Global Obstetrics Network

Ben Willem – Chairperson
From the The NetherlandsBen Willem Mol is Professor of Clinical Evaluative Research in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Amsterdam (AMC-UvA). He is focused on the organisation of multi-centric evaluative research in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Fertility. In the context of a national research consortium, over 50 hospitals, including all eight academic centres, are working together to carry out multi-centric randomised trials. The research is focused mainly upon everyday practices. As a Professor, Mol considers his most important task to be the stimulation and innovation of evaluative research in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine. You can reach Ben Willem via .

Jane Norman - Vice Chairperson
From the UK, Jane Norman is Professor of Maternal and Fetal Health at the Centre of Reproductive Health, the Universityof Edinburgh. Her translational research programme focuses on understanding the biology of normal pregnancy and improving outcomes in pregnancy disorders. Obese pregnant women have significantly increased risks of pre-eclampsia, diabetes, caesarean section and maternal and fetal death. She seeks to understand both the inflammatory processes occurring during parturition, and how clinically promising therapies for the prevention of preterm (such as progesterone) might exert their effects. You can reach Jane via .

Elizabeth Thom - Secretary / Treasurer
From the USAElizabeth Thom, Research Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the George Washington University and Associate Director of the George Washington University Biostatistics Center, PI Data Coordinating Center of Maternal Fetal Medicine Units Network, USA. She has been the Principal Investigator of the Maternal Fetal Medicine Units Network (MFMU) and for the Management Of Myelomeningocele (MOMS) study since 2002. Dr. Thom provides biostatistical expertise and support in the design, execution, data processing and analysis of multi-center clinical trials and epidemiological studies. You can reach Elizabeth via .

Lucilla Poston
From the UK, Professor Lucilla Poston is Head of the Division of Women’s Health in the School of Medicine at Kings College London, and research lead in Women’s Health  for the King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. She graduated in Physiology from University College London, and undertook her PhD at King’s College London. Her research team focus on pre-eclampsia, obesity in pregnancy and the developmental origins of disease. Professor Poston is a Fellow ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, an NIHR Senior Investigator (UK) and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK). You can reach Lucilla via .

Dwight Rouse
From the USA, Dwight J. Rouse is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. He is a past recipient of an NIH Mid-Career Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K-24), and along with his colleagues Drs. Jeffrey Stringer, Sten Vermund, and Robert Goldenberg, the first University of Alabama at Birmingham investigator to receive funding directly from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is in his third (5-year) cycle as Principal Investigator for the NICHD Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network and has served as overall Network principal investigator for two major randomized, double-masked clinical trials on preterm birth in twins and magnesium sulfate for the prevention of cerebral palsy. You can reach Dwight via .

Elizabeth Asztalos
From Canada, Elizabeth Asztalos is the director of the Centre for Mother, Infant, and Child Research, a clinical trials unit in the Sunnybrook Research Institute and is a neonatologist in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. She is the director of the Neonatal Follow-up Programme in the Division of Neonatalogy at the University of Toronto. She has focused on the long-term outcomes of high-risk neonates and focuses her research activities in follow-up projects and clinical trials. She is involved in many clinical trials from both a neonatal and perinatal aspect which have included antenatal steroids, management of twins, use of indomethacin in preterm infants and evaluating oxygen in the care of extreme preterm infants. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Canadian Neonatal Follow-up Network. You can reach Elizabeth via .

Fabio Facchinetti
From Italy, Fabio Facchinetti is graduated in Medicine and Ob/Gyn specialist. Currently he is Associate professor in Obstetrics at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy and chief Obstetric Ward at Modena University Hospital. Since 2001 he Chair the Midwifery School of the same University. The main scientific interests are Preterm Birth, Preeclampsia, Stillbirth. Author of more than 350 papers in journals of the Science Citation Index, with an h-index=39. Editor of specific books,  he organized international Congresses and served in the editorial board of several journals. You can reach Fabio via .

George Saade
From the USA, George Saade is Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Texas, Medical branch at Galveston. Areas of interest: Preeclampsia, labor, prematurity, preterm births, pregnancy You can reach George via .

Jodie Dodd
From Australia, Jodie Dodd is an Obstetrician and Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist at the University of Adelaide and Women’s and Children’s Health Network. She is the current Chair of the South Australian Maternal and Neonatal Clinical Network, and is editor for the Pregnancy and Childbirth Group of the Cochrane Collaboration, and associate editor for the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The focus of her research is to ensure that care for women and their infant’s is effective, and that treatment benefits outweigh harms. Specific areas of research interest include care for women with a multiple pregnancy, care during labour, and obesity in pregnancy. You can reach Jodie via .

Jonathan Morris
From Australia, Professor Jonathan Morris is Director of the Kolling Institute of Medical Research and the University of Sydney’s Northern Clinical School based at Royal North Shore Hospital. He is a clinical research scientist who is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist.  He leads a large research group with basic science, clinical trial, population health and perinatal interests.  Currently he is a Chief Investigator on several large randomised trials assessing the best management for the preparation and treatment of preterm birth. You can reach Jonathan via .

Zarko Alfirevic
From the UK, Zarko Alfirevic is Professor of Fetal and Maternal Medicine. Department of Women’s and Children’s Health at the Universityof Liverpool. His research Interests are Randomised trials and systematic reviews in perinatal medicine, Preterm Labour, Fetal Medicine and High Risk Obstetrics. You can reach Zarko via .

Andrew Shennan
From the UK, Andrew Shennan is Professor of Obstetrics at King’s College London. He qualified with MBBS in 1980 from St Mary’s Hospital Medical School and became a Member of the RCOG in 1991. He was awarded his MD thesis fromImperialCollegein 1997. He leads the clinical research programme within the Women’s Health Academic Centre into the causes of low birth weight and pre-eclampsia. In addition, he runs the research programme into the measurement of blood pressure in pregnancy and the development of accurate/novel ‘mercury free’ devices. Research interest: Pre-term labour, prediction and prevention of pre-eclampsia and the measurement of blood pressure in pregnancy. You can reach Andrew via .

Peter von Dadelszen
From Canada, Peter von Dadelszen is a Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, UBC, Consultant in MFM, BCW, and Co-Director & Senior Clinical Scientist, Reproduction and Healthy Pregnancy Cluster, CFRI.  Peter is married to Laura Magee, with whom he shares leadership of the UBC pregnancy hypertension research group.  Currently, Peter is investigating disease mechanisms, outcome prediction, and the impact of standardised community-based care, the latter as PI of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded PRE-EMPT programme.. You can reach Peter via .

TY Leung
From Hong Kong, Tak Yeung Leung is Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong. You can reach TY via .

Sebastian Illanes
From Chile, Sebastián Illanes MD, MSc: Obstetrician with a subspecialization in feto maternal medicine. He is directing a research team working in Reproductive Biology in University of los Andes, Chile, with special interests in prenatal diagnosis, early prediction of pregnancy related diseases and genomic and/or proteomic placental dysfunction markers and their implications in the physiopathology of pregnancy pathologies. You can reach Sebastian via .

Natalia Novikova
From South Africa, Dr Natalia Novikova is a Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology  of Frere Hospital, East London Hospital Complex and a lecturer at Walter Sisulu University, East London, South Africa. She is a clinical researcher involved in the large randomised trial on pre-eclampsia, meta-analyses in perinatal medicine and other clinical research in women’s health. You can reach Natalia via .

Zulfiqar Bhutta
From Pakistan, Zulfiqar A. Bhutta is the Noordin Noormahomed Sheriif Endowed Professor and Founding Chair of the Division of Women and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. He also holds adjunct professorships at several leading Universities globally including the Schools of Public Health at Johns Hopkins (Baltimore), Harvard School of Public Health, Tuft University (Boston), University of Alberta, Sick Kids Toronto as well as the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.  He is also the Chairman of the National Research Ethics Committee of the Government of Pakistan. Dr. Bhutta is one of the seven member Independent Expert Review Group set by WHO and the UN Secretary General in September 2011 for monitoring global progress in maternal and child health MDGs.  His group has spearheaded the development of the evidence base for integrated interventions for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and Nutrition His interventions as well as the strategies for developing and deploying Community-based and Mid-level Health Workers. You can reach Zulfiqar via .