Dr Hugh Montgomery is Professor of Intensive Care Medicine at University College London (UCL) where he also directs the Centre for Human Health and Performance. He is a broadcaster, fiction author, scientist and clinician. Montgomery also has an interest in artificial intelligence as applied to health and has worked with both Google Deepmind and Google Health.
Hugh Montgomery has a 22-year track record in the field of environment and health. In his research capacity he has published over 500 scientific papers, including several in nature. His research has addressed cardiac growth, muscle wasting, bone and muscle response to exercise and adaptation to low oxygen levels. He was the research lead for the Caudwell Xtreme Everest Expedition of 2007 and co-reported the first genes for evolutionary selection in response to high altitude. Montgomery has helped define the factors which influence survival in extreme environments (and in intensive care), investigating whether survivors are born or made. He then identified a genetic element which changes the chance of surviving critical illness by five-fold.
Montgomery is an innovator who holds patents for new metabolic therapies: a new technology for patient hydration, a novel mask for the removal of pollutants and a new asthma inhaler. As such, we were very excited at being able to ask him a few questions pertaining to COVID 19, the roll out of the vaccine and his thoughts on how things might look moving forward. His extraordinary knowledge and expertise allow us to get great insights from such a prominent insider’s point of view.
Video Timeline
- 00:16 – Firstly, how are you? You’ve been on the frontline of the pandemic since the beginning, and we thank you for all you’ve done. Would you say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel or are the different variants even more concerning?
- 01:05 – How well do you think the vaccines will work?
- 03:07 – What would you say to people who are reluctant to receive the vaccines?
- 05:36 – Will we have a vaccine passport?
- 06:47 – Why is one person more at risk than others?
- 10:38 – Is there a role for a ‘NHS Reserve’, similar to the MoD’s Territorial Army, who can assist the frontline teams and vaccination programmes in any potential crisis in the future?
- 13:14 – Has the experience of COVID changed the future of our healthcare systems?
- 16:34 – How do you think Big data and AI could predict the next pandemic?
- 19:24 – Boris Johnson has appointed an Ambassador for Mental Health – do you think this should be a priority within our society?
Interested in booking Hugh Montgomery as a keynote speaker or boardroom advisor?
