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Imperial’s Department of Surgery and Cancer has announced a new senior academic post.

Professor Luigi Camporota has joined Imperial as the new Joan Reece Chair in Critical Care, bringing with him more than twenty years of expertise in intensive care medicine. Professor Camporota’s research focuses on critical care for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening condition where fluid builds up in the lungs’ air sacs, leading to critically low oxygen levels in the blood and potential multi-organ failure. Improved patient care will benefit millions globally who suffer from this medical condition.   

The Chair has been created through a philanthropic gift by John Reece, made in memory of his late wife, Joan Reece. His donation will fund the post for the next five years. 

John Reece said: “The Chair was created to remember Joan, and it is exciting to know that the post has now been filled. I’m looking forward to seeing the progress that Professor Camporota will drive to improve intensive care for those who need it the most.”  

Improving outcomes for critical care patients 

Professor Camporota is focused on improving life-support therapies for patients in critical care who need breathing assistance, specifically mechanical ventilators. 

Conventional mechanical ventilation usually requires patients to be deeply sedated and kept still for long periods. This carries side effects, including infection, muscle weakness, disturbed sleep and a form of acute brain dysfunction known as delirium. As a result, many patients survive their illness only to face a long and difficult recovery, often requiring physical and cognitive rehabilitation that can last months or even years after they leave intensive care. 

Professor Camporota’s ambition is to develop a safer treatment therapy that both supports patients in critical care and improves their outcomes post-care: “Today, supporting a failing lung usually means using a ventilator to force air into lungs that are already injured, while keeping the patient deeply sedated. My ambition is to do the opposite: to develop approaches that let the injured lung rest, giving it the time and the conditions it needs to heal, while keeping the patient awake, alert and physically strong. If we can achieve this, we can spare survivors the muscle weakness, the cognitive disturbance and the rehabilitation that can take years afterwards.”  

Imperial’s Division of Anaesthetics, Pain Medicine and Intensive Care (APMIC), which is where Professor Camporota is based, connects clinicians and scientists to deliver world-class research that supports the development of novel and better therapeutic strategies.

Professor Camporota said: “Imperial is the right place to pursue this important line of work: no other institution brings together world-leading clinical care, engineering, data science and physiology in one setting. I am honoured to be appointed as the new Joan Reece Chair in Critical Care, and I am determined to make this vision a reality. Knowing that the Chair was created through a philanthropic donation has been a motivating factor in my application for this prestigious position at Imperial. It is incredibly inspiring to know that there are patrons such as Mr Reece who support and champion this important line of research.” 

Professor George Hanna FMedSci, Head of the Department of Surgery and Cancer, said: “We are grateful for Mr Reece for funding the Chair, which has allowed us to recruit world-class research talent in this increasingly important subject. Intensive care is often a life-changing event for patients and their families, and our work at Imperial aims to reduce this impact.” 

About the Department of Surgery and Cancer 

Based in Hammersmith Hospital, the Department brings together scientists and clinicians to produce high-impact, translational research and develop novel therapeutic strategies that improve outcomes for patients undergoing surgery and intensive care.