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EGA Institute for Women's Health

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Maternal and Fetal Medicine

Maternal and Fetal Medicine research has a long established track record at UCL and includes the work of Professor Charles Rodeck, one of the pioneers of fetal medicine.

The Department, headed by Professor Dimitrios Siassakos, represents a significant collaboration of scientists and clinicians with a unifying aim to improve outcomes for pregnant women and their babies through improved diagnosis and treatment. Research ranges from investigation of mechanisms of conditions such as preterm birth, fetal growth restriction and perinatally acquired brain injury to the development of novel therapies using vector based gene delivery and stem cell based strategies to address prenatal acquired and congenital abnormalities.

We carry out research in 4 main areas:

 
Prof Anna David

Professor Anna David

 Prenatal  Therapy

Current treatment options for fetuses identified as having congenital structural or genetic abnormalities are limited. Combining recent advances in stem cell and gene transfer technology with advanced bioengineering will enable fetal therapy earlier in pregnancy. 

Dr Sara Hillman

Dr Sara Hillman

Pre eclampsia                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Prof Simon Waddington

Professor Simon Waddington

Gene Transfer Technology

Latest developments in gene transfer technology are being used to develop perinatal gene therapy for early onset lethal genetic diseases as well as providing novel methods to understand fundamental cell signaling pathways and disease mechanism.

Dr Rosalind Aughwane

Dr Rosalind Aughwane

 Placenta Imaging

Discovering whether a safe medical imaging technology (Magnetic Resonance maging (MRI) can be developed to assess how well the placenta is working during pregnancy.                                                                                                                               

Julia Zollner - Prediction of gestational syndromes

Dr Julia Zollner

Prediction of Gestational Syndromes

Exploring translational applications of OMICS technologies for the early detection and personalised management of women with gestational syndromes. Current focus is on diverse populations using polygenic methods.

Image of Pascale Guillot

Professor Pascale V Guillot

Stem Cell and Exosome Therapy

Developing the next generation of personalised medicine through stem cell and small extracellular vesicles (exosomes) therapy.

Dr Owen Vaughan

Dr Owen Vaughan

Fetal and Placental Physiology

Understanding what causes pregnancy complications and developing new ways to treat them.                                                                                                                                                                                              

Dr Helen O'Neill

Dr Helen O'Neill

Currently on 3 year secondment funded by a UKRI Innovation Scholars Grant: The Use of A Combined Clinical Symptom and Biomarker-Based Model to Predict Risk of Developing Reproductive Conditions and Fertility Potential.

Dr Ashley Boyle

Dr Ashley Boyle

Preterm Labour

Understanding the complex interactions between maternal immune responses and resident bacterial populations provides new ways to predict the risk of preterm labour in early pregnancy.

DS

Professor Dimitrios Siassakos

Perinatal Care & Operative Birth

Optimising health and safety in pregnancy and birth for every parent.  The group's work specifically focuses on birth and birth emergencies, as well as perinatal death and brain injury prevention.

Dr. Rajviner Karda

Dr Rajvinder Karda

Gene Therapy & Editing for Childhood Genetic Epilepsies 

Developing novel gene therapy and gene editing treatments for early onset, incurable genetic diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system.                                                       

David Ailliams

Professor David Williams

Obstetric Medicine

Understanding the causes of pregnancy - related syndromes will lead to novel therapies that not only optimise pregnancy outcomes for mother and child, and prevent future disease in mother, father and offspring in later life. 

Dr Rezan

Professor Rezan A Kadir

Thrombosis and Haemostasis

Exploring thrombosis and haemostasis issues in women and improve general and reproductive health of women affected with bleeding or thrombotic disorders in the UK and internationally.

Centre for Prenatal Therapy

Centre for Prenatal Therapy

Transforming prenatal care by providing novel therapeutic options for parents whose unborn baby has a structural abnormality.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              .

students

Current Research Students

Explore the list of research students within our Research Department of Maternal & Fetal Medicine and visit their profiles.

Professor Dimitrios Siassakos

 

Dr Pascale V Guillot

Head of Research Department