDF Medical Corps.[13] From 1980 until 1995 he was the Head of the Epidemiology Research Unit of the IDF Medical Corps.[3] Kark established key medical databases and a bio-repository in the IDF.[14][15][16]

In 1980, Kark joined the Department of Social Medicine, the Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, the Hebrew University-Hadassah Faculty of Medicine as an academic.[1] In 1993, Kark was appointed as Full Professor of Epidemiology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[17]

In 1991-2008, Kark served as Head of Epidemiology Unit of Hadassah Hospital.[1] In 1994-2001, he headed the Cardiovascular Unit at the Israeli Center for Disease Control.[18] He also served as the Director of the Legacy-Heritage International MPH Program, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine in 2006 –2007.[17]

Kark contributed to medical research, the Jerusalem Lipid Research Clinic (LRC) longitudinal study of cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes and cognitive risk factors (from the 1970s-today) and studies on adolescent predictors of cancer and cause-specific mortality in adulthood of over two million people, with a follow-up period extending over four decades.[19] His study in Israel during the 1991 Gulf War showed the impact of stress on premature death.[20][21] His work on the relationship between religious observance and health compared religious and secular Israeli kibbutzim and discovered lower mortality rates in the religious kibbutzim for both men and women, suggesting a protective effect.[22]

Kark published his work in over 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers, including medical, public health and epidemiological journals, such as The New England Journal of Medicine,[14][23] and The Lancet.[24][25][26]

Sports career

As a high school and university student, Kark actively competed in various branches of sports, including cricket, rugby and swimming. In 1958-1960, after moving to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, he represented Chapel Hill High in swimming[27] and represented the North Carolina All State High School Swimming Team (of which he was co-Captain) in freestyle swimming. In 1960, when Kark was 16 years old, during a match between Jerusalem's team (which Kark represented) and Tel Aviv, he scored 199 (including 16 sixes)[28] and achieved the highest cricket score ever recorded in Israel.[28] Kark played on Israel's national cricket team and represented Israel as a member of Israel's National Cricket Team in the 10th Maccabiah Games in 1977.[29]

Awards and commemoration
Jeremy Kark in the 1960 Chapel Hill High School Yearbook

In 2017-2018, Kark was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Israel Association of Public Health Physicians for his advancement of public health in Israel and around the world.[30] In 2018, following Kark’s death, his wife established “The Jeremy D. Kark Legacy Prize for Academic Excellence”, awarded annually to an International Master of Public Health (IMPH) student at the Hebrew University – Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine in recognition of outstanding academic and research performance.[31]

Dissertations

·       Kark, J. D. The distribution of serum uric acid in a sample of Israel Defense Forces recruits (1973-4) by several demographic, psychometric and somatic variables. Master of Public Health thesis. Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1977.

·       Kark, J. D. The relationship of serum vitamin A and serum cholesterol to the incidence of cancer in Evans County, Georgia. Doctoral dissertation (PhD.), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1977.

Published works
  • Boker, L. K., Twig, G., Klaitman-Meir, V., Derazne, E., Shina, A., Levine, H., & Kark, J. D. (2020). Adolescent characteristics and incidence of pre-malignant disease and invasive tumors of the cervix. International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer, ijgc-2019.
  • Furer, A., Afek, A., Sommer, A., Keinan-Boker, L., Derazne, E., Levi, Z., ... & Kark, J. D. (2020). Adolescent obesity and midlife cancer risk: a population-based cohort study of 2· 3 million adolescents in Israel. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 8(3), 216-225.
  • Leiba, A., Twig, G., Vivante, A., Skorecki, K., Golan, E., Derazne, E.; Tzur, Grossman, E., Dichtiar, R.,Kark, J. D., Shohat, T. (2017). Prehypertension among 2.19 million adolescents and future risk for end-stage renal disease. Journal of Hypertension. 35(6): 1290–1296.
  • Twig, G., Yaniv, G., Levine, H., Leiba, A., Goldberger, N., Derazne, E., Ben-Ami Shor, D., Tzur, D., Afek, A., Shamiss, A. and Haklai, Z., (2016). Body-mass index in 2.3 million adolescents and cardiovascular death in adulthood. New England Journal of Medicine, 374(25), pp. 2430–2440.
  • Ben-Dov, I.Z., Kark, J.D., Ben-Ishay, D., Mekler, J., Ben-Arie, L. and Bursztyn, M., (2007). Predictors of all-cause mortality in clinical ambulatory monitoring: unique aspects of blood pressure during sleep. Hypertension, 49(6), pp. 1235–1241.
  • Guallar, E., Sanz-Gallardo, M.I., Veer, P.V.T., Bode, P., Aro, A., Gómez-Aracena, J., Kark, J.D., Riemersma, R.A., Martín-Moreno, J.M. and Kok, F.J., (2002). Mercury, fish oils, and the risk of myocardial infarction. New England Journal of Medicine, 347(22), pp. 1747–1754.
  • Kohlmeier, L., Kark, J.D., Gomez-Gracia, E., Martin, B.C., Steck, S.E., Kardinaal, A.F., Ringstad, J., Thamm, M., Masaev, V., Riemersma, R. and Martin-Moreno, J.M., (1997). Lycopene and myocardial infarction risk in the EURAMIC Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 146(8), pp. 618–626.
  • Kark, J. D., Shemi, G., Friedlander, Y., Martin, O., Manor, O., & Blondheim, S. H. (1996). Does religious observance promote health? mortality in secular vs religious kibbutzim in Israel. American Journal of Public Health, 86(3), 341-346.
  • Kark, J. D., Goldman, S., & Epstein, L. (1995). Iraqi missile attacks on Israel: The association of mortality with a life-threatening stressor. Jama, 273(15), 1208-1210.
  • Salomaa, V., Riley, W., Kark, J.D., Nardo, C. and Folsom, A.R., (1995). Non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and fasting glucose and insulin concentrations are associated with arterial stiffness indexes: the ARIC study. Circulation, 91(5), pp. 1432–1443.
gollark: No, you're talking about increasing ruralization mostly.
gollark: Those are a high-density city-ish thing.
gollark: Why?
gollark: Suuuuuuure.
gollark: You can get higher quality through economies of scale, greater competition in the market for them, and better field-testing of things.

See also
  • Health care in Israel

References
  1. "The Faculty of Medicine". medicine.ekmd.huji.ac.il. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  2. "FSI | CHP/PCOR - Jeremy D. Kark". healthpolicy.fsi.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  3. Horder, John (2000-09-30). "Promoting Community Health: From Pholela to Jerusalem". BMJ : British Medical Journal. 321 (7264): 838. doi:10.1136/bmj.321.7264.838. ISSN 0959-8138. PMC 1118644. PMID 11009532.
  4. KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health. Promoting Community-oriented Primary Care in KwaZulu-Natal: Voices from the ground. Durban: KZH DoH; 2019.
  5. "Against The Odds:Downloads > Audio Tour". www.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  6. Geiger, H. Jack (November 2002). "Community-Oriented Primary Care: A Path to Community Development". American Journal of Public Health. 92 (11): 1713–1716. doi:10.2105/ajph.92.11.1713. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 3221474. PMID 12406790.
  7. Kark, S. L.; Cassel, J. (November 2002). "The Pholela Health Centre: A Progress Report" (PDF). American Journal of Public Health. 92 (5): 1743–1747. doi:10.2105/AJPH.92.11.1743. PMC 2557660. PMID 10361770.
  8. Longlett, Shirley; Kruse, J; Wesley, Robert (2001-01-01). "Community-oriented primary care: Historical perspective". The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice. 14 (1): 54–63. PMID 11206694.
  9. On “A Practice of Social Medicine” by Sidney and Emily Kark, Jaime Gofin
  10. "Jeremy Kark 1943-2018". Chapel Hill High School class of 1960. 2020-01-10. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  11. Saving billions to save the environment
  12. Professor Jeremy David Kark, 9 Sep 1943-24 May 2018, Jerusalem, Israel
  13. Granting Life Achievement Award for Your Activity on Behalf of the Advancement of Public Health in Israel and the World Over, Nov 23, 2017
  14. Twig, Gilad; Yaniv, Gal; Levine, Hagai; Leiba, Adi; Goldberger, Nehama; Derazne, Estela; Ben-Ami Shor, Dana; Tzur, Dorit; Afek, Arnon; Shamiss, Ari; Haklai, Ziona (2016-06-23). "Body-Mass Index in 2.3 Million Adolescents and Cardiovascular Death in Adulthood". New England Journal of Medicine. 374 (25): 2430–2440. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1503840. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 27074389.
  15. Twig, Gilad; Tirosh, Amir; Leiba, Adi; Levine, Hagai; Shor, Dana Ben-Ami; Derazne, Estela; Haklai, Ziona; Goldberger, Nehama; Kasher-Meron, Michal; Yifrach, Dror; Gerstein, Hertzel C. (2016-11-01). "BMI at Age 17 Years and Diabetes Mortality in Midlife: A Nationwide Cohort of 2.3 Million Adolescents". Diabetes Care. 39 (11): 1996–2003. doi:10.2337/dc16-1203. ISSN 0149-5992. PMID 27733421.
  16. Keinan-Boker, Lital; Levine, Hagai; Derazne, Estela; Molina-Hazan, Vered; Kark, Jeremy D. (2016-07-01). "Measured adolescent body mass index and adult breast cancer in a cohort of 951,480 women". Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. 158 (1): 157–167. doi:10.1007/s10549-016-3860-6. ISSN 1573-7217. PMID 27306419. S2CID 7198938.
  17. "Chapel hill high school class of 1960".
  18. Handbook of Religion and Health, Harold G. Koenig, Michael E. McCullough, David B. Larson
  19. Kark, S. (2019). The Kark Family Legacy. Poster presented at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
  20. Kark, Jeremy D. (1995-04-19). "Iraqi Missile Attacks on Israel: The Association of Mortality With a Life-Threatening Stressor". JAMA. 273 (15): 1208. doi:10.1001/jama.1995.03520390068035. ISSN 0098-7484. PMID 7707629.
  21. Haberman, Clyde (1995-04-21). "Israeli Study Sees Higher Death Rate From '91 Scud Attacks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  22. Kark, J D; Shemi, G; Friedlander, Y; Martin, O; Manor, O; Blondheim, S H (March 1996). "Does religious observance promote health? mortality in secular vs religious kibbutzim in Israel". American Journal of Public Health. 86 (3): 341–346. doi:10.2105/ajph.86.3.341. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 1380514. PMID 8604758.
  23. Twig G, Yaniv G, Levine H, Leiba A, Goldberger N, Derazne E, Ben-Ami Shor D, Tzur D,  Afek A, Shamiss A, Haklai Z, Kark JD. Body mass index in 2.3 million adolescents and adult cardiovascular death. NEJM 2016 July 13;374:2430-2440. Online Early Release April 13, 2016 DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa1503840.
  24. Greenblatt CL, Kark JD, Schnur LF, Slutzky GM.  Do leishmania serotypes mimic human blood group antigens. Lancet 1981; 1: 505-506 (letter, original contribution).
  25. Kardinaal AFM, Kok FJ, Ringstad J, Gomez-Aracena J, Mazaev VP, Kohlmeier L, Martin BC, Aro A, Kark JD, Delgadoo-Rodriguez M, Riemersma RA, van`t Veer P, Huttunen Jk, Martin-Moreno JM. Antioxidants in adipose tissue and risk of acute myocardial infarction: the EURAMIC study. Lancet 1993; 342: 1379-84.
  26. Aro A, Kardinaal  AFM, Salminen I, Kark JD, Riemersma RA, Delgado-Rodriguez M, Gomez-Aracena J, Huttunen JK, Kohlmeier L, Martin BC, Martin-Moreno    JM, Mazaev VP, Ringstad J, Thamm M, Van`t Veer P, Kok FJ. Adipose tissue isomeric transfatty acids and the risk of myocardial infarction in different countries: the EURAMIC study. Lancet 1995; 345: 273-78.
  27. Chapel Hill High School., Hillife 1960
  28. 70 Years of Southern African Aliyah, Philip Gillon
  29. עיתון מעריב, כל ספורטאי משלחת ישראל - בעשירית, 12.07.1977
  30. Interdisciplinary professionalism in Public Health, June 4, 2018, Scientific program
  31. "Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health & Community Medicine International MPH Alumni Newsletter" (PDF). 1 December 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
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