Overview

Dr David Keene’s research is focused on optimising outcomes for people that have musculoskeletal injuries or disorders. He specialises in the design and evaluation of complex interventions, clinical trials, and systematic reviews. At Exeter he is an integral part of the leadership team of the INTERSECT group, and supports the Exeter British Orthopaedic Association Clinical Trials Unit initiative.

He has held a NIHR DSE Fellowship and a NIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship, and is lead or co-investigator on several multicentre studies funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment and Research for Patient Benefit programmes. He has contributed to over £22m grant capture, with over £3.4m as lead applicant. His work has been published in high-impact general medical journals (Lancet, JAMA and BMJ) and in leading speciality journals. He is currently a member of the NIHR HTA General Funding committee. He maintains a specialist clinical caseload as a physiotherapist at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust.

David joined Exeter in 2022 from the University of Oxford, where he was based from 2010. He holds an Honorary Senior Researcher position at Oxford and collaborates closely with the Oxford Trauma and Emergency Care group based in the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Trials with distinction (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Musculoskeletal Sciences (Wadham College, University of Oxford)
• Master of Science in Advanced Manipulative Physiotherapy with distinction (University of Birmingham)
• Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy with first class honours (University of the West of England, Bristol)
• Health and Care Professions Council registered Physiotherapist
• Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

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Research

Research interests

Clinical areas

• Fragility fracture management
• Trauma and orthopaedics
• Musculoskeletal disorders
• Post-orthopaedic surgery rehabilitation

Methods

• Clinical trials
• Complex intervention development and evaluation

Research projects

NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme NIHR153139 –Randomised Evaluation of rehabilitation after ACute proximal Humerus fracture (the REACH trial) (Lead Applicant £1,684,539.95)

NIHR Research for Patient Benefit – WISE Progressive resistance exercises versus usual care for improving pain and function after distal radius fracture in adults aged 50 years or over: the WISE randomised superiority trial (Lead Applicant, £349,961

NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme NIHR150983 – INITIATE: Increased mobility in hospital after hip fracture (Co-applicant, £2,133,891.07)

Research-and-innovation-for-global-health-transformation NIHR203194: HIPCARE: a cluster randomised controlled trial with embedded process evaluation (Co-applicant, £3,920,818.00)

NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme NIHR135131 - Clinical effectiveness of a child-specific dynamic stretching exercise programme, compared to usual care, for ambulant children with spastic cerebral palsy - the SPELL trial (Co-applicant, £1,385,786.45)

NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme NIHR135150 - Clinical effectiveness of an adolescent-specific strengthening programme, compared to usual care, for ambulant adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy - the ROBUST trial (Co-applicant, £1,395,481.96)

NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme NIHR134681 - DRAFT-CASP: Distal Radius Acute Fracture Trial – Cast versus Splint; a randomised non-inferiority trial comparing clinical and cost-effectiveness of a standard care cast versus removable splint for adults with a distal radius fracture that does not require manipulation (Co-applicant, £1,496,858.25)

NIHR Research for Patient Benefit NIHR203047 – Feasibility of a pain management intervention to improve recovery after major trauma: the PROMOTE study (Lead applicant, £249,999.00)

NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme NIHR132675 - Outcomes of Displaced Distal tibial fractures - Surgery Or Casts in KidS (ODD SOCKS). A multi-centre prospective randomized superiority trial of conservative versus surgical treatment for displaced distal tibial fractures in children  (Co-applicant, £1,265,011.57)

NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Programme NIHR201950 -  Effectiveness of progressive exercise versus best practice advice for people aged 50 years and over with ankle fractures: the AFTER trial (Lead applicant, £402,006.00)

NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme NIHR128399 - World Hip Trauma Evaluation - FRUITI: Fix or Replace Undisplaced Intracapsular fractures Trial of Interventions. (Co-applicant, £1,977,272.04)

NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme NIHR127273 - In younger adults with unstable ankle fractures treated with close contact casting, is ankle function not worse than those treated with surgical intervention? The FAME Trial  (Co-applicant, £1,477,519.58)

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Publications

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External Engagement and Impact

Awards

• 2023   EFORT Free Paper Award Trauma – Gold (co-author) European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT) congress, Vienna
• 2023   Best Podium Presentation Prize (second place, co-author) British Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Scientific Congress, Liverpool
• 2021   OCTRU Publication of the year for the GRASP trial
• 2019   Best Platform Presentation Award (winner, presenting author) World Confederation for Physical Therapy Congress, Geneva
• 2019   Bronze prize EFORT Free Paper Award Trauma (co-author) European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT) congress, Lisbon
• 2018   Best Podium Presentation Prize (third place, presenting author) British Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Scientific Congress, Edinburgh
• 2018   First prize winner (co-author) British Association for Sport and Exercise medicine (BASEM)/Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (FSEM) Annual Conference
• 2018   Frist prize winner (co-author) Aspetar prize at 35th World Congress of Sports Medicine, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 2018   Best Presentation Prize (third place, presenting author) Celebrating Trauma research in the Thames Valley, Reading
• 2017   Best Oral Presentation (winner - Fracture Management, presenting author) 6th Fragility Fracture Network Global Congress, Malmö
• 2015   Best Oral Presentation (winner - Fracture Management, presenting author) 4th Fragility Fracture Network Global Congress, Rotterdam
• 2015   Best Research Poster Award (winner, presenting author) 1st CAHPR Oxfordshire research conference
• 2014   Best Research Poster Award (winner, presenting author) 5th NIHR Infrastructure Doctoral Research Training Camp

Committee/panel activities

• NIHR Health Technology Assessment General Funding Committee
• Fragility Fracture Network UK national committee secretary (2018-22)
• Global Fragility Fracture Network - Physiotherapy Special Interest Group committee (2018-)
• Association of Trauma & Orthopaedic Chartered Physiotherapists – Research Sub-Committee

Editorial responsibilities

• Editorial Board for Journal of Foot and Ankle Research
• International Advisory Board for the journal Physiotherapy

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Teaching

• Musculoskeletal rehabilitation
• Complex intervention development and evaluation

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