Paul M. Gahlinger
Encyclopedia
Paul M. Gahlinger, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., FACOEM, (born in Green Bay, Wisconsin
) is an American scientist
, physician
, and author
. His books include Computer Programs for Epidemiologic Analysis (see Winpepi
), Northern Manitoba from Forest to Tundra, The Cockpit, Illegal Drugs, Health for Pilots, Drugs and Justice, and The Medical Tourism Travel Guide.
and later served as the Captain of the Swiss Guards under Pope Pius XI
and Pope Pius XII
. The family subsequently emigrated to Canada
, where his father bought a produce farm. The father’s early death plunged the family into poverty. Paul Gahlinger left school at age 14 to become a farm worker, and later worked underground at Giant Mine
gold mine near Yellowknife in the Canadian Northwest Territories
and was a logger for MacMillan Bloedel Limited
on Vancouver Island
in British Columbia
. At age 20, he gained entry to college despite lacking a high school education or diploma. He eventually achieved a B.A. in Philosophy
, M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology
, M.P.H. in Epidemiology
, and M.D. degrees. He studied at numerous universities, with degrees from the University of California, Berkeley
and University of California, Davis
. (This information is from The Cockpit.)
Dr. Gahlinger is a citizen of Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. In 1992, he attained notoriety by his record-breaking flight in a small airplane from California
to Egypt
(described in The Cockpit).
In 1996, Gahlinger became Chief Medical Officer of Johnston Atoll
, a chemical weapons demilitarization site in the mid-Pacific. Under his stewardship, the island obtained JCAHO (Joint Commission) and ISO-9000 accreditation and certification by the Chemical Weapons Convention
for health care.
In 2008, Gahlinger started MediCruiser Family Practice & House Calls. This company has a traditional clinic, telemedicine
operations, and a Doctor's house call service. It is located in West Jordan, UT.
prize in Philosophy of Science
for his paper, “The Assignation of Cause” arguing that causality is an operational construct that cannot be determined empirically.
In 1997, he was awarded a medal of distinguished service by the United States Army
, Defense Special Weapons, for his development of chemical weapons safety programs.
In 2001, he was elected to Fellow and Master of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
and illegal drugs. In particular, his popular textbook Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use and Abuse 2004, New York: Penguin Group
, Plume
is regarded as the most comprehensive reference on illegal drugs. It is used at hundreds of universities and colleges in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. His commentary on illegal drugs has been presented in numerous television and radio programs on topics ranging from Opium production in Afghanistan
to the influence of cocaine on Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
He is currently Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of Utah
and serves as a Biomedical Space Research evaluator for NASA
. He is listed by Consumers’ Research Council of America as one of “America’s Top Physicians.”
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
) is an American scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
, physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. His books include Computer Programs for Epidemiologic Analysis (see Winpepi
Winpepi
WinPepi is a freeware package of statistical programs for epidemiologists, comprising seven programs with over 120 modules. WinPepi is not a complete compendium of statistical routines for epidemiologists but it provides a very wide range of procedures, including those most commonly used and many...
), Northern Manitoba from Forest to Tundra, The Cockpit, Illegal Drugs, Health for Pilots, Drugs and Justice, and The Medical Tourism Travel Guide.
Biography
Paul Gahlinger is the son of Anton Josef Gahlinger (1918–1959) and Margrit Rosa (1917–2007), both of whom were citizens of Switzerland. His father was a career military man who commanded the Swiss cavalry during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and later served as the Captain of the Swiss Guards under Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
and Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
. The family subsequently emigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where his father bought a produce farm. The father’s early death plunged the family into poverty. Paul Gahlinger left school at age 14 to become a farm worker, and later worked underground at Giant Mine
Giant Mine
The Giant Mine was a large gold mine located on the Ingraham Trail just outside ofYellowknife, Northwest Territories. Gold was discovered on the property in 1935 by Johnny Baker, but the true extent of the gold deposits were not known until 1944 when a massive gold-bearing shear zone was uncovered...
gold mine near Yellowknife in the Canadian Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
and was a logger for MacMillan Bloedel Limited
MacMillan Bloedel Limited
MacMillan Bloedel Limited, sometimes referred to as "MacBlo", was a Canadian forestry company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was formed through the merger of three smaller forestry companies in 1951 and 1959. Those were the Powell River Company, the Bloedel Stewart Welch Company,...
on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. At age 20, he gained entry to college despite lacking a high school education or diploma. He eventually achieved a B.A. in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, M.P.H. in Epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
, and M.D. degrees. He studied at numerous universities, with degrees from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
. (This information is from The Cockpit.)
Dr. Gahlinger is a citizen of Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. In 1992, he attained notoriety by his record-breaking flight in a small airplane from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
(described in The Cockpit).
In 1996, Gahlinger became Chief Medical Officer of Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean about west of Hawaii. There are four islands located on the coral reef platform, two natural islands, Johnston Island and Sand Island, which have been expanded by coral dredging, as well as North Island and East Island , an additional two...
, a chemical weapons demilitarization site in the mid-Pacific. Under his stewardship, the island obtained JCAHO (Joint Commission) and ISO-9000 accreditation and certification by the Chemical Weapons Convention
Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction...
for health care.
In 2008, Gahlinger started MediCruiser Family Practice & House Calls. This company has a traditional clinic, telemedicine
Telemedicine
Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance. It helps eliminate distance barriers and can improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural communities...
operations, and a Doctor's house call service. It is located in West Jordan, UT.
Awards
In 1984, he was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
prize in Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
for his paper, “The Assignation of Cause” arguing that causality is an operational construct that cannot be determined empirically.
In 1997, he was awarded a medal of distinguished service by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, Defense Special Weapons, for his development of chemical weapons safety programs.
In 2001, he was elected to Fellow and Master of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Academic research
Dr. Gahlinger is best known for his research and publications on substance abuseSubstance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
and illegal drugs. In particular, his popular textbook Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use and Abuse 2004, New York: Penguin Group
Penguin Group
The Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, the largest in the world , having overtaken Random House in 2009. The Penguin Group is the name of the incorporated division of parent Pearson PLC that oversees these publishing operations...
, Plume
Plume (publishing)
Plume is a publishing company in the United States, founded in 1970 as the trade paperback imprint of New American Library. Today it is a division of Penguin Group, with a backlist of approximately 700 titles....
is regarded as the most comprehensive reference on illegal drugs. It is used at hundreds of universities and colleges in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. His commentary on illegal drugs has been presented in numerous television and radio programs on topics ranging from Opium production in Afghanistan
Opium production in Afghanistan
Afghanistan has been the greatest illicit opium producer in the entire world, ahead of Burma and the "Golden Triangle" since 1992, excluding the year 2001. Afghanistan is the main producer of opium in the "Golden Crescent". Opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since U.S....
to the influence of cocaine on Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
He is currently Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
and serves as a Biomedical Space Research evaluator for NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
. He is listed by Consumers’ Research Council of America as one of “America’s Top Physicians.”
Non-fiction books
- 1993 (with JH Abramson) Computer Programs for Epidemiologic Analysis Honolulu: Makapuu Medical Press
- 1995 Northern Manitoba from Forest to Tundra Lucan, Canada: G.B. Communicationss
- 1995 (with JH Abramson) Computer Programs for Epidemiologic Analysis 2nd ed. Stone Mountain, Georgia: USD
- 1999 (with JH Abramson) Computer Programs for Epidemiologists 3rd ed. London: Brixton Books
- 2000 The Cockpit: A Flight of Escape and Discovery Salt Lake City: Sagebrush Press (memoir)
- 2001 Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use and Abuse Salt Lake City: Sagebrush Press
- 2001 (with JH Abramson) Computer Programs for Epidemiologists 4th ed. Salt Lake City: Sagebrush Press
- 2002 Health for Pilots: A Complete Guide to FAA Medical Certification and Self-Care Salt Lake City: Sagebrush Press
- 2004 Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use and Abuse New York: Penguin (Plume)
- 2007 (with Drugs and Justice Working Group) Drugs and Justice: Seeking a Consistent, Coherent, Comprehensive View New York: Oxford University Press
- 2008 The Medical Tourism Travel Guide: Your Complete Reference to Top-Quality, Low-Cost Dental, Cosmetic, Medical Care & Surgery Overseas North Branch, MN: Sunrise River Press
Book chapters
- 2004 "The addiction of cows" In: Cows: A Rumination C. Hileman, ed. Cincinnati, Ohio: Emmis Books
- 2005 "Dissecting the blues" In: 101 Ways to Beat the Blues, by Tanya Tucker and Friends New York: Fireside Books
- 2005 "Adventure in Guatemala City" In: True Pilot Stories P Lorenz, ed. West Conshohocken, PA: Infinity Publishing (memoir)
Academic journal articles
- 1984 Gastrointestinal illness and cannabis use in a rural Canadian community. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs; 16: 263-265
- 1985 Ecology, delocalization, and relocalization in a Canadian maritime community. Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers; 65-66: 138-147
- 1986 Occupational risk analysis: review. Epidemiology Monitor; 7: 3
- 1986 (with WC Meeker) Neuromuscular thermography: a valuable diagnostic tool? Journal of Manipulative and Physiological TherapeuticsJournal of Manipulative and Physiological TherapeuticsThe Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics is the official scientific journal of the American Chiropractic Association and is the only chiropractic journal included in Index Medicus. Published by Mosby , the journal includes peer-reviewed original articles, case reports, journal...
; 9: 257-266 - 1986 (with WC Reeves, MM Milby) Air conditioning and television as protective factors in arboviral encephalitis risk. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; 35: 601-610
- 1988 (with DS Sharp) Statistics in biological research: power and sample size in regression analyses. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise; 20: 605-610
- 1996 (with S Magnuson-Hawkins) Termites in paradise. Pest Control; Feb: 72-73
- 1999 The power of herbs. Western Journal of Medicine; 170: 255-256
- 1999 Utility of telemedicine on Johnston Atoll. JAMA; 282: 735
- 1999 Motion sickness. Postgraduate Medicine; 106: 177-184
- 1999 Review of Health, Civilization, and the State: A History of Public Health from Ancient to Modern Times, by Dorothy Porter, 1999. JAMA; 282: 1589
- 2000 Cabin location and the likelihood of motion sickness in cruise ship passengers. Journal of Travel Medicine; 7:12-124
- 2000 A comparison of motion sickness remedies in severe sea conditions. Wilderness and Environmental Medicine; 11:136-137
- 2000 The industrial clinic. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine; 42:969
- 2004 Club drugs: MDMA, Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Rohypnol, and ketamine. American Family Physician; 69:2619-2627 (www.aafp.org/afp/20040601/2619.html)
- 2005 Review of Telemedicine and E-Health Law, by LD Fleisher, JC Dechene, 2004. Telemedicine Journal and e-Health; 11(2):34-35
- 2006 Existential pain: impressions from an American Indian reservation. Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy; 20:41-52
Popular magazine articles
- 1994 Astronomy at the cape. Sky & Telescope Sept: 92-93
- 2000 The Cardinal and the Sphinx. Private Pilot 26: 12-18
- 2000 Carina. Amateur Astronomy 26: 12
- 2002 The ulterior continent. Outside Magazine Jan, p 13
- 2003 Can yoga make you strong? UTHealth Magazine Feb, p 32
- 2006 Avoiding airsickness. Flight Training Sept, pp 34–37
- 2006 Magic mushrooms: a short history. Catalyst Magazine Nov, pp 18–21
- 2007 Lost. Catalyst Magazine Feb, pp 14–16
- 2007 Medical tourism. Catalyst Magazine Aug, p 14
- 2007 In the details: religious meltdown. Catalyst Magazine Sept, p 20
- 2007 What’s wrong with polygamy? Catalyst Magazine Oct, p 22