Exeter Women’s Health Research Group
Led by Professor Sarah Dean, Dr Emma Pitchforth and Professor Gemma Sharp, the Exeter Women’s Health Research Group is a dynamic, multidisciplinary group that brings together researchers and clinicians from a wide range of disciplines. The group focuses on women’s health and wellbeing across the life course and group members have significant expertise in health services research, behavioural sciences, genetics, social sciences and sport science.
(This page is still under development, more information and details will be added)
The Women’s Health Research group recognises that the term ‘women’ must recognise individuals in a full sense of inclusivity, diversity and sensitivity, and it is our aim to support this in our research.
We note that some studies may require stricter participant criteria, including social, biological or genetic. Each study group will consider carefully what terms they should use and what criteria are most appropriate for their specific study, and will be as transparent as possible in the display of these criteria, and will endeavour to use the most accurate and sensitive terms relevant to their research and participants therein.
Leads and Contact
| Professor Sarah Dean | Co-Lead of the Exeter Women's Health Research Group |
| Co-Lead of the Exeter Women's Health Research Group | |
| Co-Lead of the Exeter Women's Health Research Group/Associate Professor in School of Psychology / Lead of 4M Consortium | |
| Georgina Hack |
Contact for the Exeter Women's Health Research Group |
The Team
| Lucy Ablett | Midwife Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (Eastern) |
| Christine Addington | |
| Sharlene Alauddin | PhD Student, Medical Statistics |
| Hani Alyami | PhD Student, Sport Exercise and Nutrition Sciences |
| Susan Banducci | Professor in Politics and Turing Fellow |
| Joanne Black |
Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist, Devon Partnership NHS Trust |
| Kate Boddy | Research Fellow University of Exeter Medical School |
| Simon Briscoe | Research Fellow University of Exeter Medical School |
| Naomi Burnett Fry | Clinical Data Manager |
| Mary Carter | Research Fellow University of Exeter Medical School |
| Natalie Carpenter | PTY student |
| Amy Chinner | Graduate Researcher Assistant in Primary Care |
| Jasmine Darley | PhD Student |
| Antoinette Davey | Research Fellow University of Exeter Medical School |
| Line Djeokeng | Medical student, a Santander UK Universities Scholar (I won their prestigious 3-year scholarship) and a Peer Mentor for Mature Students |
| Laura Gill | Graduate Research Assistant in DISCO team |
| Char Goodwin | Research Fellow, Psychology |
| Malika Felton | Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology Bournemouth University |
| Maxine Hough | NIHR Study Support Service Co-ordinator Specialist Research Nurse NHS |
| Deepthi Lavu | GP ST Academic Clinical Fellow, University of Exeter Medical School |
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Rohan May |
PTY student |
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Senior Research Fellow, University of Exeter Medical School |
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Sophia McDowell |
PhD Student University of Exeter |
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Emi Michael-Ulogho |
Postgraduate - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, U of E |
| Anna Murray | Professor of Human Genetics, University of Exeter Medical School |
| Nitzan Peri-Rotem | Senior Lecturer (Sociology and Q Step) |
| Julia Prague | NHS Consultant/Hon Senior Lecturer (Diabetes) |
| Lisa Price | Lecturer/Associate Research Fellow University of Exeter Medical School |
| Richard Pulsford | Senior Lecturer in Physical Activity and Public Health |
| Catherine Rider | Associate Professor in Medieval History |
| Lauren Rodgers | Honorary Research Fellow |
| Kate Ruth | Lecturer in Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Exeter Medical School |
| Theresa Santhosh | PTY Student University of Exeter Faculty of Health and Life Science |
| Victoria Salmon | Research Fellow |
| Amandine Senequier | Research Associate with MSc |
| Elizabeth Shephard | Postdoctoral Research Fellow UEMS |
| Laura Sims | Associate Professor (clinical) (E&S) |
| Clodagh Smith | PTY student |
| Lili Smith | Final year student undertaking - BMedSci project around the impact of COVID on sexual and reproductive health and rights |
| Rohini Terry | Research Fellow |
| Bethan Treadgold | Postdoctoral Researcher |
| Sarah Walker | Postdoctoral Research Fellow |
| Fiona Warren | Senior Lecturer in Medical Statistics |
| Jo Welsman | Associate Research Fellow |
- Islam, M., Afroja, S., Khan, M., Alauddin, S., Nahar, M., & Talukder, A. (2022). Prevalence and Triggering Factors of Childhood Anemia: An Application of Ordinal Logistic Regression Model. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 2022.
- Alauddin, S., & Haque, M. E. (2021). Socioeconomic Determinants of Diarrhea among Under-Five Children in Bangladesh: Do Education and Wealth Matter?. Journal of Maternal and Child Health, 6(4), 444-454.
- Briscoe S, Thompson Coon J, Melendez-Torres GJ, Abbott R, Shaw L, Nunns M, Garside R (2023). Primary care clinicians’ perspectives on interacting with patients with gynaecological conditions: a systematic review. BJGP Open, BJGPO.2023.0133-BJGPO.2023.0133. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2023.0133
- Briscoe S, Thompson Coon J, Melendez-Torres GJ, Abbott R, Shaw E, Nunns M, Garside R (2022). Primary care clinicians’ perspectives on interacting with patients with gynaecological conditions or symptoms suggestive of gynaecological conditions: a scoping review of qualitative studies. National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Programme. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/130071
- Eszter Kismödi & Emma Pitchforth (2022) Sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice in the war against Ukraine 2022, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, DOI: 10.1080/26410397.2022.2052459
- Genetic insights into biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing KS Ruth, FR Day, J Hussain, A Martínez-Marchal… - Nature, 2021 (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03779-7)
- Genomic insights into the mechanism of NK3R antagonists for treatment of menopausal vasomotor symptoms Katherine S. Ruth, Robin N. Beaumont, Jonathan M. Locke, Jessica Tyrrell, Carolyn J. Crandall, Gareth Hawkes, Timothy M. Frayling, Julia K. Prague, Kashyap A. Patel, Andrew R. Wood, Michael N. Weedon, Anna Murray doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.25.22275501
- Identifying susceptibility genes for primary ovarian insufficiency on the high-risk genetic background of a fragile X premutation. Cristina E.TrevinoPh.D.aJ. ChristopherRoundsPh.D.bKristaCharenM.S.aLisaShubeckB.A.aHeather S.HippM.D.cJessica B.SpencerM.D.cH. RichardJohnstonPh.D.aDave J.CutlerPh.D.aMichael E.ZwickPh.D.adMichael P.EpsteinPh.D.aAnnaMurrayPh.D.eJames N.MacphersonPh.D.fMontserratMilaPh.D.gLaiaRodriguez-RevengaPh.D.ghElizabethBerry-KravisM.D.iDeborah A.HallM.D.jMaureen A.LeeheyM.D.kYingLiuM.D.k…Emily G.AllenPh.D.a
- Genetic susceptibility to earlier ovarian ageing increases de novo mutation rate in offspring Stasa Stankovic, Saleh Shekari, Qin Qin Huang, Eugene J. Gardner, Nick D. L. Owens, Ajuna Azad, Gareth Hawkes, Katherine A. Kentistou, Robin N. Beaumont, Felix R. Day, Yajie Zhao, The Genomics England Research Consortium, Kitale Kennedy, Andrew R. Wood, Michael N. Weedon, Ken K. Ong, Caroline F. Wright, View ORCID ProfileEva R. Hoffmann, Matthew E. Hurles, View ORCID ProfileKatherine S. Ruth, Hilary C. Martin, John R. B. Perry, Anna Murray doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.06.23.22276698
- Peri-Rotem, N. (2023). Education, health indicators and fertility outcomes: a longitudinal analysis of couples in Britain. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies (published online ahead of print 2023). https://doi.org/10.1332/175795921X16822409446639
- Bobbie Jones, Nitzan Peri-Rotem & Anna Mountford-Zimdars (2023) Geographic opportunities for assisted reproduction: a study of regional variations in access to fertility treatment in England, Human Fertility, 26:3, 494-503, DOI: 10.1080/14647273.2023.2190040
- Publications: Rider, C. ‘The Medieval Biological Clock? Gendered Reproductive Aging in Medieval Western Medicine’, Journal of Aging Studies 64 (2023), 1-6 (for a special issue on Sexual and Reproductive Aging in the History of Medicine)
- New suite of videos: Health Innovation SW and APPEAL video links: training midwives to support pregnant women to do their pelvic floor exercises; https://arc-swp.nihr.ac.uk/research/projects/training-midwives-to-teach-pelvic-floor-muscle-exercises/
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhrUCOuqvsXKeFu2z2_YrFRQuXtc1XhUj
- APPEAL is a research programme that developed a training package to support midwives in teaching pregnant people to do their Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises, with the goal of preventing urinary incontinence. The programme was funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), and it involved creating training materials and resources as well as evaluating the implementation of this training in a pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial. The APPEAL research team is currently collaborating with Health Innovation Southwest to support the further roll out of the APPEAL training. https://arc-swp.nihr.ac.uk/research/projects/training-midwives-to-teach-pelvic-floor-muscle-exercises/
- C-POP is a multi-method study that aims to explore the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a study comparing the effectiveness of two vaginal surgical options for women with apical pelvic organ prolapse (a condition where the womb or cervix, bulges or hangs down into the vagina). C-POP will involve discussions with both women who have apical pelvic organ prolapse and the clinicians who provide care for them. The study is currently open to recruitment, and find more information at: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/applied-health/research/children-maternity-lifestyles/maternal-and-child-health/c-pop-study
- Please see the link to the Genomics website for reproductive health: https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/reprogenomics/
- Pflexi is funded by the University of Exeter’s School for Primary Care Research, one of nine schools in the UK funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR). This project has been a collaborative effort involving GPs, nurses, and members of the public to develop a training package for primary care clinicians (GPs and practice nurses) to assist women in performing their pelvic floor exercises. The training for clinicians along with the support and resources provided to women, is intended to prevent, or help manage urinary incontinence throughout their lives. If you would like more information, please contact Professor Sarah Dean
