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Research in paediatric emergency medicine at Imperial is closely aligned with the Acute Care Theme and the Paediatrics and Child Health Centre, with a shared ambition to deliver inclusive, high-quality research embedded in routine emergency care for children and young people. Our focus is on common acute conditions, ensuring that every child across the wider North West London region has the opportunity to participate in research, regardless of diagnosis, background, or point of entry into the health system. We deliver a balanced portfolio of Imperial College–led studies (e.g. DIAMONDS, WHAM), adopted NIHR portfolio studies (e.g. FIDO, CURLY), and act as a recruiting site for large multicentre UK trials led by Imperial investigators (e.g. BACHb, EVITA).

Our research addresses key priorities in acute care, including fever and acute childhood infections with a strong focus on antimicrobial stewardship and point-of-care diagnostics; respiratory conditions such as asthma, wheeze and bronchiolitis; childhood trauma and injuries; intoxications; allergy and eczema; and acute care health systems and pathways spanning pre-hospital, emergency department and community settings. We also lead and contribute to work on AI and patient safety. Methodologically, we contribute to large linked dataset studies, clinical trials, registries, prospective observational studies, and mixed-methods and qualitative research. We work closely with multiple BRC and PAECH themes, provide an inclusive and diverse clinical academic training environment, actively support the NIHR Associate PI scheme, and collaborate with national (PERUKI) and international (REPEM, EUSEP) research networks to maximise impact and scalability.

In paediatric critical care at Imperial it is our goal that every child admitted to our services is offered the opportunity to participate in research. NIHR studies therefore focus on broad inclusion criteria, and testing interventions that apply to the majority of patients. We are particularly excited about PIVOTAL, the PICU platform trial with domains testing multiple interventions simultaneously.

Professor Ramnarayan leads children’s critical care research within Imperial College, and is Chief Investigator on the BachB study. He also leads the Paediatric Critical Care Society Study Group, and the NIHR incubator programme in paediatric critical care. His interests include paediatric ventilation research and novel trial designs, including use of artificial intelligence. The PICU team have also led many smaller charity and BRC funded projects such as the BRANCH and 4PICU studies. Dr Mitting is the research lead for St Mary’s PICU, is the lead for the sedation domain of PIVOTAL, and a national Associate PI scheme champion. We collaborate with other acute care teams within the organisation to deliver DIAMONDS, BachB and EVITA as well as many other paediatric studies.