ISEH and UCL researcher Dr Edward (Ned) Gilbert-Kawai was recently awarded the University College London (UCL) Division of Surgery and Interventional Science’s Eleanor Davis-Colley prize for the best PhD presentation. The prize is named after Dr Eleanor Davis-Colley, the first woman to become, in 1911, a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.
Ned received the award for the presentation of his thesis Microcirculatory Blood Flow in Hypoxia: A comparative study between Sherpas and Lowlanders. Critically ill patients typically suffer from low oxygen levels in the blood (hypoxia), which can lead to organ failure, death, disablement or hampered recovery. Yet due to the seriousness of these patients’ conditions, it is often not possible for them to participate in research studies that might lead to improved outcomes. Even where research is possible, the variety and often overlapping nature of the conditions that can cause hypoxia makes meaningful study difficult.
By studying Nepali Sherpas, high-altitude natives who are subjected to this ‘hypoxic insult’ on a daily basis, Ned’s research aimed to uncover some of the physiological factors that enable their apparent tolerance to low levels of oxygen.
This unique approach to hypoxia research – ‘from mountainside to bedside’ – describes how, compared to ‘Lowlanders’, Sherpas respond to high altitude by increasing their ‘microcirculatory’ blood flow and distribution (the supply of blood to the capillaries and smaller blood vessels). They are therefore able to distribute oxygen more efficiently around the body. The findings could pave the way towards altering doctors’ understanding of how to treat hypoxic patients in intensive care units.
Commenting on receiving the award, Ned Gilbert-Kawai said: “While I had the pleasure of presenting these exciting results, this was only made possible thanks to all of the participants and investigators who made Xtreme Everest 2 happen.”
ISEH Clinical Director Prof. Fares Haddad commented: “On behalf of the ISEH, I’d like to congratulate Dr Gilbert-Kawai on receiving this prestigious award. The success of the Xtreme Everest 2 research programme underlines how leading-edge research such as this has the potential to bring significant benefits to the general population.”
Dr Ned Gilbert-Kawai is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre of Altitude, Space and Extreme Environment (CASE) Medicine at UCL, and is Research Leader of the ISEH’s Xtreme Everest 2 programme. The award was made by a panel of judges chaired by Professor David Lomas, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Science and Chair of Medicine at UCL.