Professor Denny Levett

Co-opted member of Council representing Centre for Perioperative Care

Qualifications

MA, BM BCh, PhD, MRCP, FRCA, FFICM, ChPOM

Term of office on Council

October 2025 to October 2028

Hospital

University Hospital Southampton, Hampshire

Biography

Denny was appointed as the Director of the Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) in October 2025. CPOC is a cross-speciality, interdisciplinary initiative aiming to promote the delivery of high quality, evidence-based, patient-centred perioperative care to improve patient outcomes and enhance value across the surgical pathway.

Denny is a professor of perioperative medicine and critical care at the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton. She led the development of a mutldisciplinary perioperative care service in Southampton integrating digital innovation, shared decision-making and a community based prehabilitation service to improve patient outcomes and experience.

Denny is founding co-President of the International Prehabilitation Society (IPOETTS) and co-Lead of the Perioperative and Critical Care Theme at the Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. Her research has focused on optimising surgical outcomes, empowering patient self-management, and improving the cost-effectiveness of care. Her research with the Fit 4 Surgery research group has included multimodal prehabilitation trials (Wesfit; Safefit; Inspire) and risk evaluation prior to major surgery. She has chaired expert consensus guidance on surgery schools, shared decision-making, nutrition and co-chairs the implementation group for the CPOC–NIHR–Macmillan guidelines on prehabilitation for patients with cancer.

Denny also has an interest in adaptation to hypoxia and was a founding member of the Xtreme Everest Hypoxia Consortium at UCL. She was the research lead and a climber on the Caudwell Xtreme Everest Research Expedition, a high altitude field study of hypoxia adaptation. (www.xtreme-everest.co.uk)

Register of Interests

Director, Center for Perioperative Care

Scientific advisor to Prehab4Life

Director of Prehabilitation and Perioperative Care Community Interest Company (not for profit)

Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine Community Interest Company (not for profit)

President International Prehabilitation Society