Dr Joana Alcada da Costa
Consultant in Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care
About Joana Alcada da Costa
Dr. Joana Alçada Costa is a Consultant Physician in Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care based at the Royal Brompton Hospital, the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. She is committed to delivering exceptional, patient-centred care to those facing life-threatening conditions.
She is experienced in managing all respiratory conditions and specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory failure patients and sleep disorders, bringing comprehensive expertise to complex and challenging cases.
Dr. Alçada completed her specialist postgraduate training in Respiratory Medicine, General Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine in King’s College Hospital, St Thomas Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital and University College London Hospitals.
In 2014, Dr. Alçada was awarded a research fellowship in lung repair and regeneration in the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London and went on to complete a PhD on The Role Of Retinoic Acid In The Repair Of The Human Alveolus. Alongside her clinical commitments, she maintains a strong interest in research within the field of lung injury and repair. She holds an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer post at Imperial College London, where she supervises Bsc students and collaborates in the delivery of national and international clinical trials.
Dr Alçada is active in clinical education and research. She has led clinical research projects looking to improve further understanding and outcomes for patients with respiratory and critical illness. Her focus of scientific research is on lung injury and repair pathways in human models using human precision lung cut slice culture. With this technique, she has explored how specific pathways important in embryonic development, such as retinoic acid metabolism (RA), have the potential induce regeneration of the human lung. This could lead to the development of disease-modifying therapies that can repair and restore lung function in diseases such as emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis and ARDS.She has published various articles and presented and national and international conferences.
She contributes broadly to medical education. Besides supervising undergraduate students during their Bsc year, she regularly teaches on clinical postgraduate courses.
Clinical Posts:
Consultant in Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine, Welbeck, London
Consultant in Intensive Care and Respiratory Medicine - Royal Brompton Hospital (NHS)
Consultant in Intensive Care and Respiratory Medicine - Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Specialist Care (Private)
Expertise
- Breathlessness and Cough
- Respiratory Infections
- Sleep Disorders (including Sleep Apnoea
- Obesity Hypoventilation
- Insomnia
- and Restless Legs Syndrome)
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- COPD
- Smoking-Related Lung Disease
- Ventilation and Weaning From Ventilation
- ECMO
- Pre-Operative Respiratory Optimisation / Assessment and Post-Intensive Care Disorders
Overview
- Age of patients seen
- 18+
- Qualifications
PhD
MRCP
FFICM
- Languages spoken
- English, Portuguese
- Research highlights
Perez-Guzman PN, Knock E, Imai N, Rawson T, Santoni CN, Alcada J, Whittles LK, Thekke Kanapram D, Sonabend R, Gaythorpe KAM, Hinsley W, FitzJohn RG, Volz E, Verity R, Ferguson NM, Cori A, Baguelin M. Epidemiological drivers of transmissibility and severity of SARS-CoV-2 in England. Nat Commun. 2023 Jul 17;14(1):4279. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-39661-5.
Garfield BE, Bianchi P, Arachchillage DJ, Caetano F, Desai S, Doyle J, Hernandez Caballero C, Doyle AM, Mehta S, Law A, Jaggar S, Kokosi M, Molyneaux PL, Passariello M, Naja M, Ridge C, Alçada J, Patel B, Singh S, Ledot S. A Comparison of Long-Term Outcomes in Patients Managed With Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in the First and Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Kingdom. Crit Care Med. 2023 Aug 1;51(8):1064-1073. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005864. Epub 2023 Apr 5. PMID: 37276353; PMCID: PMC10335603.Mallia P, Meghji J, Wong B, Kumar K, Pilkington V, Chhabra S, Russell B, Chen J, Srikanthan K, Park M, Owles H, Liew F, Alcada J, Martin L, Coleman M, Elkin S, Ross C, Agrawal S, Gardiner T, Bell A, White A, Hampson D, Vithlani G, Manalan K, Bramer S, Martin Segura A, Kucheria A, Ratnakumar P, Sheeka A, Anandan L, Copley S, Russell G, Bloom CI, Kon OM. Symptomatic, biochemical and radiographic recovery in patients with COVID-19. BMJ Open Respir Res. 2021 Apr;8(1):e000908.
Ng-Blichfeldt JP, Alçada J, Montero MA, Dean CH, Griesenbach U, Griffiths MJ, Hind M. Deficient retinoid-driven angiogenesis may contribute to failure of adult human lung regeneration in emphysema. Thorax. 2017;72(6):510–521.
Poobalasingam T, Salman D, Li H, Alçada J, Dean CH. Imaging the lung: the old ways and the new. Histology and Histopathology. 2017;32(4):325–337.
- Professional memberships
Royal College of Physicians
British Thoracic Society
European Respiratory Society
Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine
Intensive Care Society
European Society of Intensive Care Medicine
Consultations and services
Insurers covered
Tests & treatments
Locations
Loading
Frequently asked questions
Yes, but only for certain services. Some consultations, assessments, and treatments can be booked directly, while others require a GP or specialist referral. Please check the relevant service page for guidance, and contact the centre if you’re unsure.
We aim to offer appointments as quickly as possible, and many services have same-day or next-day availability. Waiting times vary depending on the appointment type, specialty, and consultant availability, but our team will always offer the earliest suitable appointment.
Yes. You can arrange an appointment for a family member, or someone you care for, just let us know when you get in touch. We’ll need their details and consent to complete the booking, unless you're their legal guardian or have power of attorney.
Your first consultation includes a detailed discussion of your symptoms, medical history, and lifestyle factors, followed by a thorough examination. It’s helpful if you can bring the results of any previous investigations with you, as well as a list of your current medications. Come with a comfortably full bladder so you can provide a urine sample if requested.