COVENTRY surgeon and explorer Chris Imray swapped his NHS uniform for thick coats and gloves as he led an epic medical research expedition to the South Pole.
Prof Imray, who works in vascular and renal transplantation surgery at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust, was co-leader of Inspire22, the largest-ever human physiology study to take place in Antarctica.
A nine-person military and civilian team crossed the polar plateau from the Messner Start on the Ross Ice Shelf, covering 950km over 47 days in temperatures dipping to -50C.
The research aimed to collect data on human metabolism during extended polar activity, and the results will now be analysed over the next six to 12 months.
It took almost three years to plan the trip, which cost about £1miilion and was funded by sponsors.
Those taking part in the expedition ended up losing between four and 13 kg in weight, despite consuming around 5,500 calories a day, at least twice the normal amount.
Prof Imray said: “One of the things we were testing is whether or not brown fat was ‘switched on’.
“Brown fat is very metabolically active and normally only seen in newborn babies when they are trying to keep warm.
“We weighed ourselves every five days, so we recorded when the weight loss occurred.
“You lose quite a bit, to begin with, then it seems to steady out, but it seems to go quicker again when you are at higher altitudes.”
The team also found it extremely difficult to sleep due to the 24-hour sunlight, and the explorers also spent Christmas away from family, although Prof Imray got to meet his grandson Zac for the first time upon returning.
The 63-year-old’s research in this field includes a 30-year mission to climb the highest mountain on all seven continents, which he completed in 2019.
And he said he hoped UHCW patients would one day reap the benefits of his latest expedition.
“It was an amazing trip and very satisfying to see it all come together.
“I’ve climbed some of the highest mountains in the world but never done anything like this.
“There were some minor cold injuries but everyone made it.”
