May the force be with you for JEDI-2 Charlie! | News

Congratulations to Charlie Piercy, Clinical Research Practitioner at Royal Surrey, who is finishing a stellar piece of research known as JEDI-1, at the same time as working on the launch of his JEDI-2 study.

Charlie won the University of Surrey Doctoral Award, the 2023 Young Investigator Prize from the European Society of Intensive Care for Medicine and funding from GUTS charity to help continue his research and support his PhD.

The first JEDI study looked at the use of discarded medical equipment, such as arterial lines, to recover cells lining the blood vessels of sepsis or surgical patients. 

JEDI is an abbreviation for J-wire extraction discovery initiative, which describes the process for removing the cells from arteries, veins and capillaries.

During JEDI-1, Charlie’s aim was to develop a reliable method to extract endothelial cells (the cells that line blood vessels) without affecting standard of care or adding any additional risk to our patients.

Charlie said: “In JEDI-1, our research found that you can get an equal and usable tissue sample from discarded medical equipment, compared to using the standard biopsy technique. No one had previously used this method to get samples in an acute setting, such as an intensive care environment.

“It is hoped that the information we’ve been gathering, and are continuing to gather in JEDI-2, will tell us what the endothelial cells (the cells that line blood vessels) do in relation to infection or trauma.

“The projects will one day lead to new treatments and improved outcomes for patients with life-threatening emergencies as seen in disorders such as sepsis.”

JEDI One was completed in collaboration with Dr Paola Campagnolo, Senior Lecturer in Cardiovascular Molecular Biology, and Professor Christian Heiss, Head of Clinical and Experimental Medicine & Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, from the University of Surrey. 

Charlie’s research has also been supported by colleagues from Royal Surrey’s Research and Development Team, Practice Development Team, Anaesthetics Team, Theatre Team, ICU Team, patients, and Professor Ben Creagh-Brown, Consultant in critical care and perioperative medicine.

 Ben praised Charlie’s dedication and commitment. He said: “Charlie is exceptionally determined and shows great initiative. Our work is completely novel and will provide valuable information to the international research community that will improve our understanding of the processes that cause shock. We believe that these strong foundations will facilitate the development of new therapies.”  

JEDI Two builds on the findings from JEDI-1, using the same sampling techniques. Charlie and his team are investigating how some of the genes extracted from cell samples change over time. The research involves two patient cohorts, a sepsis group in intensive care and a surgical patient group.

Charlie will also be looking for volunteers to join a healthy control group in the next couple of months so watch this space if you’re keen to get involved.

Reflecting on his journey into health research, Charlie added: “I am really grateful for the opportunities and encouragement that I’ve received while at Royal Surrey, which have helped me pursue a career as a clinical research practitioner. If anyone is thinking of following a similar pathway, then I would recommend contacting the National Institute of Health Research or anyone from Royal Surrey Research and Development team to find out about the opportunities available.”