Celebrating S&C's Women - Dr Harriet Kemp

To celebrate Women at Imperial Week, we interviewed two of S&C’s outstanding female staff. In our final interview, we spoke to Dr Harriet Kemp.

Behind advances in medicine and science is a community of people who support, mentor and collaborate with one another. To celebrate International Women’s Day 2026 and Women at Imperial Week, we are spotlighting women from across the Department of Surgery and Cancer whose work and experiences reflect this year’s theme, Give to Gain.

Dr Harriet Kemp discusses her work improving treatments for chronic pain, the challenges she has faced in clinical academia and how support from colleagues and mentors has shaped her career.

Dr Harriet Kemp - Clinical Associate Professor in Pain Research

How would you describe your role?

I work as a clinical academic, dividing my time between the pain clinic and the Pain Research Group within Anaesthetics, Pain Medicine and Intensive Care. In the clinic I treat patients with neuropathic pain, which arises from nerve injury caused by trauma, surgery, infection or systemic conditions such as diabetes. My main research focuses on understanding why some people with nerve injuries develop severe persistent pain and on testing new approaches to treatment.

More recently I have also been involved in research on pain in armed forces personnel who have sustained battlefield injuries through the Armed Services Trauma and Rehabilitation Outcome Study (ADVANCE). This longitudinal study examines the long term physical and mental health sequelae of sustaining a combat injury.

I am driven by the patients and veterans I treat in my clinic and the fact that current treatments for chronic pain are lacking. Working with patient and public partners to develop research questions and design studies that address these clinically meaningful challenges is incredibly rewarding. Dr Harriet Kemp

What attracted you to this area of research?

Unfortunately, global conflict is increasing and there is a great need to improve the long-term impact of sustaining severe traumatic injuries in both civilian and military contexts. Pain is one of the most impactful consequences of these injuries, as it is associated with poorer mental health and quality of life and can prevent people from returning to employment or taking part in meaningful social activities. It can persist for many years and our current options for managing pain in these cohorts have limited efficacy. Pain is also a complex phenomenon which makes it fascinating to study, as it requires collaboration across diverse disciplines to understand the drivers of pain from biological, psychological and social perspectives.

Despite some progress, there continues to be a gender imbalance in clinical academia in anaesthetic and pain research, which we highlighted in a recent article in the British Journal of Anaesthesia. Identifying the reasons for this remains challenging and there is an urgent need to implement strategies that enhance gender equity, particularly at senior levels. I am passionate about working both locally and nationally to help develop initiatives that address this.

What motivates you day to day?

Ultimately, I am driven by the fact that I treat patients and veterans in my clinic and that current treatments for managing their chronic pain are lacking. For many chronic pain interventions, little evidence is available to guide who may benefit most and which treatments should be prioritised for individual patients. In recent years new types of treatment have begun to emerge for persistent pain, including neuromodulation, novel drugs and therapy based programmes. Evaluating and optimising these treatments is essential to make them as impactful as possible. Being able to work with patient and public partners to develop research questions and design studies that address these clinically meaningful challenges is incredibly rewarding.

What’s a challenge you’ve faced and how did you overcome it?

One of the most challenging periods in my career was returning to work following my second maternity leave. At the time I was a senior anaesthetic trainee, juggling an on call rota while trying to develop my postdoctoral research identity. Returning from parental leave presents different challenges in clinical and academic settings. In academia, taking time out meant that no one was driving my research while the field continued to move forward. I was concerned about missing opportunities and not being up to date with recent advances. In the clinical setting, I needed to regain confidence in my clinical skills and adapt to changes in services, ways of working and technology.

Navigating this alongside childcare responsibilities and the needs of small children created a very full life and significant cognitive load. Although it sounds obvious, the most important step I took during this period was learning to ask for help. I relied on the patience and guidance of clinical colleagues, the support of research collaborators as I refined my research questions and pivoted my work, and the understanding of my partner in sharing responsibilities at home. The experience led to a significant shift in my identity both personally and professionally and was something I had underestimated when I first took leave.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is Give to Gain. How have giving and receiving support shaped your career journey, and can you share one example where generosity made a real difference for you?

As I have already described, I have received, and continue to receive, a great deal of support throughout my career from a wide range of colleagues, and I try to pay this forward to others facing similar transitions. Many people might point to more senior members of their teams when asked about examples of generosity that have made a real difference. While I have also benefited from this kind of support, the generosity that stands out most to me came from a peer.

One particular postdoctoral fellow I worked with consistently gave her time and thoughtful advice during difficult periods. She approaches communication, project management and strategy very differently from me, which offers an alternative perspective when I need to make decisions. Her counsel helps me identify and manage complex issues when emotions run high. She also provides practical solutions and readily puts in the effort to support both me and other colleagues.

She has a strong values based approach to her work and I have learned a great deal from our conversations about both academic and personal challenges. I try to give as much as I receive in our interactions and, although she is no longer based at our institution, our relationship continues.

Who has supported or inspired you in your journey?

When I started working with the ADVANCE study, I was quite new to the world of military and veteran research. The project board for ADVANCE were incredibly welcoming and encouraged me to begin developing new collaborations and grants. The mental health lead on the project board was Professor Nicola Fear CBE, Professor of Military Epidemiology at King’s College London, whose work aligned closely with my own research on pain.

Very sadly, Nicola died at the end of February and in recent weeks I have been reflecting on what a huge inspiration she was to me and to many others, particularly female academics. As an international authority in veteran and military health research, her findings had a profound impact on the communities she worked with and demonstrated the power of research to improve lives.

Despite leading major scientific programmes and holding many high profile roles, she always took time to listen to and engage with my ideas. She offered hands on support with tasks both large and small and provided thoughtful feedback that helped me develop my science and my skills. Her warm welcome into her network created many opportunities for me. Having such a successful and impactful female role model in military health research, who was also such a kind and joyful colleague, has been incredibly important to me and to many others in this field.