ISA Newsletter

ISA World Circle of Loved and Remembered Babies

ISA Conference 2011





How We Started | Goals | Board | Scientific Advisory Committee | Parent Advisory Committee | Communications Committee | Fundraising Committee | Volunteers | ISA Secretariat Support Team | Regional Contacts | Regional Offices |

Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC)

The Scientific Advisory Committee has two main goals.

  1. To enhance international collaboration in research and related scientific activities in the prevention of stillbirth; and,
  2. Further the international reputation of ISA as the best single source of high quality information based on the most recent research for the purpose of advancing the understanding and the prevention of stillbirth.
The SAC has a range of responsibilities, including:

  • Identifying priority areas for research, audit and clinical practice standards in stillbirth prevention;
  • Undertaking specific projects, convening special working parties as required, to address identified priorities;
  • Overseeing the program of the annual ISA Conference/meeting ensuring a high quality relevant program aligned with ISA objectives;
  • Oversee the review of all abstracts submitted for presentation at ISA Conferences and meetings;
Any researcher interested in being a part of SAC is invited to contact Ruth Fretts

Scientific Advisory Committee members


Clinical Professor  of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Yale University School of  Medicine
USA

Michael is a graduate of  New York Medical  College and did his residency training and a year of MFM Fellowship at  Yale New Haven Hospital.  He is a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics  and Gynecology at the Yale University School of Medicine attending physician at  Yale-New Haven Hospital.  He is a Founder and President of Hygeia (http://hygeia.org), an internet-enabled program  providing the most comprehensive resource and largest international online  community for families experiencing the grief and sorrow which accompany the  loss of a pregnancy or newborn child.   He also administer the Hygeia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization  whose mission is to provide programs to educate, counsel and  support families who grieve the loss of a pregnancy or newborn child, advocate  for the healthcare of women and children, worldwide, and promote humanism in the  education of tomorrow's healthcare professionals.

Adrian Charles MD

Department of Pathology
Princess Margaret Hospital for Children
Perth
Australia

Adrian is one of two consultants in the Department of Pathology,  Princess Margaret and King Edward Memorial Hospitals, Perth, Western Australia. He has a special interest in stillbirths and performs roughly 50% of the department autopises of 430 fetal/perinatal post mortem examinations/year. He has been involved in the neonatal morbidity and mortality meetings at St Michael's Hospital, help set up and attend a fortnightly special perinatal loss clinic seeing around 100 patients a year, and participates on the statewide perinatal mortality review committee. His current research interests include stillbirths,   placental apoptosis and placental immunology/reaction to infection. He is a co-investigator on a large NHMRC grant with Vicky Flenady ( the PI) and others comparing stillbirths in Victoria, Queensland and Victoria, supervises a Ph D student and 2 research assistants investigating stillbirths, and a PhD student involved in placental development and apotosis.


Wes Duke, M.D., MPH


Medical Officer
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center on Birth Defects  and Developmental Disabilities
Altanta, USA

Wes currently serves as a Medical Officer with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA. He received my MD from the Medical University of South Carolina, and completed my MPH and Preventive Medicine/Public Health residency at Emory University. He is board eligible in preventive medicine/public health, and I currently oversee the development and implementation of population-based, active surveillance of stillbirths in the metro-Atlanta area.

Dr Jan Jaap H.M. Erwich, MD, PhD (co-chair) 

Staff-Specialist Maternal and Fetal medicine
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
University Medical Center Groningen
The Netherlands

Jan is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist at the University Hospital Groningen, The Netherlands. He is an assistant professor at the faculty of Medicine. His research projects/interests include the classification of perinatal mortality, (TULIP classification) and is in charge of the Perinatal audit for substandard care

ZOBAS-study: This study evaluates which tests are needed in case of intrauterine fetal death, cohort of 1000 stillbirths.  He is an international speaker or the topic and has published multiple articles.


Vicki Flenady MMed Sc (Clin Epid)


Perinatal Researcher
Mater Centre for Clinical Studies
Mater Health Services
South Brisbane, Queensland
Australia

Vicki Flenady is a perinatal researcher at the Centre for Clinical Studies - a clinical research unit attached to a large maternity hospital (approximately 7,000 births each year) - the Mater Mother’s Hospital, Brisbane, Australia ( http://www.mater.org.au ). Vicki is also the coordinator of the Perinatal Mortality Group of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) and the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Stillbirth Collaborative Group ( http://www.psanzpnmsig.org/ ) and chairs the regional perinatal mortality review committee. Vicki has a background in midwifery and neonatal intensive care nursing and has a Masters in Medical Science in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Newcastle Australia. In collaboration with PSANZ, Vicki has developed guidelines on stillbirth investigations and is currently undertaking a case controlled study on unexplained stillbirth and also collaborating in the International study on pregnancies with decreased fetal movements with the Femina Collaboration.


Ruth C Fretts MD, MPH (co-hair)

Assistant Professor Harvard Medical School
Harvard Vanguard Medial Associates
Wellesley MA
USA

Ruth is a obstetrician gynecologist with a special interest in specific causes of still birth and strategies for prevention. She received her Medical Doctorate at Queen's University Canada, and trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology at McGill. She obtained a Master's in the School of Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

She is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and is the Chair of the Stillbirth Review Committee at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

She is currently collaborating on an International study on pregnancies with decreased fetal movement. 


Frederik Frøen MD, PhD


Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Boston
USA

Frederik is an epidemiologist at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, and in the 2005/06 season a Visiting Fulbright Scholar at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. He has been a part of ISA since it's very beginning - first as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee and the first Conference in 2005, and currently as the Co-Chair of ISA.

He received his MD degree from the University of Bergen, a PhD in pediatrics at the  Dept. of Pediatric Research, on research related to SIDS and perinatal brain injuries, and a PhD in obstetrics at the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, on the epidemiology of unexplained stillbirths, both at Rikshospitalet University Clinic, University of Oslo.

His research interests include many fields of stillbirth research, but the main focus is currently unexplained stillbirths, classifications and causes of stillbirth, and pregnancies with reduced fetal movements.


Jason Gardosi MD FRCOG FRCSED

West Midlands Perinatal Institute
Crystal Court, Aston Cross
Birmingham
United Kingdom

Jason is the director of the West Midlands Perinatal Institute based in Birmingham, UK and Professor in Maternal and Perinatal Health, University of Warwick. He is an obstetrician by background, with main interests in fetal growth and maturity, intrapartum surveillance and perinatal epidemiology. The Perinatal Institute (www.perinatal.nhs.uk) is a regional NHS organisation which aims to distil the evidence, understand the causes and develop pro-active strategies for the avoidance of adverse perinatal outcome.

Prof Gordon Smith M.D., PhD

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
University of Cambridge and NIHR Cambridge Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre Cambridge
United Kingdom

Professor Gordon Smith is Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cambridge and a Senior Investigator of the National Institute for Health Research (UK). His research focuses on the use of maternal, ultrasonic and biochemical data to determine associations with adverse pregnancy outcome and he is the principal investigator in a prospective cohort study of unselected first pregnancies. He has published in national and international journals including Nature, NEJM, JAMA and Lancet.


Caron Millard

Midwife
Antigua West

Caron is a British Midwife currently living and working in Antigua and Barbuda in the West Indies. Caron qualified as a midwife in 1990 and has worked full time as a midwife at a senior level in both the hospital and community settings since then. She was part of the "Bereavement Team" for many years before taking up the specialist position of Bereavement Support Midwife in 2002. Caron has a BSC in Women’s Health.

Since relocating to Antigua, Caron has set up Sands Antigua and Barbuda(www.sands-antigua-barbuda.com) which is a local support group ran on a voluntary basis offering totally confidential help and support to bereaved parents who have lost a baby either before, during or after birth. She also offers support to health care professionals and has presented many local seminars to try and raise awareness around this very sensitive subject.

"Caring for and improving care provided to bereaved parents is very important to me and I will continue to work alongside bereaved parents and health care professionals wherever and whenever I can to raise awareness and improve care."

Belinda Jennings

Clilnical Midwife Consultant
Perinatal Loss Service
King Edward Memorial Hospital
Pert, WA, Australia

Belinda Jennings is a Clinical Midwife Consultant (Rn,RM, BSc, MSc) and coordinator of Perinatal Loss Service. This service aims to provide multidisciplinary comprehensive, coordinated and continuing care to women experiencing a Perinatal death. There is a strong focus on Maternal and Perinatal outcomes, quality research and education. This position provides a state-wide consultancy service to Western Australia.

Ron Gray

email: ron.gray@npeu.ox.ac.uk
National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit
University of Oxford UK

Ron Gray is a Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, UK. He is both a perinatal epidemiologist and a psychiatrist. He works on infant mortality, stillbirth, preterm birth and the teratogenic effects of alcohol.


Marianne H. Hutti, DNS, WHNP-C
Professor
Coordinator, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Program
School of Nursing
Associate Director,
Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning
University of Louisville
USA

Dr. Marianne Hutti is Professor and Coordinator of the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Program at the University of Louisville, and Associate Director of the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Louisville.  She also works as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner in a private gynecological practice with Donald B. Katz, MD.  Dr. Hutti has presented more than 200 programs on women’s health- related topics at regional, national and international meetings, and has published about 25 articles on women’s health topics.  She is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research for a study in which she is Co-PI  on the topic of “Emotional Distress in a Pregnancy Subsequent to a Perinatal Loss”.  Dr. Hutti has been studying perinatal loss since the mid-1980’s when she completed her first study of factors that influence the intensity of grief after early pregnancy loss.  Aside from being an active researcher, Dr. Hutti is also a committed teacher, and has won several local, regional, and national teaching awards.


Dr Abdul H. Jokhio

Coordinator Medical Research
Medical Research Centre
Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences
Jamshoro, Sindh
Pakistan

Abdul Hakeem Jokhio is currently coordinator of Medical research at Liaquat University, Jamshoro, Sindh Pakistan, trained in medical, management and public health sector development with research interests in perinatal and maternal healthcare. He has held senior positions at different levels in health department government of Sindh Pakistan. He has proven record of achievements in variety of healthcare projects design and implementation. He has proven ability in achieving cooperation between private and public sectors in Pakistan. Proven record of accomplishment in policy and planning dialogue with government officials, NGOs and donors at national level and successfully enacted the large and complex intervention in Pakistan. He has attended many international conferences and on panel for articles review with journals.


Luigi Matturri, MD, PhD


Chairman, Institute of Pathology
University of Milan
Italy

Since 1972, Full Professor of Pathology and Chairman of the Institute of Pathology University of Milano. Since 1980 Head of the First School of Specialization in Pathology, University of Milano. Coordinator of the International PhD Program in Pathological Anatomy, University of Milan, particularly focused on perinatal pathology and SIDS. Since 2000, Coordinator of the Master of Pathology of Stillbirth and SIDS, University of Milano. Since 1999, Chief of the "Reference Center of the Italian Republic's Lombardy Region for Pathological Study of Unexpected Fetal Death and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) victims", Institute of Pathology, University of Milano, Lombardy Region. Since 2004, Chairman of the "Lino Rossi" Research Center for the study and prevention of the unexpected perinatal death (of the term fetus - stillbirth - and neonatal) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), University of Milan (Rectorial Decree n. 225878 of 23/04/04). Associated member of the Argentine Cardiology Society. Visiting Professor of the University of Buenos Aires, Argentine.The scientific activity (over 250 publications) is mainly addressed to the study of cardio-vascular pathology (atherosclerosis and cardiac conduction system) and to the investigation of the neuropathology of Stillbirth and SIDS. Recipient of the Gold Medal Award of the City Hall, Milano 1988.


Michael Paidas MD


Email: mpaidas@aol.com   
Yale University School of Medicine
USA

Michael J. Paidas, M.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine and Co- Director of the Yale Women and Children’s Center for Blood Disorders.  His areas of interest include the prevention of adverse pregnancy outcome, acquired and inherited thrombophilic conditions, decidual cell hemostasis, non-invasive methods of evaluation of the uteroplacental circulation and hemostasis disorders that affect women.


Richard Pauli MD, PhD

Clinical Genetic Center
Madison WI
USA

Richard Pauli is a Senior Professor of Pediatrics  and Medical Genetics  and is the Division Chief in the Division of Genetics and Metabolism in Madison Wisconsin. He has had a special interest in the development of a community protocol for the evaluation of stillborns and counselling their families. His other interests inherited pediatric conditions such as achondroplasia and as well as the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome. He is an international speaker, and has many published papers.


Ingela Rådestad


Department of Caring sciences and public Health
Mälardalens University
Västerås
Sweden

Ingela is a midwife and associated professor in reproductive and perinatal care, she is the author of the book “When a meeting is also farewell”, Books for Midwives press 1999.

In 1998 she wrote a thesis on a nation-wide follow-up of all women who gave birth to a stillborn baby in Sweden in 1991 (314 stillbirths and 322 controls are included in the study). She had her own experiences of loosing a child, her firstborn daughter was stillborn in 1981. Although her focus on how  we best care for mothers and fathers with stillborn children my interests also cover parental education and women´s experiences of delivery.


Babill Stray-Pederson

Professor,
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,
Rikshospitalet University Hospital,
Norway .

Babill Stray-Pedersen is Professor  in Gynecology and Obstetrics, Rikshospitalet University Clinic, University of Oslo, Norway. She is a clinical professor as well as researcher and medical educator. She is one of the initiator of the Perinatal Research Center at the University in Oslo and has been president and board member of several International Perinatal and gynaecological societies. Today Babill represents Europe in WHO advisory board in reproduction.
She has a very broad field of interests. She started research 30 years ago on reproductive failure in connection with infection (especially recurrent miscarriage and stillbirth)  and has continued with  projects within reproductive health  and distant learning in Russia, Central Asia, Africa and Asia. She has been the supervisor of several Master and PhD students worldwide. See her website: www.babill.no
 
José Belizán

Email:
Email: belizanj@allstat.org
Senior Scientist
Department of Mother and Child Health Research
Institute of Clinical Effectiveness
Argentina
José Belizán, MD, PhD, is an obstetrician and epidemiologist focusing his area of research and training mainly in Latin America (LA).  He has participated in numerous major clinical trials mostly in LA testing a diversity of interventions to improve maternal and perinatal health care. He has been extensively involved in teaching, including the development of a master’s course and several short-term courses on the methodology of research training for health care professionals from 18 Latin America countries.
 He is the former director of the Pan American Health Organization’s/ WHO, Latin American Center for Perinatology in Montevideo, Uruguay and is currently a senior scientist of the Department of Mother and Child Health Research at Institute of Clinical Effectiveness in Buenos Aires, Argentina.    Dr. Belizán is an adjunct professor in the Tulane Department of Epidemiology and of the School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.