Lucilla Poston CBE | |
---|---|
Nationality | British |
Education | Felsted School |
Alma mater | University of London |
Known for | human physiology; disorders of pregnancy |
Awards | 2017 CBE |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | King's College, London |
Doctoral students | Lucy Chappell |
Lucilla Poston CBE is a physiologist specialising in problems during pregnancy. She is a professor of maternal and fetal health at King's College London.
Poston attended Felsted School in 1970, one of the first girls to be educated there after the school became co-educational. [1] She graduated with a degree in physiology from University College, London and was also awarded her doctorate by University of London. [2]
She was appointed as a professor in King's College in 1995. Poston's research is about disorders of pregnancy especially when caused by maternal nutrition, and how children's lives can be affected. She has a large multidisciplinary research team with research projects that focus on premature birth, pre-eclampsia and complications from maternal obesity. [3] Poston founded and is Director of the Maternal and Fetal Research Unit which undertakes large-scale clinical trials. [4]
Her early research was into the control of the circulatory system of the placenta showed its relevance to pre-eclampsia. She led a clinical trial that changed medical practice through demonstrating that anti-oxidant supplements did not prevent pre-eclampsia. [4]
Poston is the author or co-author of over 440 scientific publications including:
In 2000, Poston was awarded the Joan Mott Prize Lecture by the Physiological Society. [5] In 2009 she was elected to be a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2010 Poston was awarded the G L Brown Prize Lecture by the Physiological Society. In 2017 she was made CBE for services to Women’s Health and appointed Emeritus Senior Investigator by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). [6] In 2021 Poston was President of the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. [7]
Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), or fetal growth restriction, is the poor growth of a fetus while in the womb during pregnancy. IUGR is defined by clinical features of malnutrition and evidence of reduced growth regardless of an infant's birth weight percentile. The causes of IUGR are broad and may involve maternal, fetal, or placental complications.
Eclampsia is the onset of seizures (convulsions) in a woman with pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that presents with three main features: new onset of high blood pressure, large amounts of protein in the urine or other organ dysfunction, and edema. If left untreated, pre-eclampsia can result in long-term consequences for the mother, namely increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and associated complications. In more severe cases, it may be fatal for both the mother and the fetus.
Pre-eclampsia is a multi-system disorder specific to pregnancy, characterized by the new onset of high blood pressure and often a significant amount of protein in the urine or by the new onset of high blood pressure along with significant end-organ damage, with or without the proteinuria. When it arises, the condition begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy. In severe cases of the disease there may be red blood cell breakdown, a low blood platelet count, impaired liver function, kidney dysfunction, swelling, shortness of breath due to fluid in the lungs, or visual disturbances. Pre-eclampsia increases the risk of undesirable as well as lethal outcomes for both the mother and the fetus including preterm labor. If left untreated, it may result in seizures at which point it is known as eclampsia.
Gestational hypertension or pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is the development of new hypertension in a pregnant woman after 20 weeks' gestation without the presence of protein in the urine or other signs of pre-eclampsia. Gestational hypertension is defined as having a blood pressure greater than 140/90 on two occasions at least 6 hours apart.
Complications of pregnancy are health problems that are related to, or arise during pregnancy. Complications that occur primarily during childbirth are termed obstetric labor complications, and problems that occur primarily after childbirth are termed puerperal disorders. While some complications improve or are fully resolved after pregnancy, some may lead to lasting effects, morbidity, or in the most severe cases, maternal or fetal mortality.
Nutrition and pregnancy refers to the nutrient intake, and dietary planning that is undertaken before, during and after pregnancy. Nutrition of the fetus begins at conception. For this reason, the nutrition of the mother is important from before conception as well as throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding. An ever-increasing number of studies have shown that the nutrition of the mother will have an effect on the child, up to and including the risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes throughout life.
Intrauterine hypoxia occurs when the fetus is deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen. It may be due to a variety of reasons such as prolapse or occlusion of the umbilical cord, placental infarction, maternal diabetes and maternal smoking. Intrauterine growth restriction may cause or be the result of hypoxia. Intrauterine hypoxia can cause cellular damage that occurs within the central nervous system. This results in an increased mortality rate, including an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Oxygen deprivation in the fetus and neonate have been implicated as either a primary or as a contributing risk factor in numerous neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders such as epilepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders and cerebral palsy.
Metabolic imprinting refers to the long-term physiological and metabolic effects that an offspring's prenatal and postnatal environments have on them. Perinatal nutrition has been identified as a significant factor in determining an offspring's likelihood of it being predisposed to developing cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes amongst other conditions.
Maternal obesity refers to obesity of a woman during pregnancy. Parental obesity refers to obesity of either parent during pregnancy.
Reproductive immunology refers to a field of medicine that studies interactions between the immune system and components related to the reproductive system, such as maternal immune tolerance towards the fetus, or immunological interactions across the blood-testis barrier. The concept has been used by fertility clinics to explain fertility problems, recurrent miscarriages and pregnancy complications observed when this state of immunological tolerance is not successfully achieved. Immunological therapy is a method for treating many cases of previously "unexplained infertility" or recurrent miscarriage.
Prenatal nutrition addresses nutrient recommendations before and during pregnancy. Nutrition and weight management before and during pregnancy has a profound effect on the development of infants. This is a rather critical time for healthy development since infants rely heavily on maternal stores and nutrient for optimal growth and health outcome later in life.
A high-risk pregnancy is a pregnancy where the mother or the fetus has an increased risk of adverse outcomes compared to uncomplicated pregnancies. No concrete guidelines currently exist for distinguishing “high-risk” pregnancies from “low-risk” pregnancies; however, there are certain studied conditions that have been shown to put the mother or fetus at a higher risk of poor outcomes. These conditions can be classified into three main categories: health problems in the mother that occur before she becomes pregnant, health problems in the mother that occur during pregnancy, and certain health conditions with the fetus.
A pre-existing disease in pregnancy is a disease that is not directly caused by the pregnancy, in contrast to various complications of pregnancy, but which may become worse or be a potential risk to the pregnancy. A major component of this risk can result from necessary use of drugs in pregnancy to manage the disease.
Lesley Margaret Elizabeth McCowan is a New Zealand medical researcher and academic specialising in maternal health. She is currently a full professor and head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Auckland.
Fetal programming, also known as prenatal programming, is the theory that environmental cues experienced during fetal development play a seminal role in determining health trajectories across the lifespan.
The Pregnancy Outcome Prediction (POP) Study is a prospective cohort study of 4,512 women who have never given birth, recruited at the Rosie Hospital between January 2008 and July 2012.
Rachel Tribe is a British academic who is the Professor of Maternal and Perinatal Sciences at King's College London working on translational research to improve the outcome of pregnancy.
Louise Clare Kenny is a British physician who is Professor and Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool. She was elected an Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours.
Simon Langley-Evans is a British scientist who is Emeritus Professor of Human Nutrition at the University of Nottingham.
Lucy Chappell is a British professor of obstetrics at King’s College London and the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) for the UK Department of Health and Social Care. As part of her CSA role, she oversees the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) as Chief Executive Officer. Her research areas include medical problems during pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia, and the safety of medicines in pregnancy.