Meet the team
Please see below for details of the Theme 1 research team and postgraduate students linked to the Theme. Click on the names to find out more information about their research interests, current and past projects.
| Research team | Postgraduate students |
Theme Lead
Prof Christine MacArthur, Professor of Maternal Child Epidemiology at University of Birmingham
Christine MacArthur is Professor of Maternal and Child Epidemiology in the School of Health and Population Sciences and lead of the Maternal and Child health research theme in the School. She has published numerous research papers in peer reviewed journals as well as several books and chapters: most of her publications are on this topic. She has received grants from NIHR, MRC, Wellbeing of Women as well as other local, national and international funding bodies. Her main research has been on longer term childbirth related health problems, such as urinary and faecal incontinence and depression, and the evaluation of maternity health services, such as postnatal care. She conducts randomised controlled trials as well as cohort and other epidemiological studies.
c dot macarthur at bham dot ac dot uk
Tel: +44 (0)121 414 6770
Meet the Team
Sara Kenyon, Senior Lecturer at University of Birmingham
Sara Kenyon is a maternity researcher (midwife by background) and national policy maker with a proven track record of successful funding and delivery of clinical trials. Sara is currently leading two RCTs in maternity care:
HOLDS- which is a pilot for a larger trial of high versus standard dose oxytocin for delay in labour for nulliparous women at term.
ELSIPS- which is an evaluation of the Pregnancy Outreach Worker service for women identified with social risk.
Sara was Chief Investigator for ORACLE Children Study which successfully completed a follow-up study of over 8000 children whose mothers joined ORACLE Trial and was published in the Lancet. She was group lead for the NICE Intrapartum Care guideline and currently leads the Intrapartum Clinical Study Group. She is co-applicant on the INFANT trial and is on a number of Trial Steering Committees (Opptimum, Boost and Birth Place).
Dr Carole Cummins, Senior Lecturer at University of Birmingham
Carole Cummins is a senior lecturer in the School of Health and Population Sciences. Her current research includes paediatric clinical trials, health services research focussed on children’s healthcare as part of the NIHR CLAHRC WM and paediatric epidemiology studies.
Dr Laura Goodwin
Laura Goodwin is a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham and is currently working on the Maternity Theme of CLAHRC WM. She has a background in Applied Psychology, combined with a PhD in Nursing and Midwifery. Her research interests include mixed method studies of maternity care experiences, ethnic inequalities in health, vulnerable populations, and maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Dr Albert Farre
Albert Farre is a Research Fellow based at Birmingham Children's Hospital. His current projects include evaluating the effects of implementing an electronic paediatric prescribing system on care provision in paediatric hospital ward settings.
Dr Karen Shaw
Karen Shaw is Research Fellow working on the maternity and child health theme. Her current projects include the evaluation of two initiatives designed to support families whose children have complex, life-limiting, or life-threatening conditions. At the heart of both is an intention to improve outcomes that matter to families and staff, by providing more supportive and co-ordinated care.
Dr Beck Taylor
Beck Taylor is a Clinical Research Fellow working on the maternity and child health theme of the CLAHRC WM initiative. Using a variety of quantitative and qualitative approaches to deliver high impact research driven by patients and health services.
Mrs Sally Bradshaw
Sally is a Research Fellow within CLAHRC Theme 1, where she is currently focussing on developing support for parents when their child has a life changing medical diagnosis. Sally has a broad clinical background in nursing, midwifery and public health. She is particularly interested in working with health care organisations to help them improve the health and wellbeing of service users and the wider public, and to contribute more widely to public health and wellbeing.
Dr Farina Kokab
Farina completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Birmingham and went onto achieve an MSc in Health Psychology at Aston University as a professional training course. Both of these degrees are accredited by the British Psychological Society.
She then completed an MA in Social Research (Social Policy) at the University of Birmingham which led on to her PhD.
Her PhD involved investigating the role of social support in influencing health beliefs and lifestyle practices amongst tri-generational Pakistani migrants in the West Midlands, UK.
Theme 1 links
Theme Lead
Professor Christine MacArthur, University of Birmingham
Partners
- Birmingham Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
- Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust
- Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
- University of Birmingham