Rate My Professor Kathy Rowan

Professor Kathy Rowan earned her PhD from the University of Oxford in 1994. That same year, she founded the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), an independent, not-for-profit scientific organisation aimed at improving the structure, process, outcomes, and experiences of critical care for patients and caregivers. As Director of ICNARC for over thirty years until 2023, she oversaw a comprehensive programme of clinical audit and health services research, both nationally and internationally. Under her leadership, ICNARC developed the Case Mix Programme Database, encompassing over two million critical care admissions, which has supported epidemiological studies on critical illness, including sepsis, and informed National Health Service policy on critical care provision, service delivery, and organisation. Rowan has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and secured over £20 million in research funding. Notable contributions include the ICNARC risk prediction model ('A new risk prediction model for critical care: the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC) model', Harrison et al., Critical Care Medicine, 2007), the ProMISe trial on protocolised sepsis management (Mouncey et al., The Lancet, 2015), the CALORIES trial on early nutritional support in critically ill patients (Harvey et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2014), the PAC-Man trial evaluating pulmonary artery catheters (Harvey et al., Lancet, 2005), and the POPPI trial on psychological support in intensive care (Wade et al., Health Technology Assessment, 2019).

Professor Rowan currently serves as Director of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research Programme, Scientific Advisor at ICNARC, Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Adjunct Professor (Research) at Monash University, Australia. Her profound impact on critical care research is evidenced by prestigious awards, including the Humphry Davy Medal from the Royal College of Anaesthetists (2004), Harkness Fellowship (2004-2005), President’s Prize with honorary life membership from the UK Intensive Care Society (2019), and Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2021 for services to research and intensive care. Through ICNARC's initiatives, she has driven enhancements in intensive care practices, influencing clinical guidelines, policy development, and service improvements across the UK and internationally.