Bruce Graham Charlton is a retired British medical doctor and was Visiting Professor of Theoretical Medicine at the University of Buckingham.^[1] Until April 2019, he was Reader in Evolutionary Psychiatry at Newcastle University.^[2] Charlton was editor of the controversial and non-peer reviewed journal Medical Hypotheses from 2003 to 2010.

Biography[edit]

Charlton graduated with honours from the Newcastle Medical School in Newcastle upon Tyne, took a doctorate at the Medical Research Council Neuroendocrinology group, and did postgraduate training in psychiatry and public health. He has held university lectureships in physiology, anatomy, epidemiology, and psychology; and holds a master’s degree in English Literature from Durham University in North East England.^[3] His thesis, a study of the work of Alasdair Gray, was completed in 1989.^[4]

From 2003 to 2010, Charlton was the solo-editor of the journal Medical Hypotheses, published by Elsevier.^[5] After HIV/AIDS denier Peter Duesberg published a paper in Medical Hypothesis arguing that “there is as yet no proof that HIV causes AIDS”, the journal came under fire for its lack of peer review. The paper was withdrawn from the journal citing concerns over the paper’s quality and “that [it] could potentially be damaging to global public health.” Elsevier consequently revamped the journal to introduce peer review, firing Charlton from his position as editor, due to his resistance of these changes.^[6]

At October 2012, a worldwide campaign including 198 researchers published a critical paper defending Charlton and the idea of editorial review.^[7]