Profile
Professor David Keene
Profile
After training as a physiotherapist and working in the NHS, I completed an MSc in Advanced Manipulative Physiotherapy at the University of Birmingham and a DPhil in Musculoskeletal Sciences at the University of Oxford. I then held a series of research and clinical academic positions within the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), supported by competitive NIHR postdoctoral funding. Following appointments as Associate Professor and Professor at the University of Exeter, I returned to Oxford in 2025 as the Kadoorie Professor of Trauma Rehabilitation at NDORMS and Senior Research Fellow at Lincoln College. I continue a clinical role as a Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist and Extended Scope Practitioner within the NHS.
- Research
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My research focuses on improving recovery after musculoskeletal injury and trauma. I lead and collaborate on large multicentre randomised controlled trials evaluating rehabilitation interventions for people with fractures, tendon injuries and other orthopaedic conditions. The aim of this work is to generate high-quality evidence that improves patient outcomes and informs clinical practice and health policy. Current projects include studies of rehabilitation after proximal humerus fracture, distal radius fracture, ankle fracture and major trauma.
A major theme of my work is the development and evaluation of complex rehabilitation interventions, alongside research into clinical trial methodology and patient-centred outcomes. I have published extensively in journals including The Lancet, JAMA and The BMJ, and have been Chief Investigator or co-applicant on numerous NIHR-funded studies. My research is conducted in close partnership with patients, clinicians and healthcare organisations to ensure that findings can be translated into real-world improvements in care.
Alongside research, I am committed to supporting the development of clinical academics and have supervised doctoral and postdoctoral researchers across a range of disciplines. I also contribute to national research leadership through roles with NIHR funding programmes, professional organisations and international collaborations in trauma and musculoskeletal rehabilitation.
- Select publications
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Hopewell, S., Keene, D.J., Marian, I.R., Dritsaki, M., Heine, P., Cureton, L., Dutton, S.J., Dakin, H., Carr, A., Hamilton, W., Hansen, Z., Jaggi, A., Littlewood, C., Barker, K., Gray, A., Lamb, S.E. on behalf of the GRASP trial collaborators (2021) Progressive exercise compared with best practice advice, with or without corticosteroid injection, for the treatment of rotator cuff disorders (GRASP): a multicentre, pragmatic, 2x2 factorial randomised controlled trial. Lancet, 398(10298):416-28.
Keene DJ, Costa ML, Peckham N, Tutton E, Barber VS, Dutton SJ, Hopewell S, Redmond AC, Willett K, Lamb SE (2022) AFTER pilot trial collaborators Progressive exercise versus best practice advice for adults aged 50 years or over after ankle fracture: the AFTER pilot randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 12(11):e059235.
Keene, D.J., Alsousou, J., Harrison, P., O’Connor, H.M., Wagland, S., Dutton, S.J., Hulley P., Lamb, S.E., Willett, K, on behalf of the PATH-2 trial group (2022) Platelet rich plasma injection for acute Achilles tendon rupture: two-year follow-up of the PATH-2 randomised, placebo-controlled, superiority trial. Bone Joint J, 104-B(11):1256-1265.
Keene, D.J., Alsousou, J., Harrison, P., Hulley P., Wagland, S., Parsons, S.R., Thompson, J.Y., O’Connor, H.M., Schlussel, M.M., Dutton, D.J., Lamb, S.E., Willett, K, on behalf of the PATH-2 trial group (2019) Platelet rich plasma for acute Achilles tendon rupture: PATH-2 randomised, placebo controlled, superiority trial. BMJ, 367: l6132.
Keene, D.J., Lamb, S.E., Mistry, D., Tutton, E., Lall, R., Handley, R., Willett, K. (2018) Three-Year Follow-up of a Trial of Close Contact Casting vs Surgery for Initial Treatment of Unstable Ankle Fractures in Older Adults. JAMA, 319(12):1274-1276.
Keene, D.J., Schüssel, M.M., Thompson, J., Hagan, D., Williams, M.A., Bryne, C., Goodacre, S., Cooke, M., Gwilym, S., Hormbrey, P., Bostock, J., Haywood, K., Wilson, D., Collins, G.S., Lamb, S.E. (2018) Prognostic models for identifying risk of poor outcome in people with acute ankle sprains: the SPRAINED development and external validation study. Health Technol Assess, 22(64):1-112.
Willett, K., Keene, D.J., Mistry, D., Nam, J., Tutton, E., Handley, R., Morgan, L., Roberts, E., Briggs, A., Chesser, T.J.S., Pallister, I., Lamb, S.E., for the Ankle Injury Management Trial Collaborators (2016) Close Contact Casting vs Surgery for Initial Treatment of Unstable Ankle Fractures in Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 316(14):1455-1463. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.14719
Positions
- Senior Research Fellow
- Kadoorie Professor of Trauma Rehabilitation
- Clinical Specialist Physiothreapist and Extended Scope Practitioner