Summer Study

Dr Ned Gilbert has been working flat out on our summer pilot studies. The team will be setting up a hypoxic chamber in Archway to test a group of highland (Sherpa) and lowland subjects at sea level, and then at simulated high altitude.

With the support of Dr Dan Martin, Ned has been finalising the list of equipment and disposables that need to be gathered to enable this study to take place. The aim is to test 32 healthy volunteers in all. Each individual will undergo a day of testing at sea level, and then repeat the tests after four hours in a simulated high altitude environment.

The study will start in the middle of July with many of our investigators who were involved in the original 2007 expedition and the 2010 Margherita Hut expedition helping out. This will be both as laboratory staff and subjects, depending on our requirements.

The results from this pilot work will help guide the research to be carried out in 2013 on the Sherpa groups. This will all contribute to our quest to find out more about how the Sherpas tolerate low oxygen levels so well compared to many lowlanders.