I have a clinical background in nursing, health visiting and midwifery and an academic background in social science. I currently lead the Maternal Health Systems and Implementation Research Group in my department comprising 20 staff comprised of midwives, obstetricians, social scientists and health service researchers. I also lead NIHR ARC South London Maternity and Perinatal Health Theme and I am part of the leadership team in the new Tommy’s National Centre for Maternity Improvement. I am seconded to NHS England/Improvement as Head of Midwifery Research from 2021.

I am an NIHR Senior Investigator and currently contribute to £22 Million Research grant income. My google h-index is 59 arising from over 170 peer reviewed publications. I was awarded an honorary doctorate and am an adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney. I maintain close collaborations with researchers globally in Australia, USA, Canada and Europe.

My academic training and expertise are in the Social Sciences and my research focuses on safety & quality in maternity and perinatal care, and includes birth outcomes in different settings, maternity workforce skill mix, management of escalation of care in acute medical and maternity settings, engagement by patients and families in their own safety, and implementation of open disclosure in perinatal care.  Current research is looking at mechanisms and impact of models of midwife continuity of care for women at higher risk of pre-term birth and interventions to reduce inequities in care looking at mechanisms and outcomes for women and babies using linkage of routinely collected clinical data.

My methodological expertise ranges from systematic reviews, qualitative research/ethnographic methods and implementation research in trials of complex interventions including a vital sign device improve detection of shock and hypertension in and a programme to assess foetal growth. I have expertise in a range of health and social research methods from ethnographic and qualitative methods, modelling of national datasets and trials of complex interventions. I lead Cochrane reviews and have experience leading programmes of applied research in safety and quality in collaboration with key stakeholders and the public.  

I work with local, regional and national policy bodies in the UK regarding translation of research evidence into policy and practice, for example, NHS England Continuity of Midwifery care expert group, NICE Implementation Strategy Group, NHSE London Clinical Leadership group to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. At a global level I have served as a ministerial appointed expert on the review of Irish Maternity strategy, co-chaired the ICM Research Committee for 8 years and contributed to international midwifery initiatives such as the Lancet Series on Midwifery and caesarean section and worked with the MCA Department & Office of Chief Nurse in WHO HQ on a range of projects, and member of WHO STAG reporting to the DG. My research findings have informed the UK, US, Irish and Australian maternity policies and WHO guidance.

Social and cultural shaping of maternal health policy; social science perspectives on health; comparative health policy analysis; implementation science research and evaluation of complex interventions.