Professor Daniel Martin

I am a Consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine, working on the intensive care unit at Derriford hospital. 

My main research interest is is focused on oxygen physiology; in particular how humans adapt to low levels of oxygen and the potential harm caused by excessive oxygen. This interest arose from my involvement in a series of research expeditions to high altitude with the Xtreme Everest team. In 2007, as part of my PhD, a group of us took arterial blood samples from one another near the summit of Mount Everest, which had some of the lowest oxygen levels ever reported in humans. In our hunt for key adaptive processes we have measured our mitochondrial function and compared it to that of high altitude Sherpas; we have investigated the function of the microcirculation and conducted a wide range of other studies at various altitudes over the last 15 years. We are continuing this area of research in the laboratories at the John Bull building, building a team of scientists interested in the effects of oxygen and hypoxia.

I am currently the chief investigator for the NIHR funded UK-ROX trial and EXAKT study in the UK. In the UK-ROX trial we are evaluating whether giving a little less oxygen than usual to critically ill patients on a mechanical ventilator will improve their survival. The aim is to recruit 16,500 patients from 100 NHS intensive care units. In the EXAKT study we will be investigating the accuracy pulse oximeters in critically ill patients with different skin tones, to answer a very important question about these essential oxygen monitoring devices. 

I am also very interested in exercise and how it can be used to improve clinical outcomes. We have used a tailored exercise intervention to train patients waiting for liver transplantation and I am the co-chief investigator of the NIHR-funded EXALT trial in which we will further evaluate the effect of exercise around the time of liver transplantation. I am also invoked with a study to explore the benefits of exercise programmes in patients awaiting bariatric surgery. 

I am the National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia academic training coordinator and Royal College of Anaesthetists Bernard Johnson advisor for academic training. I am passionate about promoting academic training for both doctors in training and allied health professionals. I supervise a number of higher degree students including scientists, medical doctors and allied health professionals. 

I have been the Editor in Chief of the Journal of the Intensive Care Society for the last four years and sit on the Council of the Intensive Care Society. 

In 2015 I was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to the prevention of infectious diseases. This was the result of our work at the Royal Free Hospital in London, caring for patients with Ebola virus disease. 

Qualifications

BSc (1st class) University of Leicester 1994

MB ChB University of Leicester 1997

FRCA 2004

FFICM 2011

PhD in applied physiology, University College London 2013

Professional membership

• Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists
• Fellow of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine
• Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
• Member of the Physiological Society
  
• Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
  

Roles on external bodies

• Board member, National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia
• Academic Training Coordinator, National Institute for Academic Anaesthesia
  
• Deputy Lead, National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Research Network Specialty Group for Anaesthesia, Perioperative Medicine and Pain Management
• Council member, Intensive Care Society 
• Bernard Johnson Adviser Academic Anaesthesia, Royal College of Anaesthetists 
  
• Editor in Chief, Journal of the Intensive Care Society
  
• Member, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Research Leads Group

Grants & contracts

I am the Chief Investigator of an NIHR HTA funded study to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a conservative approach to oxygen therapy for mecnanically ventilated adults in intensive care units. This study will recruit 16,500 patients from 100 hospitals in the UK, to determine whether giving less oxygen than usual improves survival. This will be the largest study ever conducted in critically ill patients in the UK and will link to large related study being conducted in other countries around the world, to additionally answer this question globally. 

Additional information

When not at work, you are most likely to find me scrambling up a Tor on the Moor or heading out to sea with a strong south westerly wind across the starboard bow.