DrBrijesh Patel

Teaching, mentorship and the development of future clinical academics are central to our academic mission. We believe that outstanding education should be research-led, clinically relevant and innovation-driven, equipping students and trainees with the knowledge, critical thinking and interdisciplinary skills required to translate scientific discovery into improvements in patient care.

Our teaching spans undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral education at Imperial College London, together with national and international educational programmes in critical care, extracorporeal life support (ECMO), translational medicine and precision healthcare. We are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive learning environment that fosters curiosity, scientific rigour, independent thinking and multidisciplinary collaboration.

As Clinical Academic Training Office (CATO) Lead for Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine within the Department of Surgery and Cancer, I support the development of academic training pathways for doctors pursuing careers in anaesthesia, perioperative medicine and intensive care medicine. I mentor Academic Clinical Fellows, Clinical Lecturers and aspiring clinician scientists, providing guidance on research strategy, fellowship applications, career development and academic progression. Through this role, I am committed to strengthening the pipeline of future academic leaders and fostering a collaborative, research-intensive academic environment.

At Imperial College London, I have held several educational leadership roles, including Module Lead for the iBSc in Anaesthesia and Critical Care, where I oversee curriculum development, assessment and student supervision. I also contribute to the development and delivery of Imperial's Medical Science and Innovation MSci, supporting interdisciplinary education that integrates biology, physiology, engineering, artificial intelligence and innovation. 

Research training forms a central pillar of our educational programme. We supervise PhD students, Academic Clinical Fellows, Clinical Lecturers, Master's students, intercalated BSc students, Imperial Laidlaw Scholars and allied health researchers across a broad portfolio of translational and clinical research. Our supervision philosophy is centred on developing independent researchers by providing opportunities to gain experience in mechanistic science, advanced physiology, imaging, biomarker discovery, artificial intelligence, clinical trials, implementation science, scientific communication, grant writing and academic leadership.

We are passionate about identifying and nurturing talented students at every stage of their academic journey. Students within our research programme have secured competitive research fellowships, published in leading peer-reviewed journals, presented their work at national and international scientific meetings, and received national recognition, including the National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia (NIAA) John Snow Intercalated Award. We also supervise Imperial Laidlaw Scholars, supporting outstanding undergraduate researchers to undertake interdisciplinary projects that combine scientific excellence with leadership development.

A defining feature of our educational approach is the integration of trainees within an active international research programme. Students contribute to interdisciplinary projects spanning mechanistic laboratory science, advanced physiological phenotyping, imaging, biomarker discovery, artificial intelligence and multicentre clinical trials, working alongside clinicians, scientists, engineers and data scientists. Through collaborations across the UK National Adult Respiratory ECMO Network, ECMONet and international partners, trainees gain experience of collaborative science while developing the skills required to become future clinical academics and research leaders.

Beyond Imperial, I contribute to national and international education through invited lectures, specialist courses, faculty appointments and educational activities in critical care, extracorporeal life support, physiology, precision medicine and research methodology. These activities promote the dissemination of best practice and strengthen international collaboration in education and research.

Our long-term educational vision is to establish an internationally recognised training environment in Precision Cardiorespiratory Critical Care, integrating biology, physiology, imaging, artificial intelligence and clinical trials to prepare the next generation of clinician scientists capable of leading innovation in healthcare.

We welcome enquiries from medical students, postgraduate researchers, doctoral candidates, clinical fellows and allied health professionals who are interested in pursuing academic careers in translational and clinical research. Our research group provides opportunities to work within a highly collaborative interdisciplinary environment with access to cutting-edge laboratory science, advanced physiological research, international clinical trials and global research networks.