Editor Profiles
Nawsheen Boodhun
Back to topNawsheen graduated in Biomedical Science from King’s College London, United Kingdom. During this period she carried out a research project where the effects of lipopolysaccharides and the mechanisms by which it exerts its effects on the trachea was studied. She worked at the Barts & The London NHS Trust before commencing her publishing career at The Lancet, Elsevier. In 2013, she joined the BMC Series team at BioMed Central as an Assistant Editor and progressed into the role of Editor for BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth in 2014.
Nawsheen has a great interest in the field of women’s health, obstetrics, gynaecology and pediatrics. She has worked on a number of projects covering areas she is passionate about which include ‘Ending Preventable Stillbirths’ and ‘The Role of Structural and Interpersonal Violence in the Lives of Women’. Nawsheen also writes and contributes to the BMC-Series blog and social media platform.
Section Editors
Cecily Begley
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Maternity care and sociological aspects of pregnancy and childbirth
Prof Begley has worked in academia since 1989 and has led many research teams to successful completion. Her main research interests are in promoting normality in childbirth and encouraging women-centred maternity care. She recently completed an FP7-funded cluster randomised trial on increasing vaginal birth after caesarean section in Europe (OptiBIRTH). At present she co-ordinates (with Deirdre Daly) the MAMMI study (Maternal health And Maternal Morbidity in Ireland), a national study of morbidities experienced by 3,000 first-time mothers in pregnancy and up to one year post-natal. She also leads the REDUCE study, a pilot and feasibility trial designed to reduce caesarean section in Ireland.
Prof Begley joined the Editorial Board of BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth as Associate Editor, in 2009, and has served as Section Editor since 2011.
Asma Khalil
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Maternal health and pregnancy
Asma Khalil is a Reader and Consultant Obstetrician at St George’s University of London. She is a subspecialist in Maternal and Fetal Medicine and leads the Multiple Pregnancy Service at St George’s Hospital, London. Her research interest is hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, assessment of fetal growth, multiple pregnancy, stillbirth and maternal haemodynamics. Asma gained her MD at the University of London following two years’ research into pre-eclampsia. She also has an MSc in epidemiology granted from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has published more than 100 peer reviewed research papers in medical journals and more than 20 review articles and chapters in textbook. She has more than 16 international and national research awards. Asma is an active member in a number of key scientific committees, such as the ISUOG Clinical Standards, the RCOG Scientific Advisory Committee and NICE Quality Standards.
Vishnu Khanal
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Breastfeeding
Vishnu Khanal has completed his PhD (infant nutrition and maternal health) from Curtin University, Western Australia. Prior to PhD, he holds Maser of Public Health (Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics), and Master of Sociology. He has worked in maternal and child health programs for more than five years before his PhD. His research interests include breastfeeding, international health, maternal and child health, and nutrition. He is currently affiliated to Nepal Development Society, a leading research organisation in Nepal. He joined BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth in 2014 and has been contributing since then.
Hora Soltani
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Maternity care and sociological aspects of pregnancy and childbirth
Professor Hora Soltani holds the Chair of Maternal and Infant Health in Sheffield Hallam University. She is a Co-Section editor for BMC-Pregnancy & Childbirth, Co-Chair of the International Confederation of Midwives -Research Standing Committee (ICM-RSC) with a history of working as an advisor for the World Health Organization on several guideline developments, and as a member of Human Reproduction Programme Alliance for Research capacity Strengthening and Steering Committee. Through her 20 year research experience, she has led interdisciplinary projects in collaboration with a wide range of disciplines from "Design and Technology, Psychology and Nutrition Sciences" whilst retaining a thematic integrity with the core aim of enhancing care standards and reducing health inequalities for mothers and their babies. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, her main areas of research include postpartum haemorrhage, weight and physical activity during pregnancy and maternity care models particularly for vulnerable groups of women (e.g. those with obesity, of young age or from ethnic minorities).
Associate Editors
Trends in pregnancy and childbirth
Gary Darmstadt, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA
Brian Edlin, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, USA
Holly N Essex, University of York, UK
Biomedical aspects of pregnancy
Ishag Adam, University of Khartoum, Sudan
Jeffrey Keelan, University of Western Australia, Australia
Attila Molvarec, Semmelweis University, Hungary
Camille Raynes-Greenow, Sydney School of Public Health, Australia
Breastfeeding
Kingsley Agho, University of Western Sydney, Australia
Catherine M Fetherston, Murdoch University, Australia
Jane Scott, Curtin University, Australia
Marie Tarrant, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Labor, delivery, and postpartum health
Alexander Butwick, Stanford University School of Medicine, USA
Ronald George, Dalhousie University, Canada
Rebecca Smyth, University of Manchester, UK
Lao Tzu Hsi Terence, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Maternal health and pregnancy
Edward Araujo, Junior Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Brazil
Jacqueline Boyle, Monash University, Australia
Kai Buhling, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
Sally Collins, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
Marloes Dekker, The University of Queensland, Australia
Louise Doyle, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Patrick Gallagher, University of Yale, USA
Shivaprasad Goudar, JN Medical College, India
Angela Lupattelli, University of Oslo, Norway
Sotirios Saravelos, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Ewoud Schuit, University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands
Andrew Sharp, University of Liverpool, UK
Sherif Shazly, Women Health Hospital - Assiut University, Egypt
Deirdre K. Tobias, Brigham and Women's Hospital, USA
Corine Verhoeven, VUMC, Netherlands
John MG van Vugt, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Netherlands
Melissa Whitworth, CMFT, UK
Maternity care and sociological aspects of pregnancy and childbirth
Mary Amoakoh-Coleman, University of Ghana, Ghana
Cecily M Begley, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Lorena Binfa, University of Chile, Chile
Jermane Bond, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, USA
Susan Crowther, Robert Gordon University, UK
Hannah Dahlen, University of Western Sydney, Australia
Zoe Darwin, University of Leeds, UK
Angela Dawson, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Andrea Fielder, University of South Australia, Australia
Deirdre Gartland, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Australia
Mechthild M. Gross, Hannover Medical School, Germany
Helen Haines, University of Melbourne, Australia
Vanora Hundley, Bournemouth University, UK
Julie Jomeen, University of Hull, UK
Trudy Klomp, Institute for Health and Care Research, Netherlands
Joan Lalor, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Alison McFadden, University of Dundee, UK
Cate Nagle, Deakin University School of Nursing and Midwifery, Australia
Marianne Nieuwenhuijze, Zuyd University, Netherlands
Rhona O'Connell, University College Cork, Ireland
Nicole Reilly, University of New South Wales, Australia
Elisha Riggs, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Australia
Heather J Rowe, Monash University, Australia
Jill Shawe, University of Surrey, UK
Carina Sparud Lundin, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Kathrin Stoll, University of British Columbia, Canada
Sally Tracy, University of Sydney, Australia
Gill Thomson, University of Central Lancashire, UK
Edwin van Teijlingen, Bournemouth University, UK
Heather Whitford, University of Dundee, UK
Hannah Woolhouse, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Australia
Pregnancy and childbirth in low and middle income countries
Mohammed Ali, Curtin University, Australia
Carolyn Audet, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, USA
Tim Colbourn, UCL, UK
Adesegun Fatusi, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
Sahar Hassan, Birzeit University, Palestine
G Anita Heeren, Saint Josephs University, USA
Natasha Howard, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
Lisa Hurt, LSHTM, UK
Albrecht Jahn, Heidelberg University, Germany
Kate Kerber, Save the Children, Canada
Hussein Kidanto, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Tanzania
Vishnu Khanal, Sanjeevani College of Medical Sciences, Purbanchal University, Nepal
Tiziana Leone, LSE, UK
Phuong Nguyen, International Food Policy Research Institute, Vietnam
Marcus Rijken, Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Thailand
Stephen Rulisa, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rwanda
Padam Simkhada, University of Sheffield, UK
Dace Svikis, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
Harry Tagbor, Kwame Nakrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Janet Turan, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
Jennifer Harris Requejo, John Hopkins University, USA
Jos van Roosmalen, VU University Medical Center, Netherlands
Giel van Stralen, St. Lucas Andreas Hospital, Netherlands
Carla van der Wijden, VU University Medical Center, Netherlands
L. Lewis Wall, Washington University in St. Louis, USA
Yiqiong Xie, Tulane University, USA
Trends in pregnancy and childbirth
Fiona Alderdice, Queens University Belfast, UK
Leroy Edozien, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester, UK
Jane Ford, University of Sydney, Australia
Amina Khambalia, University of Sydney, Australia
Ellinor Olander, City University London, UK
Zarko Alfirevic, University of Liverpool, UK
Guillermo Carroli, World Health Organization, Argentina
Luis Gabriel Cuervo, Pan American Health Organization, USA
Kirsten Duckitt, John Radcliffe Hospital, UK
Metin Gulmezoglu, World Health Organisation, Switzerland
Phillip Hay, St George's Hospital, UK
Elina Hemminki, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
Ellen Hodnett, University of Toronto, Canada
Eileen Hutton, University of British Columbia, Canada
Vincent Jaddoe, Erasmus University Medical Center, Netherlands
K.S. Joseph, University of British Columbia, Canada
Jaroslaw Kalinka, Medical University of Lodz, Poland
Chris Kettle, University Hospital of North Staffordshire, UK
Torvid Kiserud, University of Bergen, Norway
Gunilla Lindmark, Uppsala University, Sweden
Pisake Lumbiganon, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
Judith Lumley, La Trobe University, Australia
Kavita Nanda, Family Health International, USA
Jim Neilson, University of Liverpool, UK
David Osrin, Institute of Child Health, UK
Jorma Paavonen, University of Helsinki, Finland
Robert Powers, University of Pittsburgh, USA
Mary Renfrew, University of Leeds, UK
Michael J Taggart, University of Manchester, UK
