Tom Adams writes about getting involved with XE2

Having grown up reading of the Himalayan exploits of Harrer, Bonnington, Messner and the like, I leapt at the chance to study CASE's 'Space and Extreme Environment Medicine' module during my Physiology BSc at UCL. It quickly dawned on me that expedition doctors familiar from the mountaineering books of my childhood, such as Charles Clark and Sundeep Dhillon, taught on the course, and I was hooked.

Never before nor since have 9am lectures, a heady mix of applied physiology and adventure, been so appealing!

The study module and quarterly meetings revealed CASE to be an exciting, dynamic group of scientists commited to helping critically ill patients using pioneering field studies. Importantly, as a young medical student, CASE were exceptionally welcoming and keen to get me involved.

During my remaining years at UCL Medical School I kept in touch with CASE, co-authoring a review on Exertional Heatstroke with Dr Dan Martin and partaking in the Xtreme Alps 2010 expedition as an investigator.

Upon graduating from medical school, I was offered a dream job: a CASE research fellowship for the Xtreme Everest 2 expedition. It involves research and logistics geared towards the 3 months in Nepal next spring, and teaching, both on the CASE BSc course and of UCL medical students.

It's certainly not your average Junior Doctor's job!

But working for such an important and pioneering group is already turning out to be an unforgettable experience."