AFFIRM contacts
Full contact details for the AFFIRM team.
Professor Jane Norman, CI
Professor of Maternal and Fetal Health Director of the Edinburgh Tommy’s Centre Vice Principal, Equality and Diversity
Contact details: UoE/ MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, The Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh BioQuarter, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ Telephone: 0131 242 6623 Email: jane.norman@ed.ac.uk
PA: Karen Witherspoon Telephone: 0131 242 2694 Email: K.Witherspoon@ed.ac.uk
Dr Alexander Heazell
Email: alexander.heazell@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Alexander Heazell is a Senior Clinical Lecturer in Obstetrics working at the Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, University of Manchester. He is the Clinical Director of the Tommy’s Stillbirth Research Centre and leads the stillbirth research theme at the Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre. After graduation from the University of Birmingham Medical School in 2000, he commenced clinical training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. After completing his PhD thesis on placenta dysfunction in preeclampsia, he has focussed his research interests around stillbirth and is particularly interested in the role that placental dysfunction plays in this condition. He has also led qualitative research projects to explore professionals and parents’ experiences after stillbirth, with a particular focus on investigations following a stillbirth. His research portfolio includes a profile of basic science, clinical and qualitative research studies. His passion for stillbirth research stems, in part, from his personal experience of stillbirth. He is on the board of the International Stillbirth Alliance.
Catherine Calderwood MA Cantab. MBChB MRCOG FRCP Edin
Catherine is the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, appointed in March 2015.
She is an obstetrician and gynaecologist and continues to have a maternal medicine antenatal clinic at the Royal infirmary of Edinburgh. Catherine qualified from Cambridge and Glasgow universities. As a junior doctor she worked in medical specialities in Glasgow Royal infirmary and at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh before completing her specialist training in obstetrics and gynaecology and maternal medicine in SE Scotland and St Thomas’ Hospital London. She became a medical adviser to Scottish Government in 2010 and has been instrumental in the work in reducing stillbirths and neonatal deaths in Scotland and in reducing avoidable harm in maternity services. More recently her role expanded and work includes major trauma services and the introduction of robotic surgery for prostate cancer to Scotland. Until her recent appointment as Chief Medical Officer Catherine was also the National Clinical Director for maternity and women’s health for NHS England. Her research interests include thromboembolic disease in pregnancy and she is an investigator on the AFFIRM study which will study the effect of the introduction of a standardized education and management plan for the care of women presenting with decreased fetal movements in hospitals throughout the UK and Ireland. Catherine is chair of the UK maternal, newborn and infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme – the new process for confidential enquiries into maternal, newborn and infant deaths and severe morbidity run by MBRRACE-UK. She chairs the Scottish Government stillbirth working group and is a member of the RCOG stillbirth Clinical Studies Group. She was the obstetrician on the panel of the Morecambe Bay Inquiry into maternity and neonatal services and is a member of the recently formed Review of maternity and neonatal services in England.
Dr Sarah Stock
Clinical Lecturer & Subspecialty Trainee, Maternal Fetal Medicine Email: Sarah.Stock@ed.ac.uk
Dr Rachael Wood
Consultant in Public Health Medicine, ISD
Dr Chris Weir
Statistician
Dr Michael Geary
Consultant in Obstetrics & Gynaecology Professor in Obstetrics & Gynaecology Rotunda Hospital,Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Ireland Email: mgeary@ROTUNDA.ie
Professor Michael Geary qualified from the University College, Galway, in 1989. After initial training of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the National Maternity Hospital and St. Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin, he did further training in the UK from 1995 to 1998, predominantly at University College Hospital London, one of the busiest Maternity Units in the UK. While conducting clinical research, he also did special interest training in Maternal Fetal Medicine at UCL. He completed an award- winning doctorate in the area of fetal growth and has received many academic awards at both national and international scientific meetings. He returned to work as Assistant Master at both the Rotunda Hospital and the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, between 1998 and 2001.
Prior to taking up the post of Master in January 2002, he did further sub-specialty training in Maternal Fetal Medicine in Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Mount Sinai is the largest high risk obstetric unit in Canada and runs one of the most successful MFM training programs in North America. While at Toronto Professor Geary also trained in a joint programme between Mount Sinai and Sick Kids Hospitals in prenatal diagnosis of fetal congenital heart disease. Professor Geary is certified in Advanced Obstetric Ultrasound by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Radiologists.
Professor Geary was appointed as Master of the Rotunda in January 2002 and successfully led many clinical initivies during his 7 year term. He has continued an active programme of research in the areas of maternal and fetal medicine. He has led a number of major research projects in areas such as fetal growth, twins, thyroid function in pregnancy, clotting disorders in pregnancy, and recurrent miscarriage. He has supervised numerous postgraduate MDs. He has over 150 original peer-reviewed publications, in addition to many reviews, editorials and book chapters. He was appointed Clinical Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2012. He teaches medical students and post graduate trainees in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
He has a wide range of interests in general obstetrics and gynaecology and has a special interest in providing care in high risk obstetrics, maternal fetal medicine and prenatal diagnosis. He also runs a busy general gynaecology service.
He is married with five children.
Prof Sarah Cunningham-Burley
Head of School, Centre for Population Health Sciences, Medical School, Teviot Place, University of Edinburgh EH8 9AG Email: Sarah.C.Burley@ed.ac.uk
Janet Scott
SANDS (the stillbirth and neonatal death charity) Email: Janet.Scott@uk-sands.org
Dr Edile Murdoch
Consultant in Neonatology, Room S5114, Department of Neonatology, Simpson Centre for Reproductive Health, 51 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4SA Email: Edile.Murdoch@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
Dr Mary Ross-Davie
Educational Project Manager, Midwifery and Reproductive Health, NHS Education for Scotland Email: Mary.Ross-Davie@nes.scot.nhs.uk
Prof Fionnuala McAuliffe
Head, Women’s and Children’s Health, University College Dublin, N ational Maternity Hospital Email: Fionnuala.mcauliffe@ucd.ie
Dr Alyson Hunter
Consultant Obstetrician/MFM subspecialist, Centre for Fetal Medicine/Day Obstetric Unit, Royal Maternity Hospital, Grosvenor Road, Belfast BT12 6BB Email: alyson.hunter@belfasttrust.hscni.net
Dr Frederik Frøen
Director, Department of International Public Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P B4404 Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway, Email: Frederik.Froen@fhi.no
Affirm Admin
Sonia Whyte
Telephone: 0131-242-2693 Email: sonia.whyte@ed.ac.uk
Lorraine Adamson
Telephone: 0131-242-2696 Email: L.D.Adamson@ed.ac.uk Fax: 0131-242-6441
Tariq Derdeb
Trials Administrator Telephone: 0131-242 6749 Email: Tariq.Derdeb@ed.ac.uk
Gayle Beveridge
Trials Administrator Telephone: 0131-242-6342 Email: Gayle.Beveridge@ed.ac.uk