IPEM’s Academic Early Career Award

Application for the 2021 IPEM Academic Early Career Award.

Background

In 2021, I was awarded an ‘Academic Early Career Award’ by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Physics (IPEM). The text used in my application is provided below.

Application Text

Please describe in up to 500 words what is the excellent contribution to academic practice that the candidate has made

Peter Charlton has built an international reputation as a Biomedical Engineering researcher specialising in signal processing for wearables. Having graduated in 2010, he conducted his research jointly at St Thomas’ Hospital and King’s College London from 2010-2020, and is now a British Heart Foundation Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge.

Research

Peter’s research track record is demonstrated by his publications, clinical studies, and research resources. His 18 journal papers have attracted international attention: his work on respiratory rate monitoring was awarded the Martin Black Prize in 2016; his IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering paper was the journal’s most popular paper for over 12 months; and his publications are widely cited (>1,250 citations, h-index: 14). He was awarded the Best Early Career Researcher award at the national BioMedEng18 Conference for his work on modelling arterial pulse waves. Dr Charlton is closely involved in clinical studies providing evidence to translate wearable technology into clinical practice. His work on two clinical studies in laboratory and ward settings at St Thomas’ Hospital demonstrated the feasibility of using wearables to detect clinical deteriorations in acutely-ill patients. He is now Principal Investigator on a study using wearables to detect atrial fibrillation (AF), and a contributor to the SAFER Trial which is assessing the effectiveness of AF screening using handheld ECG devices. Dr Charlton makes his research resources publicly available, including benchmark datasets and algorithms (downloaded > 3,000 times).

Research Income

Peter has been awarded much competitive research income throughout his career. Awards as Principal Investigator include a five-year British Heart Foundation Fellowship (£251k) and two EPSRC Impact Acceleration Awards (totalling £20k). He has also contributed to successful applications totalling £73k.

Collaboration

Peter collaborates widely with academics, clinicians, and industry. In the past year alone he has established international collaborations with academics in Israel, Lithuania and Iran. He is the ‘Photoplethysmography’ group leader for VascAgeNet, a European Research Network. He has worked with four wearable manufacturers to develop and clinically evaluate their devices.

Engagement

Peter engages with wider communities through IPEM, academic roles, and schools work. He is a member of the Physiological Measurement SIG and MPEC Organising Committee at IPEM, has written for SCOPE and spoken at an IPEM webinar, and is producing an IPEM Podcast. He is on the Editorial Board for Physiological Measurement, and a frequent reviewer for several journals as evidenced by his Peer Review Award. He has given invited presentations to national and international organisations, including Ghent University, Health Data Research UK, and the National Physical Laboratory. He has also helped develop and run a course for school children on hypertension.

Teaching

Peter is widely involved in teaching students, including project supervision, undergraduate teaching, and writing textbooks. He has supervised Engineering and Medical students at undergraduate, Master’s and PhD levels. He has taught on Biomedical Engineering courses at King’s College London (KCL), and developed and ran KCL’s first Biomedical Engineering Summer Research Module, attracting students globally. He has contributed to four textbooks, including editing MIT’s textbook on electronic health records.