The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology with its predecessor, the Postgraduate School, has a long tradition of research in the obstetric and gynaecological fields.
The late Professor Sir William Liley pioneered work in fetal medicine/surgery in
developing the technique of fetal transfusion in rhesus iso-immunised pregnancies.
Professor Sir Graham Liggins revealed not only the role of the fetus in determining
the time of birth, but with Ross Howie, a neonatal paediatrician, the
beneficial effect of glucortcorticoids in enhancing fetal lung maturation.
The department’s
research philosophy is to integrate high quality basic and clinical research on the same site and within a setting in which patients are cared for and where undergraduate
teaching and postgraduate teaching are taking place. It has well equipped laboratories
to support this research.
Current research
Research projects currently being
undertaken by department members are concerned with a wide range of issues related
to reproduction and women’s health. Most of the research is conducted under the
umbrella of the Research Centre in Reproductive Medicine. Specific projects include:
-
The prediction and prevention of pre-eclampsia
- Studies in small-for-gestational-age
pregnancies
- Post-natal growth and neurodevelopment in small-for-gestational-age
children
- Fetal hypoxia
- The prediction and prevention of preterm birth
- The initiation
of parturition
- Ultrasound diagnosis of fetal abnormalities
- Antiphospholipid antibodies
and recurrent miscarriage/still birth
- Implantation disorders
- Human Trophoblast biology
-
Human Trophoblast deportment
- The polycystic ovarian syndrome and its management
-
Endometriosis
- Premature ovarian failure
- The genetic basis of ovarian cancer
- Analysis
of molecular markers of hormone resistance in breast cancer
- Male factor infertility
-
Cardiac Inherited Disease disorder
The Research Centre was established in 1991 to
foster research in the department and to promote collaborative involvement of clinical
and laboratory based scientists. The present Director is Professor Peter Stone.
The laboratories of the centre are well equipped. Associates of the centre contribute
core knowledge in many areas of reproductive science. Their expertise covers molecular
biology, cell culture, immunoassay, immunology and andrology. A number of graduate
and postgraduate students currently are carrying out their research studies in the
centre's laboratories. The Research Centre offers two scholarships for masters level
students annually.
Research groups
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