Gerrard Rafferty – Professor in Human & Translational Physiology at King’s College London.  He is based in the Respiratory Muscle Laboratory in the Centre for Human and Applied Physiological Sciences on the Denmark Hill Campus (King’s College Hospital). Professor Rafferty received a BSc in Physiology from the University of Leeds in 1989 and subsequently gained his PhD in King’s College London (University of London) in 1994 in the field of respiratory control in healthy humans.  He continued his research in respiratory control while working at the Defence Research Agency, Centre for Human Sciences, (Institute of Aviation Medicine) Farnborough prior to returning to King’s College London as a Non-Clinical Lecturer in Clinical Physiology in 1995 with promotion to Senior Lecturer in 2005 and Reader in 2016.

His primary research interests are respiratory and musculoskeletal physiology with a specific interest in respiratory and peripheral muscle physiology in infants, children and adults in both health and disease. Professor Rafferty has substantial experience of basic, mechanistic and applied research, both in healthy human subjects and patients with acute illness and chronic disease.  Working at the interface between basic and clinical physiological research, much of his work has been translational, involving the development and further refinement of physiological measurement techniques to allow understanding of basic physiological processes and the effect of disease pathology and treatment interventions.

Professor Rafferty’s research is nationally and internationally recognised and he has published over 150 articles in high impact factor, peer reviewed scientific and clinical journals and invited chapters in books.  His research has attracted funding from the Wellcome Trust, research charities, NHS, and industry and is member of a number of learned and professional societies.