BREATH - academic & researcher focus

Contributors: Dr Keir Philip MRCP PhD, Clinical Lecturer in Respiratory Medicine, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London; Dr Adam Lewis, Associate Professor of Physiotherapy, University of Southampton.

Respondent: Dr Stephen Clift

About the Contributors

Keir Philip is particularly interested in the intersection of the performing arts, medicine, and digital health. He previously worked as a dancer before training as a doctor and has always sought to combine these two interests in his work. While working on a rural South African multidrug resistant tuberculosis hospital ward, Keir set up and ran dance sessions for the patients. Observing the wide-ranging biopsychosocial impacts the sessions had, and realising how limited research in this area was, inspired him to pursue a career as a clinical academic, conducting research to improve our understanding of the potential role and impacts of arts-in-health. Additionally, Keir is interested in how holistic interventions can be delivered remotely and assessing the impact using fixed body sensors. He is currently a Clinical Lecturer at Imperial College, splitting his time equally between research and clinical practice as a respiratory doctor (Registrar) at a busy London teaching hospital. His current projects focus on breathlessness and he is working the English National Opera, Scottish Ballet, and various collaborators both nationally and internationally.