Directory of researchers

Tommy's researchers have a wide variety of specific interests. Listed below are brief outlines of the research areas of some of the key individuals funded by and involved with Tommy's.

Professor Lucilla Poston

Professor Poston has a background in basic science, which led on to an interest in cardiovascular function and then to studies of cardiovascular function in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia. Following some internationally recognised studies in this field, Professor Poston was appointed to the Tommy's Chair of Maternal and Fetal Health at Kings College London which provided the opportunity to expand her interest in pre-eclampsia whilst developing a new research group to investigate the causes and consequence of low birthweight.

Find out more about the work of the Tommy's London Research Unit, or read more about Professor Poston's research interests.

Professor Philip Baker

Professor Philip Baker came to Manchester in March 2001 to direct the then newly established Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre (a joint initiative between Tommy's and the University of Manchester), and to take up the inaugural Tommy's chair of Maternal and Fetal Health at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester.

Professor Baker's major research interests include increasing understanding of the life-threatening pregnancy complication, pre-eclampsia, and to develop rational therapeutic strategies, plus other pregnancy complications: miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, preterm labour, fetal growth restriction and stillbirth; these conditions have massive implications for both mother and baby, and intrauterine conditions are known to 'program' adult health.

Find out more about the work of the Tommy's Manchester Research Centre, or read more about Professor Baker's research interests.

Professor Andrew Shennan

Professor Andrew Shennan is Professor of Obstetrics and a consultant obstetrician, based in the Maternal and Fetal Research Unit at St Thomas' Hospital in London. Professor Shennan runs a specialist prematurity clinic at St Thomas' Hospital, seeing high-risk referrals from around the country. His research interests are in the area of preterm birth, and include the mechanisms surrounding birth and interventions to improve outcome. His research also includes investigating methods to predict and prevent pre-eclampsia. He is principal investigator in a number of clinical trials, both nationally and internationally.

Find out more about the work of the Tommy's London Research Unit, or read more about Professor Shennan's research interests.

Dr Rachel Tribe

Dr Tribe is a senior lecturer within the Maternal & Fetal Research Unit at St Thomas' Hospital in London. Her background as a physiologist has focused on ion channel function in smooth muscle and the translation of this basic research into clinically relevant studies. Studies in the research team are dedicated to exploring parturition and preterm labour

Current research interests in parturition and preterm labour include:

• Labour - ion channel function in the human uterus
• Preterm labour - effects of inflammation, placental steroids and uterine stretch on cervical shortening and uterine activity
• Dysfunctional labour - clinical protocols for labour induction and augmentation (PULSE).
• Obstetric cholestasis - pathophysiology and early diagnosis