Overview

Professor Liona Poon is an Academic Subspecialist in Maternal Fetal Medicine, devoted in improving maternal and fetal health. She has had a prolific research output throughout her clinical and research posts, including over 130 peer-reviewed publications in high impact international journals. In the last 10 years she has focused her research on establishing a programme for effective early prediction and prevention of preeclampsia, a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. With her success in developing a first-trimester prediction model for preeclampsia using maternal risk factors, ultrasound, blood pressure and biochemical markers, and on Aspirin prophylaxis against preeclampsia, her goal in the next 10 years is to improve obstetric care worldwide, through clinical research and education. 

Notable Publications:
Aspire trial: incidence of preterm preeclampsia in patients fulfulling ACOG and NICE criteria according to risk by the FMF algorithm. Poon LC, Rolnik DL, Tan MY, Delgado JL, Tsokaki T, Akolekar R, Singh M, Andrade W, Efeturk T, Jani JC, Plasencia W, Papaioannou G, Blazquez AR, Carbone IF, Wright D, Nikolaides KH.
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2018 Jan 30. doi: 10.1002/uog.19019 [Epub ahead of print]

Aspirin versus Placebo in Pregnancies at High Risk of Preterm Preeclampsia. Rolnik DL, Wright D, Poon LC, O'Gorman N, Syngelaki A, de Paco Matallana C, Akolekar R, Cicero S, Janga D, Singh M, Molina FS, Persico N, Jani JC, Plasencia W, Papaioannou G, Tennebaum Gavish K, Meiri H, Gizurarson S, Maclagan K, Nicolaides K.H.
New England Journal Medicine 2017, 2017 Jun 28. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1704559. [Epub ahead of print]

Country: China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Field: Obstetrics

Specialties: Fetal anomaly screening 1st trimester and 2nd trimester; fetal biometry and wellbeing; fetal anomalies screening; aneuploidy screening; fetal anomalies; fetal growth restriction; maternal and fetal Doppler; multiple pregnancy; preeclampsia; preterm delivery; fetal growth; detection of fetal and neonatal growth abnormalities; ultrasound on the labour ward

Languages: English; Chinese (Mandarin); Chinese (Cantonese)

Emeritus professor Obstetrics and former head of department Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Neonatology and former vice-dean of medical faculty, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Member and past chair FIGO Committee Safe Motherhood Newborn Health. Former chair of the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and former president of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine. Honorary Fellow of the Flemish, South African, Royal (British; fellow ad eudem) and Romanian Colleges of O&G and of the German Perinatal Society. Awarded the Maternity price of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine in 2016. Awarded the title ‘’Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau’’ by the Queen of the Netherlands.

Research interests: fetal (neurological) development, fetal monitoring, fetal growth restriction, corticosteroids and preterm birth, diabetes and pregnancy, Cesarean sections. Over 470 PubMed articles, which have been cited more than 31.000 times according to Google Scholar (Hirsch Index 86); supervisor of 73 completed PhD projects.

Country: The Netherlands

Field: Obstetrics and Gynecology

Specialties: Obstretrics; Perinatology

Dr Roberto Romero, MD, D.Med.Sci., is Chief of the Perinatology Research Branch of the NICHD/NIH. He trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Yale University, where he was Director of Perinatal Research, before joining NIH.  Dr. Romero’s team has made seminal contributions to the diagnosis and treatment of ectopic pregnancy, prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies, prediction and prevention of preterm labor/delivery, and the role of infection/inflammation in preterm and term parturition.

In addition, Dr. Romero is an author of over 1000 peer-reviewed publications and several books, including the medical best seller, Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Anomalies. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the recipient of 14 Doctorate Honoris Causa and Honorary Professorships from Universities worldwide.

Dr. Romero has been honored by national and international professional societies for his medical and scientific contributions, including the Ian Donald Gold Medal (International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology), the Erich Saling Award from the World Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Maternité Prize in Obstetrics, awarded by the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, and also, is the first obstetrician to receive the prestigious Asan Award in Medicine from the Asan Foundation in South Korea.  

Dr. Romero is Editor-in-Chief for Obstetrics of one of the oldest journals in its discipline, the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The journal has a circulation of 42,000 in the United States and has published seminal work that has the changed the lives of mothers and children.

Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) is a UK-wide charity providing impartial information and support to parents throughout antenatal testing and when fetal anomaly is diagnosed. Help is offered for as long as is needed whatever decision is made about the future of the pregnancy. ARC also runs a well-established training programme for health professionals working in the field. 

Jane Fisher joined ARC in 2001 as Support Co-ordinator and became Director in 2004.  As well as managing the charity, Jane is also involved in directly supporting parents, training health professionals, research, policy and media work. She represents service users on the UK National Screening Committee, Fetal Maternal and Child Health Group of the UK NSC and is a member of the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme Advisory group.