Perinatal Research Group

Research Overview

The Perinatal Research Group, led by Professor Sue Walker AO, is made up of maternal fetal medicine clinical researchers.

The diverse research interests of the group reflect a collaborative effort with scientists and clinicians across many disciplines and institutes. The group partners with the Translational Obstetric Group, University of Melbourne, led by Professor Stephen Tong; the Austin Health Institute for Breathing and Sleep; the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute; and other University of Melbourne obstetric research groups, led by Professor Michael Permezel, Associate Professor Martha Lappas, Associate Professor Megan Di Quinzio and Associate Professor Harry Georgiou.

The group also collaborates with Austin Health, La Trobe University, Deakin University, University of Papua New Guinea, University of Stellenbosch (South Africa), the Royal Women’s Hospital and Monash Medical Centre.

The research areas are diverse, including stillbirth, fetal growth restriction, diabetes, sleep disordered breathing in pregnancy and preeclampsia.

The group would like to thank the funding bodies, the research midwifery team led by Gabrielle Pell, the clinical trial coordinator Anna Middleton (currently being covered by Alexandra Roddy Mitchell), the Mercy Health Human Research Ethics Committee, the obstetric and midwifery clinicians who support the research, and the patients, who all share in the dream for safer motherhood and the best possible start to life. Without them, none of this would be possible.

Staff

  • Professor Sue Walker AO Sheila Handbury Chair of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Head of Department O&G
    • Research Theme: Fetal growth restriction; Perinatal sleep research
  • Associate Professor Alexis Shub Research Clinician
    • Research Theme: Obesity/Diabetes
  • Associate Professor Lisa Hui Research Clinician
    • Research Theme: Cell free nucleic acids in perinatal medicine; Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy
  • Dr Teresa MacDonald Research Clinician
    • Research Theme: Fetal Growth; Restriction and Stillbirth
  • Dr Elizabeth McCarthy Research Clinician
    • Research Theme: Obesity; Pregnancy Loss
  • Dr Alison Fung Research Clinician
    • Research Theme: Perinatal sleep research
  • Associate Professor Simon Meagher Research Clinician
    • Research Theme: Ultrasound in Maternal Fetal Medicine
  • Ms Gabrielle Pell Research Midwife
  • Ms Anna Middleton Research Midwife
  • Ms Alexandra Roddy Mitchell Research Midwife
  • Ms Alison Abboud Research Midwife
  • Ms Val Kyritsis Research Midwife
  • Ms Jacqueline Free Research Midwife

Collaborators

1. Perinatal Sleep Research: Institute for Breathing and Sleep, Austin Health

Dr Mark Howard, Sleep Physician Clinical Researcher

Ms Danielle Wilson, sleep scientist, PhD

Sleep disordered breathing and obstructive sleep apnoea are more common in

pregnancy, and are increased further among women who are obese. Given that over

half the antenatal population are overweight or obese, research in this area may help

unravel the links between obesity and hypertension in pregnancy, problems with fetal

growth, and stillbirth.

2. Tygerberg Hospital, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa

Dr Cathy Cluver, Research clinician

Dr Cluver undertook fellowship at Mercy Hospital for Women in 2013, and has

returned to Cape Town to run the Preeclampsia Intervention with Esomeprazole trial.

Close links continue with teaching and research between our institutions.

3. Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Professor Jane Halliday

A/Prof Lisa Hui is one of the international leaders in the area of non-invasive prenatal testing, prenatal testing trends and cell free nucleic acids as biomarkers of health and disease. This research has arisen from a strong collaborative partnership with  Professor Jane Halliday at MCRI

4. Contribution to National and International Trials

The Mercy Hospital Perinatal Research Group provides obstetric leadership for the following national and international externally funded major obstetric trials: the Australian Placental Transfusion Study, the EPPI Trial – Enoxaparin for the Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine growth restriction, and the MAGENTA trial: Magnesium Sulphate at 30-34 weeks’ gestational age: neuroprotection trial, and the STRIDER Trial: a randomised controlled trial of Sildenafil in Dismal Prognosis  Early-onset Intrauterine Growth Restriction.

5. La Trobe University

Collaborations in the areas of fetal growth restriction, improved fetal surveillance in high risk pregnancy

6. Deakin University

Collaborations in the areas of diabetes, obesity and metabolic disorders in pregnancy

7. Austin Health

Collaborations through research in high risk pregnancy, including infectious diseases, cardiology, transplant medicine, diabetes and hypertension

Funding

Our team is CI on the following NHMRC grants:

#2000732: Developing a Screening Test to Identify Women at Risk of Preeclampsia. CIA Kaitu'u-Lino TJ, CI Walker SP et al. NHMRC Ideas Grant (2021 – 2023): $1,119,284.

#1196010: Closing the critical knowledge gaps in perinatal genomics. CIA Hui L et al. NHMRC MRFF Investigator Grant (2021 – 2025): $1,281,125.

#1199329: Can intrapartum SildEnafil safely Avert the Risks of Contraction-induced Hypoxia in labour? iSEARCH – a pragmatic Phase 3 Randomised Controlled Trial. CIA Kumar S, CI Walker SP et al. MRFF: Rare Cancers, Rare Disease and Unmet Needs (RCRDUN) (2020 – 2024): $3,418,152.

#1183854: Developing new diagnostics to prevent stillbirth. CIA Tong S, CIB Walker SP et al. NHMRC Synergy Grant (2020 – 2024): $5,000,000.

#1182938: PROTECT Me: Assessing Antenatal Maternal Melatonin Supplementation in Fetal Growth Restriction to Improve Neurodevelopmental Outcomes. CIA Palmer K, AI Walker SP et al. NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies (2020 – 2024): $1,607,081.

#1185467: Pregnancy and childhood outcomes associated with novel medication use in early pregnancy following IVF-assisted conception. CIA Lindquist AC, AI Walker SP et al. NHMRC Ideas Grant (2020 -2022) $592,259.

#1186862: Childhood outcomes of fetal genomic variants: the PrenatAL Microarray (PALM) cohort study. CIA Hui L, CIE Walker SP et al. NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies (2020 – 2022) $727,859.

#1160711: Using biomarkers and Ultrasound in late pregnancy to Minimise preventable Stillbirth: the BUMPs study. CIA Walker SP et al. NHMRC Project Grant (2019 -2022) $1,233,862.

#1143448: Prevention of Adverse Child Behavioural Development Following Maternal Depression in Pregnancy. CIA Milgrom, CIH Walker SP et al. NHMRC Project Grant (2018 -2022) $761,937.

Other funding:

We have received philanthropic grants from many funding bodies, including the Norman

Beischer Medical Research Foundation, the Harold Mitchell Foundation, RANZCOG, Mercy Health Foundation, Stillbirth Foundation, the Kilvington Trust and Mr Geoff Handbury AO.

Research Outcomes

- Using biomarkers and Ultrasound in late pregnancy to Minimise preventable Stillbirth: the BUMPs study into the research group page, attached is a template for the project.

- ‘Find and Follow’: scoping the data capture, reporting and follow-up of (i) pregnancies complicated by congenital abnormalities, (ii) health and development among ‘high risk’ newborns.

- New ways to identify fetal macrosomia in late pregnancy.

- Fetal Longitudinal Assessment of Growth Study (FLAG).

- Improving the prediction and prevention of late pregnancy stillbirth.

- The pre-eclampsia intervention with esomeprazole (PIE) trial.

- Improving the prediction and detection of contributors to term stillbirth.

- Assessment of fetal well-being with fetal doppler examination prior to induction of labour at term.

Research Publications

  • Bianchi DW, Ghidini A, Levy B, Deprest J, van Mieghem T, Chitty LS, Hui L, McLean-Inglis A. The 2018 Malcolm Ferguson-Smith Young Investigator Award. Prenat Diagn. 2019;39(10):835-837. doi: 10.1002/pd.5533.
  • Chitty LS, Hui L, Ghidini A,Levy B, Deprest J, Van Mieghem T, Bianchi DW. In case you missed it: The Prenatal Diagnosis editors bring you the most significant advances of 2019. Prenat Diagn 2019. In press. doi: 10.1002/pd.5632
  • Cluver C, Walker SP, Mol BW,Hall DR,Hiscock R,Brownfoot F,Kaitu’u-Lino T,Tong S. A double blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of metformin to treat preterm pre-eclampsia (PI2 Trial): study protocol. BMJ Open. 2019 Apr 24; 9(4):e025809.
  • Cruickshank T, Kaitu'u-Lino T, Cannon P, Harper A, Nguyen T, Dane KM, Middleton A, Kyritsis V, Hastie R, Tong S, Walker SP, MacDonald TM. Screening circulating proteins to identify biomarkers of fetal macrosomia. BMC Research Notes. 2019; (1):1.
  • De Alwis N, Beard S, Binder NK, Prtichard N, Kaitu’u-Lino TJ, Walker SP, Stock O, Groom K, Petersen S, Henry A, Said JM, Seeho S, Kane SC, Hui L, Tong S, Hannan NJ. 2020. DAAM2 is elevated in the circulation and placenta in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction and is regulated by hypoxia. Submitted not accepted.
  • De Silva M, Brownfoot F, Hannan NJ, Walker SP, Cluver CA, Lindquist A, Tong S and Hastie R. A Systematic Review of Proton Pump Inhibitors for the Prevention and Treatment of Preeclampsia and Gestational Hypertension. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2019; 9, 21-28.
  • De Silva M, Panisi L, Brownfoot FC, Lindquist A, Walker SP, Tong S, et al. Systematic review of areca (betel nut) use and adverse pregnancy outcomes. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics; 147(3):292–300.
  • De Silva M, Walker SP. Preventable stillbirths in the Solomon Islands: a hidden tragedy. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific. 2020 Nov 6. Accepted, not yet published.
  • Ellis R, Katerelos M, Choy SW, Cook N, Lee M, Paizis K, Pell G, Walker SP, Power D, Mount P. R. Ellis, Increased expression and phosphorylation of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase isoforms in urinary exosomes in pre-eclampsia. Journal of Translational Medicine. 2019 ;(1):1.
  • Flenady V, Ellwood D, Bradford B, Coory M, Middleton P, Gardener G, et al. Beyond the headlines: Fetal movement awareness is an important stillbirth prevention strategy. Women and birth. 2019 ;(1):1.
  • Green B, Hui L, Hastie R, Tong S, Brownfoot F. Accuracy of clinical suspicion of growth restriction at term despite a normal growth ultrasound: A retrospective cohort study. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2019 in press. DOI:10.1111/ajo.13111
  • Groom KM, McCowan LM, Mackay LK, Lee AC, Gardener G, Unterscheider J, et al. STRIDER NZAus: a multicentre randomised controlled trial of sildenafil therapy in early-onset fetal growth restriction. BJOG-AN International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology; 126(8):997–1006.
  • *Hague W, Callaway L, Chambers J, Chappell L, Coat S, de Haan-Jebbink J, Dekker M, Dixon P, Dodd J, Fuller M, Gordijn S, Graham D, Heikinheimo O, Hennessy A, Kaaja R, Khong TY, Lampio L, Louise J, Makris A, Markus C, Marschall HU, Middleton P, Mol BW, Morris J, Newnham JP, Ovadia C, Peek M, Shand A, Stark M, Thornton J, Timonen S, Walker SP, Warrilow D, Williamson C. 2020. A multi-centre, open label, randomised, parallel-group, superiority Trial to compare the efficacy of URsodeoxycholic acid with RIFampicin in the management of women with severe early onset Intrahepatic Cholestasis of pregnancy: the TURRIFIC randomised trial. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. Accepted, not yet published.
  • Hannan NJ, Stock O, Spencer R, Whitehead C, David AL, Groom K, Petersen S, Henry A, Said JM, Seeho S, Kane SC, Gordon L, Beard S, Chindera K, Karegodar S, Hiscock R, Pritchard N, Kaitu'u-Lino TJ, Walker SP, Tong S. Circulating mRNAs are differentially expressed in pregnancies with severe placental insufficiency and at high risk of stillbirth. BMC Med. 2020 May 22;18(1):145. doi: 10.1186/s12916-020-01605-x. PubMed PMID: 32438913
  • Hastie R, Bergman L, Cluver C, Wikman A, Hannan N, Walker S, Wikström A, Tong S, Hesselman S. Proton Pump Inhibitors and Preeclampsia Risk Among 157 720 Women A Swedish Population Register-Based Cohort Study. Hypertension. 2019 ;(5):1097.
  • Hastie R, Brownfoot FC, Cluver CA, Walker SP, Hesselman S, Tong S, Bergman L. Predictive Value of the Signs and Symptoms Preceding Eclampsia: A Systematic Review. Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Oct;134(4):677-684. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000003476. PubMed PMID: 31503164.
  • Heland S, De Chellis A, Rieder W, Sleeman M, Johns J, Lancefield T, Robinson A, Fung A, Walker S. Good at Heart: Developing a Tertiary Perinatal Cardiac Service; the First 8 Years Experience. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2020 Apr 23. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13160
  • Hui L. Noninvasive Approaches to Prenatal Diagnosis: Historical Perspective and Future Directions. Methods Mol Biol. 2019;1885:45-58. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-8889-1_3
  • Hui L, Bianchi DW. Fetal fraction and noninvasive prenatal testing: What clinicians need to know. Prenat Diagn. 2019. In press. doi: 10.1002/pd.5620.
  • Hui L, Poulton A, Kluckow E, Lindquist A, Hutchinson B, Pertile MD, Bonacquisto L, Gugasyan L, Kulkarni A, Harraway J, Howden A, McCoy R, Da Silva Costa F, Menezes M, Palma-Dias R, Disbet N, Martin N, Bethune M, Poulakis Z, Halliday L. A minimum estimate of the prevalence of 22q11 deletion syndrome and other chromosome abnormalities in a combined prenatal and postnatal cohort. Hum Reprod 2019.
  • Ishkova A, Wilson, DL, Howard ME, Walker SP, Barnes M, Nicholas CL, Jordan AS. The effect of body position on maternal cardiovascular function during sleep and wakefulness in late pregnancy. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine. 2020 Jul 16;1-10. doi: 10.1080/14767058.2020.1789583. PubMed PMID: 32669005
  • Javid N, Hyett JA, Walker SP, Sullivan EA, Homer CSE. A survey of opinion and practice regarding prenatal diagnosis of vasa previa among obstetricians from Australia and New Zealand. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2019 Mar;144(3):252-259. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.12747. Epub 2019 Jan 16. PubMed PMID: 30575020.
  • Jayaratnam S, Lucia de Fatima Godinho Soares M, Bucens I, Jennings B, Woods C, Shub A. A prospective review of perinatal mortality at Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares (HNGV). The Australian & New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 2019 May 27
  • Kaitu’u-Lino T, MacDonald TM, Cannon P, Nguyen T, Hiscock R, Haan N, Myers J, Hastie R, Dane K, Middleton A, Bittar I, Sferuzzi-Perri AN, Pritchard N, Harper A, Hannan N, Kyritsis V, Crinis N, Hui L, Walker S, Tong S. Circulating SPINT1 is a biomarker of pregnancies with poor placental function and fetal growth restriction. Nature Communications. 2020 May 15;11(1):2411. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16346-x. PubMed PMID: 32415092
  • Kennedy AL, Stern CJ, Tong S, Hastie R, Agresta F, Walker SP, Brownfoot FC, MacLachlan V, Vollenhoven BJ, Lindquist AC. The incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy following sperm donation in IVF: an Australian state-wide retrospective cohort study. Hum Reprod. 2019 Dec 1;34(12):2541-2548. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dez198. PubMed PMID: 31863120.
  • Kennedy LM, Tong S, Robinson AJ, Hiscick RJ, Hui L, Dane KM, Middleton AL, Walker SP, MacDonald TM. 2020. Reduced growth velocity from the mid-trimester is associated with placental insufficiency in fetuses born at a normal birthweight. BMC Medicine. Accepted, not yet published.
  • Kluckow E, Halliday J, Poulton A, Lindquist A, Hutchinson B, Bethune M, Bonacquisto L, Da Silva Costa F, Gugasyan L, Harraway J, Howden A, Kulkarni A, Martin N, McCoy R, Menezes M, Nisbet D, Palma-Dias R, Pertile MD, Poulakis Z, Hui L. Association between timing of diagnosis of trisomy 21, 18, and 13 and maternal socio-economic status in Victoria, Australia: A population-based cohort study from 2015 to 2016. Prenat Diagn. 2019 Nov 6. doi: 10.1002/pd.5577. [Epub ahead of print]
  • Lappas M, Georgiou HM, Willcox JC, Permezel M, Shub A, Maynard C-L, et al. Postpartum Circulating Cell-Free Insulin DNA Levels Are Higher in Women with Previous Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Who Develop Type 2 Diabetes in Later Life. Journal of Diabetes Research. 2019 Jul 24 [cited 2019 Dec 15];1–5.
  • Lindquist A*, Hui L*, Poulton A, Kluckow E, Hutchinson B, Pertile MD, Bonacquisto L, Gugasyan L, Kulkarni A, Harraway J, Howden A, McCoy R, da Silva Costa F, Menezes M, Palma-Dias R, Nisbet D, Martin N, Bethune M, Poulakis Z, Halliday J. State-wide utilization and performance of traditional and cell-free DNA-based prenatal testing pathways: the Victorian Perinatal Record Linkage (PeRL) study. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Oct 17. doi: 10.1002/uog.21899.* Joint first authors.
  • Lostchuck E, Hui L. Should second-trimester hypoplastic nasal bone be sole indication for diagnostic testing with chromosomal microarray analysis? Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Jun;53(6):848-850. doi: 10.1002/uog.20141.
  • MacDonald TM, Hui L, Robinson AJ, Dane KM, Middleton AL, Tong S, Walker SP. Cerebral-placental-uterine ratio as novel predictor of late fetal growth restriction: prospective cohort study. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2019;54(3):367-375. doi: 10.1002/uog.20150.
  • MacDonald TM, Robinson AJ, Walker SP, Hui L. Prospective longitudinal assessment of the fetal left modified Myocardial Performance Index. J Mat Fetal Neonat Med 2019; 32:760-67
  • Macdonald TM, Walker SP, Hiscock R, Cannon P, Harper, A, Murray E, Hui L, Dane K, Middleton A, Kyritsis V, de Alwis N, Hannan NJ, Tong S, Kaitu’u-Lino TJ. Circulating Delta-like homolog 1 (DLK1) at 36 weeks is correlated with birthweight and is of placental origin. Placenta. 2020 Feb;91:24-30. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2020.01.003. Pubmed PMID: 32174303.
  • MacDonald TM, Tong S, Myers J, Cannon P, Nguyen T-V, Keenan E, Murray E, Harper A, Pritchard N, Hannan N, Dane KM, Middleton AL, Kyritsis VP, Walker SP, Kaitu’u-Lino TJ. (2020). Circulating Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor (TFPI) is increased preceding diagnosis of term preeclampsia. Submitted not accepted.
  • Mackin DW, Walker SP. The historical aspects of vaccination in pregnancy. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 2020 Oct 13. PMCID: PMC7550856. doi: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2020.09.005
  • McCarthy EA. Virtual issue on diabetes in pregnancy. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2019 Dec;59(6):753-754. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13093.
  • McCarthy EA, Williamson R, Shub A. Pregnancy outcomes for women with pre-pregnancy diabetes mellitus in Australian populations, rural and metropolitan: A review. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2019 ;(2):183.
  • Meagher S, Hui L. Alobar holoprosencephaly detected in a 9-week embryo. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Jul;221(1):73-74. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2018.12.019. Epub 2019. PubMed PMID: 30625294.
  • McLaughlin EJ, Hiscock RJ, Robinson AJ, Hui L, Tong S, Dane KM, Middleton AL, Walker SP, MacDonald TM. (2020) Appropriate-for-gestational-age infants who exhibit reduced antenatal growth velocity display postnatal catch-up growth. PLoS ONE 15(9): e0238700. PMID: 32898169 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238700
  • Mieghem TV, Shub A. Management of monoamniotic twins: the question is not ’where?’, but “how?” Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology;(2):151.
  • O'Brien EC, Segurado R, Geraghty AA, Alberdi G, Rogozinska E, Astrup A, Barakat Carballo R, Bogaerts A, Cecatti JG, Coomarasamy A, de Groot CJM, Devlieger R, Dodd JM, El Beltagy N, Facchinetti F, Geiker N, Guelfi K, Haakstad L, Harrison C, Hauner H, Jensen DM, Khan K, Kinnunen TI, Luoto R, Willem Mol B, Mørkved S, Motahari-Tabari N, Owens JA, Perales M, Petrella E, Phelan S, Poston L, Rauh K, Rayanagoudar G, Renault KM, Ruifrok AE, Sagedal L, Salvesen KÅ, Scudeller TT, Shen G, Shub A, Stafne SN, Surita FG, Thangaratinam S, Tonstad S, van Poppel MNM, Vinter C, Vistad I, Yeo S, McAuliffe FM. Impact of maternal education on response to lifestyle interventions to reduce gestational weight gain: individual participant data meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2019 Aug 1; 9(8):e025620.
  • Pratt A, Howat P, Hui L. Maternal and perinatal outcomes for women with body mass index ≥50 kg/m(2) in a non-tertiary hospital setting. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2019 Oct 3. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13064. [Epub ahead of print]
  • Pritchard N, Hiscock R, Lockie E, Permezel M, McGauren M, Kennedy A, Green B, Walker S, Lindquist A. Identification of the optimal growth charts for use in a preterm population: An Australian state-wide retrospective cohort study. PLoS Medicine. 2019;(10):e1002923.
  • Pritchard N, Lindquist A, Hiscock R, Diksha P, Walker SP, Permezel M. Customised growth charts in large-for-gestational-age infants and the association with emergency caesarean section rate. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2019 Jun;59(3):380-386. doi: 10.1111/ajo.12868. Epub 2018 Aug 8. PubMed PMID: 30088673.
  • Rogozińska E, Zamora J, Marlin N, Betrán AP, Astrup A, Bogaerts A, Cecatti JG, Dodd JM, Facchinetti F, Geiker NRW, Haakstad LAH, Hauner H, Jensen DM, Kinnunen TI, Mol BWJ, Owens J, Phelan S, Renault KM, Salvesen KÅ, Shub A, Surita FG, Stafne SN, Teede H, van Poppel MNM, Vinter CA, Khan KS, Thangaratinam S. Gestational weight gain outside the Institute of Medicine recommendations and adverse pregnancy outcomes: analysis using individual participant data from randomised trials. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth;19(1).
  • Rolnik DL, Wertaschnigg D, Benoit B, Meagher S. Sonographic detection of fetal abnormalities before 11 weeks of gestation. Ultrasound In Obstetrics & Gynecology: The Official Journal Of The International Society Of Ultrasound In Obstetrics And Gynecology. 2019 Nov 11
  • Sepulveda W, De La Maza F, Meagher S. An Unusual First-Trimester Ultrasound Presentation of the Acrania-Anencephaly Sequence: The “Turkish Turban” Sign. Journal Of Ultrasound In Medicine: Official Journal Of The American Institute Of Ultrasound In Medicine. 2019 Nov 9
  • Shub A, Chee T, Templeton A, Boyce D, McNamara C, Houlihan C, et al. Timing of diagnosis of gestational diabetes and pregnancy outcomes: A retrospective cohort. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2019;(1):96.
  • Shub A, McCarthy EA. Letter to the Editor: “Effectiveness of Prenatal Vitamin D Deficiency Screening and Treatment Program: A Stratified Randomized Field Trial.” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2019 Feb 1;104(2):337–8.
  • Shub A, Miranda M, Georgiou HM, McCarthy EA, Lappas M. The effect of breastfeeding on postpartum glucose tolerance and lipid Professoriles in women with gestational diabetes mellitus. International Breastfeeding Journal. 2019;(1):1.
  • Tong S, Kaitu'u-Lino T, Walker SP, MacDonald TM. Blood-based biomarkers in the maternal circulation associated with fetal growth restriction. Prenat Diagn. 2019 Oct;39(11):947-957. doi: 10.1002/pd.5525. Epub 2019 Jul 22. Review. PubMed PMID: 31299098.
  • Truong A, Ellett L, Hicks L, Pell G, Walker SP. Multimedia in improving informed consent for caesarean section: A randomised controlled trial. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 2020. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13124. PubMed PMID: 31994173
  • Walker SP. The ROC Curve Redefined - Optimizing Sensitivity (and Specificity) to the Lived Reality of Cancer. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2019 ;(17):1594.
  • Wertaschnigg D, Ramkrishna J, Ganesan S, Tse C, Scheier M, Volpe N, Ghi T, Meagher S, Rolnik D. Cranial sonographic markers of fetal open spina bifida at 11 to 13 weeks of gestation. Prenatal Diagnosis. 2019 Nov 19
  • Wertaschnigg D, Rolnik DL, Ramkrishna J, Silva Costa F, Meagher S. The gap between the aorta and the superior vena cava: A sonographic sign of persistent left superior vena cava and associated abnormalities. Prenatal Diagnosis. 2019;(13):1213.
  • Wertaschnigg D, Ramkrishna J, Meagher S, Rolnik DL. EP13.15: The gap between the aorta and the superior vena cava: a sign of persistent left superior vena cava. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2019 Oct 2;54:311.
  • Whigham C-A, MacDonald TM, Walker SP, Pritchard N, Hannan NJ, Cannon P, et al. Circulating GATA2 mRNA is decreased among women destined to develop preeclampsia and may be of endothelial origin. Scientific Reports. 2019;(1):1.
  • Whigham C-A, MacDonald TM, Walker SP, Hannan NJ, Tong S, Kaitu’u-Lino TJ. The untapped potential of placenta-enriched molecules for diagnostic and therapeutic development. Placenta.;84:28–31.
  • Whigham C-A, MacDonald TM, Walker SP, Pritchard N, Hannan NJ, Hastie R, et al. Circulating adrenomedullin mRNA is decreased in women destined to develop term preeclampsia. Pregnancy Hypertension: An International Journal of Women’s Cardiovascular Health. 2019 Apr 1;16:16–25.
  • Whigham C-A, MacDonald TM, Walker SP, Hiscock R, Hannan NJ, Pritchard N, et al. MicroRNAs 363 and 149 are differentially expressed in the maternal circulation preceding a diagnosis of preeclampsia. Scientific Reports. 2020; 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73783-w
  • Whitehead CL, Walker SP. Consider pregnancy in COVID-19 therapeutic drug and vaccine trials. The Lancet. 2020. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31029-1
  • Wilson DL, Howard ME, Fung AM, O’Donoghue FJ, Barnes M, Lappas M, Walker SP. Sleep-Disordered Breathing Does Not Impact Maternal Outcomes in Women with Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy. PLoS One. 2020 Apr 27;15(4):e0232287. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232287. eCollection 2020. PubMed PMID: 32339208
  • Wilson DL, Howard ME, Fung AM, O’Donoghue FJ, Barnes M, Lappas M, Walker SP. The presence of coexisting sleep-disordered breathing among women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy does not worsen perinatal outcome. PLoS One. 2020 Feb 26;15(2):e0229568. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0229568. Pubmed PMID: 32101584.
  • Wong L, Da Silva Costa F, Araujo Júnior E, Meagher S. Diagnosis of Fetal Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney in the First Trimester of Pregnancy by 2-D and 3-D Ultrasonography. Journal Of Obstetrics And Gynaecology Canada: JOGC = Journal D’obstetrique Et Gynecologie Du Canada: JOGC. 2019 Oct;41(10):1397–8.
  • Yung C, MacDonald TM, Walker SP, Cannon P, Harper A, Pritchard N, et al. Death associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK-1) is increased in preeclampsia. Placenta. 2019 Dec 1 ;88:1–7.

Research Projects


Faculty Research Themes

Child Health

School Research Themes

Child Health in Medicine, Women's Health, Infectious Diseases and Immunity


Key Contact

For further information about this research, please contact Head of Research Group Professor Sue Walker

Department / Centre

Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health

Unit / Centre

Perinatal Research Group

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