Professor Anthony Gordon, MBE, FMedSci

Background

Professor Anthony Gordon is a consultant in intensive care medicine based at St Mary's Hospital and the head of the division of anaesthetics, pain medicine and intensive care at Imperial College London. His research interests are focused on translational studies in sepsis using innovative research to improve and individualise care of acutely ill patients. He leads several multi-centre clinical trials and his multidisciplinary team is developing "personalised medicine for sepsis" using multiple -omic techniques, as well as AI.

In June 2025 he became the director of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme. HTA-funded research evaluates any intervention used in the NHS for the treatment, prevention, or diagnosis of disease. HTA also funds research evaluating interventions in social care, where outcomes relate to the development, health, and wellbeing of those who use these services and their carers.

His training across London was supplemented with an additional year spent at The Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Australia and two years in Vancouver at St Paul’s Hospital, University of British Columbia. During this time he worked as the Director of Medical Development of a university spin-out company developing pharmacogenetic tests for use in the ICU.

Prof Gordon returned to Imperial in November 2007, and received a Clinician Scientist Fellowship award from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and then an NIHR Research Professorship investigating Precision Medicine in Sepsis. In 2023 he was appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator. In 2022 he was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and awarded an MBE in the 2024 King's Birthday Honours.

Expertise

sepsis, post-operative care, critical care

Research & publications

His research is focused on clinical trials and translational studies in sepsis. His team were winners of an NIHR Impact prize in March 2025 in recognition of their work to improve care and outcomes of patients with sepsis.

Selected publications:

Herrmann IK, Bertazzo S, O'Callaghan DJP, et al., 2015, Differentiating sepsis from non-infectious systemic inflammation based on microvesicle-bacteria aggregation, Nanoscale, Vol:7, ISSN:2040-3364, Pages:13511-13520

O'Callaghan DJP, O'Dea KP, Scott AJ, et al., 2015, Monocyte Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha-Converting Enzyme Catalytic Activity and Substrate Shedding in Sepsis and Noninfectious Systemic Inflammation, Critical Care Medicine, Vol:43, ISSN:0090-3493, Pages:1375-1385

Rautanen A, Mills TC, Gordon AC, et al., 2015, Genome-wide association study of survival from sepsis due to pneumonia: an observational cohort study, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Vol:3, ISSN:2213-2600, Pages:53-60

Gordon AC, Mason AJ, Perkins GD, et al., 2014, Protocol for a randomised controlled trial of VAsopressin versus Noradrenaline as Initial therapy in Septic sHock (VANISH), Bmj Open, Vol:4, ISSN:2044-6055

Orme RML, Perkins GD, McAuley DF, et al., 2014, An efficacy and mechanism evaluation study of Levosimendan for the Prevention of Acute oRgan Dysfunction in Sepsis (LeoPARDS): protocol for a randomized controlled trial, Trials, Vol:15, ISSN:1745-6215

Gordon AC, Mason AJ, Perkins GD, et al., 2014, The interaction of vasopressin and corticosteroids in septic shock: A pilot randomized controlled trial, Critical Care Medicine, Vol:42, ISSN:0090-3493, Pages:1325-1333

Gordon AC, Wang N, Walley KR, et al., 2012, The Cardiopulmonary Effects of Vasopressin Compared With Norepinephrine in Septic Shock, Chest, Vol:142, ISSN:0012-3692, Pages:593-605

Gordon AC, Russell JA, Walley KR, et al., 2010, The effects of vasopressin on acute kidney injury in septic shock, Intensive Care Medicine, Vol:36, ISSN:0342-4642, Pages:83-91

Russell JA, Walley KR, Gordon AC, et al., 2009, Interaction of vasopressin infusion, corticosteroid treatment, and mortality of septic shock, Critical Care Medicine, Vol:37, ISSN:0090-3493, Pages:811-818

Wurfel MM, Gordon AC, Holden TD, et al., 2008, Toll-like receptor 1 polymorphisms affect innate immune responses and outcomes in sepsis, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol:178, ISSN:1073-449X, Pages:710-720

Russell JA, Walley KR, Singer J, et al., 2008, Vasopressin versus norepinephrine infusion in patients with septic shock, New England Journal of Medicine, Vol:358, ISSN:0028-4793, Pages:877-887