Joav Merrick, M.D., MMedSci, D.M.Sc, is professor of pediatrics, child health and human development affiliated with Kentucky Children’s Hospital, University of Kentucky, Lexington, United States and the Department of Pediatrics, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Mount Scopus Campus, Jerusalem, Israel.

Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services
Immigrated to Israel in 1989 to take up the position of Attending Physician at the Department of Pediatrics and Director of the Child Protection Team, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, but in 1991 appointed the Medical Director of the Health Services for the Division for Mental Retardation (DMR) in Israel under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services responsible for the medical care of over 10,000 persons with intellectual disability in more than 60 residential care centers and 60 community related residential care facilities (hostels, protected apartments) and also another 20,000 persons with intellectual disability living at home, but provided community services in about 400 places around Israel.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
From 1998 the initiator and also the director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, an academic virtual research institute on children, the disabled and the intellectually disabled in Israel affiliated with the Office of the Medical Director, Health Services, Ministry of Social Affairs and the Department of Pediatrics, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Mount Scopus Campus, Jerusalem, Israel.

Academic editorial work
On the Editorial Board of the “International Journal on Child Abuse and Neglect” from 1984-94, but continues to perform referee work.

From 1999 Editorial Board of the International Journal of Religion, Disability and Health published by Haworth Press, New York. From 1999 review work for the Israel Medical Asssociation Journal (English Journal) and from 2000 the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health published by De Gruyter Publishing House (Berlin and New York).

From 2001 review work for the International Quarterly Public Health Review (Int Scientific Publications, Tel Aviv), Journal of Intellectual Disability Research (Blackwell Science, Oxford) and several other international journals.

From 2002 on the editorial board of the Internet Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatology (Internet Scientific Publications, Ispub.com) and the International Nursing Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability (internet journal launched in 2004 by the Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association, Blaine, Washington).

From 2003 the Principal Editor of the “Child Health and Human Development” domain of the on-line Scientific World Journal and in 2006 the Principal Editor of TSWJ-Holistic Health and Medicine published by Scientific World Ltd operating from Finland.

From 2005 the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Disability and Human Development published by De Gruyter Publishing House (Berlin and New York).

From 2007 and 2009 the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Child Health and Human Development (Nova Science, New York), the International Journal of Child and Adolescent Health (Nova Science), the Journal of Alternative Medicine Research (Nova Science), the International Public Health Journal (Nova Science) and co-editor of the Journal of Pain Management (Nova Science).

From 2007 the editor-in-chief of the book series Disability Studies and Health and Human Development (Nova Science) and from 2010 of the book series Health, Medicine and Human Development (De Gruyter).

Academic publications
At this stage in life close to a total of 2,000 published articles, chapters in books, educational material, radio- and television programs on child health, human development, disability, intellectual disability, rehabilitation, health, mental health, welfare, abuse, advocacy, quality of life and prevention.

More than fifty books published (children’s books, textbooks, yearbooks, edited books) on a wide variety of topics, like “Children and the Emergency Room”, “Incest”, “Child Abuse”, “Child Sexual Abuse”, “Children in Alcohol- and Drug-abusing families”, Children at risk”, “Childhood” and “Child Development”, “Suicidal behavior in adolescence”, “The Scandinavian Textbook on Social and Community Pediatrics”, “The Scandinavian Textbook on Child Abuse and Neglect” and “Principles of Holistic Medicine”.

Awards
Received the Peter Sabroe Child Award for outstanding work on behalf of Danish Children in 1985 and the International LEGO-Prize (“The Children’s Nobel Prize”) for an extraordinary contribution towards improvement in child welfare and well-being in 1987.

Contact

For contact info, please see the home page: http://jmerrick50.googlepages.com/home