Innovating in Intensive Care: Bringing Research Ideas to Life

Professor Bronwen Connolly

Acute Respiratory and Rehabilitation Physiotherapist

Acute respiratory and rehabilitation physiotherapy, the recovery, long-term outcome, and survivorship of post critical illness patients, and clinical trial methodology around complex rehabilitation interventions. Current work includes development of a core outcome set for trials of physical rehabilitation in critical illness, and leading a multiprofessional team developing a randomized controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of mucoactive drugs in acute respiratory failure.

Owen Gustafson

Clinical Academic Physiotherapist

Owen is a Clinical Academic Physiotherapist in critical care at Oxford University Hospitals and a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford. His research interests centre around the rehabilitation of patients throughout their recovery pathway following an admission to critical care. He has recently completed his NIHR clinical doctoral research fellowship evaluating the musculoskeletal health state of ICU survivors.

: @@OxfordICUPhysio

Professor David McWilliams

Professor of Critical Care and Rehabilitation , Centre for Care Excellence, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust

David McWilliams is a Professor of Critical Care and Rehabilitation and Clinical Academic Physiotherapist at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and Coventry University's Centre for Care Excellence. He is the chair of the physiotherapy working group for the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, and Chair of the Intensive Care Society National Rehabilitation Collaborative. David was a member of the guideline development group for the NICE guideline ‘Critical Illness rehabilitation’ and led an NCEPOD study into rehabilitation and recovery following critical illness. David is recognised as an international expert on critical care physiotherapy and rehabilitation, regularly presenting both nationally and internationally on the subject.

: @Davido744

Natalie Pattison

Professor of Clinical Nursing , UK

Professor Natalie Pattison is a clinical academic who has worked clinically in cancer, critical care and critical care outreach. She is a Professor of Clinical Nursing with a joint appointment across the University of Hertfordshire and East and North Herts NHS Trust. Natalie also holds a Researcher in Residence (ICU) position at Imperial College London, working in the CATO team, with an honorary contract with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. She is the clinical lead for critical care follow-up services, combining this with a research role. Her research interests focus on her clinical area of critical care and critically ill ward patients, end of life in critical care, and disability in critical care. She is widely published in critical care supportive care.  She is Chair of the National Outreach Forum, immediate past-Chair of UK Critical Care Research Group, and the UK Critical Care Nursing Alliance. She is also Deputy Lead for the National Institute for Health Research National Specialty Group for Critical Care.

: @drnatpat

Professor Zudin Puthucheary

Consultant Intensivist , UK

Dr Zudin Puthucheary is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Intensive Care Medicine at the William Harvey Institute, Queen Mary, University of London, and a Consultant at the Royal London Hospital Adult Intensive Care Unit. He graduated from Nottingham University in 1997, and moved to London post MRCP in 2000. Following a 3-year stint in Sydney, he started his Respiratory training in Bristol, before completing his critical care training in London. He worked as a Respiratory and Critical Care Consultant at National University Hospital Singapore before returning to the UK.

His research focusses on acquired functional disability, and the use of metabolic, nutritional and exercise interventions to prevent and treat muscle wasting, and has published over 100 papers with a H index of 39. Zudin is a nationally elected Council member of the Intensive Care Society (UK). He was the inaugural chair of the UK National Post-Intensive Care Rehabilitation Collaborative, a multi-professional cross-disciplinary group focussing on rehabilitation and restitution of critical illness survivors. His work on acute muscle wasting has won awards from the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine , European Society of Anesthesia, the British Thoracic Society, the Intensive Care Society, The American Society of Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition and Zudin was named a Global Rising Star by the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society.

He chairs the  UK National Post-Intensive Care Rehabilitation Collaborative, a multi-professional cross-disciplinary group focussing on rehabilitation and restitution of critical illness survivors. 

: @Zudin_P

Ema Swingwood

Consultant Physiotherapist, UK

Ema is a Consultant Therapist (Physiotherapist by background) in Critical Care at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. Her area of clinical expertise and interest is ventilation, weaning and complex airway clearance. 

Having completed the Advanced Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapy Msc programme at University College London (UCL) in 2012, Ema has continued her research focusing on the use of Mechanical Insufflation-Exsufflation (MI-E) and other cough augmentation strategies. Her current PhD work focuses on the use of MI-E in the intubated population which is funded through the NIHR Clinical Academic Research Fellowship pathway. 

Extra-curricular activities include contributions to the Undergraduate Physiotherapy programme at the University of the West of England, and post-graduate teachings at University College London and Brunel University. She sits on the Intensive Care Society Physiotherapy Professional Advisory Group and Education Committee, the Equity, Diversity and Belonging Committee of the CSP, and ICUsteps support group network. She has been part of the multi-professional authorship for BTS/ICS documents related to Respiratory Support Units and Weaning Centres. Most recently, she is part of the NHSElect working group for the development of a Critical Care Capability Framework.

: @emaroids1