Rate My Professor Michael Pollack

Conjoint Associate Professor Michael Pollack serves in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, within the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing. He earned his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of New South Wales in 1981 and a Master of Medical Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Newcastle in 2000. Qualifying as a rehabilitation physician in 1988, Pollack holds fellowships including Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (FAFRM), Fellow of the Australasian College of Rehabilitation Medicine (FACRM), and Fellow of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FFPMANZCA). His extensive career encompasses roles as Staff Specialist at John Hunter Hospital since 1991, Director of Rehabilitation Medicine and District Director for Hunter New England Local Health District, Head of Department at John Hunter Hospital, and Director of the Hunter Stroke Service, which he established in 1995. He maintains a conjoint academic appointment at the University of Newcastle and practices at Brisbane Waters Private Hospital.

Pollack specializes in rehabilitation medicine with a focus on stroke rehabilitation, neurorehabilitation, spinal cord impairment, brain injury, and pain management. As Clinical Pathways Lead and a founding member of the Centre for Rehab Innovations (CRI), he has contributed over 40 peer-reviewed publications, including "Clopidogrel Administration Impairs Neurovascular Unit Recovery and Exacerbates Amyloid Beta Accumulation in Aged Mice Post-Stroke" (2026), "Biopsychosocial based machine learning models predict patient improvement after total knee arthroplasty" (2025), and "Evaluation of rural stroke services: does implementation of coordinated care improve outcomes?" (2013). His influence in the field is marked by chairing working parties for Australia's first National Guidelines on Stroke Rehabilitation and the National Framework for Stroke Rehabilitation with the National Stroke Foundation, co-founding the Australasian Stroke Unit Network (now Australasian Stroke Coalition), chairing Stroke Services NSW for the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI), and serving on the Executive Committee of the ACI Rehabilitation Clinical Network. Additionally, he leads the Research Working Group for the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFRM), delivered the Burniston Oration at the 2018 RACP Congress, and is an Associate Investigator with the Centre of Research Excellence in Stroke Rehabilitation and Brain Recovery.