Rate My Professor Ben Freedman

Professor Ben Freedman, BSc(Med), MBBS, PhD, FRACP, FCSANZ, FACC, FESC, FAHA, is an Honorary Professor of Cardiology in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. He completed his BSc(Med), MBBS, and PhD at the University of Sydney under the supervision of David Kelly. Freedman has held several prominent positions, including Deputy Dean of Sydney Medical School from 2003 to 2012, Head of the Department of Cardiology at Concord Hospital, and currently serves as Director of External Affairs and Group Leader of the Heart Rhythm and Stroke Prevention Group at the Heart Research Institute. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne.

Freedman's research focuses on cardiology, with a major emphasis on stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF), including screening, epidemiology, and detection in various settings such as Indigenous Australians, post-stroke patients, cardiac clinics, and community centers across multiple countries. He has authored over 300 publications and several book chapters on antianginal agents, coronary ischaemia, heart attack treatments, secondary prevention, and AF screening. Key publications include 'Screening for Atrial Fibrillation: A Report of the AF-SCREEN International Collaboration' (Circulation, 2017), 'High-intensity atrial fibrillation screening to prevent stroke' (The Lancet, 2021), and 'Residual Risk of Stroke and Death in Anticoagulant-Treated Patients With Atrial Fibrillation' (JAMA Cardiology, 2016). In 2015, he founded the AF-SCREEN International Collaboration, now comprising over 170 members from 40 countries, and led the publication of five white papers (Frontiers Reviews) in Circulation and a state-of-the-art review in the European Heart Journal. Freedman is co-editor for Australia and New Zealand of the European Heart Journal and has supervised more than 40 PhD and higher degree research students, many of whom have become global cardiovascular leaders. His contributions have earned him the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2011 for service to medicine as a clinician, educator, and researcher, the University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine's inaugural Distinguished Service Award in 2012, and the Ministerial Award for Cardiovascular Research Excellence in 2023 from the NSW Cardiovascular Research Network.