Professor Laura Magee graduated MD (Hons) from the University of Toronto (Canada) in 1988. Following clinical training in Toronto (Toronto Western and Mt Sinai Hospitals) to complete her FRCPC (General Internal Medicine, 1992) and subspecialty training (Clinical Pharmacology, Motherisk Program, Hospital for Sick Children), she received funding from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the Hospital for Sick Children to undertake her obstetric medicine training with Chris Redman, University of Oxford, while completing her MSc in clinical epidemiology. In 1996, she was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and established the obstetric medicine service at Mt Sinai Hospital. In 2000, she was appointed as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia and Consultant in Obstetric Medicine at BC Women’s Hospital and General Internal Medicine at Providence Health Care (Vancouver, Canada), with subsequent promotion to Clinical Associate Professor (2005) and Clinical Professor (2011). She returned to the UK in 2015 as Professor of Maternal Medicine, St George’s, University of London, moving to become Professor of Women’s Health, King’s College London in September 2017.

Professor Magee has served as the Founder, Obstetric Medicine Training Programme, University of Toronto, and chaired two national guideline committees in Canada (pregnancy hypertension and fetal neuroprotection). Currently, she is President, International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy, President-elect (International Society of Obstetric Medicine). Also, she is an editor (PLOS One) and on the editorial boards of Obstetric Medicine and Pregnancy Hypertension, a member of the Maternal Morbidity Working Group for the World Health Organization, and Chair, Maternal Medicine Clinical Studies Group (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists). At King’s College London, she is a member of the King’s Global Health Institute.

With her husband and colleague, Professor von Dadelszen, Professor Magee was the recipient of the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy Chesley Award (2014). In addition, she has received the following awards: Teaching (Outstanding Teaching Award, Mt Sinai Hospital, Toronto), Award of Excellence (Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of BC)); Scholarship (Dr Fred Douglas Memorial Award for Academic Achievement in Internal Medicine and Respirology (University of Toronto), Admission (Alpha-Omega-Alpha Honors Society), Duncan L Gordon Research Fellowship (The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, Toronto), Detweiler Travelling Fellowship (Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada), and Scholar Award (Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, BC).

The group has research interests in the following areas:

• Pregnancy hypertension

Professor Magee's sustained research focus is on pregnancy hypertension, from pathways to disease, therapeutics (blood pressure goals [the CHIPS trial and related secondary analyses] and timing of delivery) and knowledge translation.  An increasing proportion of this focus is devoted to less-developed countries.

• Fetal growth restriction

The CHIPS trial arose because of concerns related to the interaction between maternal blood pressure conrtol and fetal growth velocity.  This area of research has includes the study of biomarkers to identify the fetus-at-risk, as well as novel therapeutics.  Ongoing research is examining the trade-off between fetal growth velocity and prematurity when choosing blood pressure targets for women with hypertensive pregnancies.

• Stillbirth

Much of the this focus on stillbirth relates to the intersect between pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction and global health using biomarkers and health technologies.

• Global women’s health

An increasing focus is the inetrsect between global women's health and maternal medicine.  Complicated pregnancy identifies women at increased risk for premature cardiovascular and endocrine disease - the non-communicable diseases.  First, we need to count the impact of these conditions in less-developed countries and then identify appropriate and acceptable interventions to improve health trajectories.

• Therapeutics in pregnancy

Therapeutics of interest include choice of, and blood pressure targets with, antihypertensives in pregnancy, MgSO₄ for both eclampsia prevention/treatment and fetal neuroprotection, sildenafil for fetal growth restriction and timing of delivery.

• Maternal medicine

The proportional impact of indirect causes of maternal death is increasing in all settings.  We are undertaking systematic reviews of national guidelines for the management of medical problems in pregnancy to identify commonalities and disparities in advice, and, consequently, research priorities.

The group has research interests in the following areas:

Pregnancy hypertension

Fetal growth restriction

Stillbirth

Global women’s health

Therapeutics in pregnancy

Maternal medicine