Perinatal Epidemiology Group

• Associate Professor Roxanne Hastie

  Co-Lead of Research Group

  hastie.r@unimelb.edu.au
  
• Dr Anthea Lindquist

  Co-Lead of Research Group

  anthea.lindquist@unimelb.edu.au
  

Research Overview

The Perinatal Epidemiology Group, co-led by Associate Professor Roxanne Hastie, Dr Anthea Lindquist, and Professor Stephen Tong, is a multidisciplinary team of scientists, clinician-researchers, and students. With diverse skills, the team aims to investigate which events, illnesses or exposures during pregnancy pose risks or benefits to the health and future wellbeing of mothers and their children. Their research uses large, population-wide datasets (‘big data’), linking pregnancy data with health, development and education outcome information. The goal of this research is to produce high-quality evidence to guide clinicians and expectant parents in making informed decisions about pregnancy care.

The team partners closely with the University’s Translational Obstetrics Group, as well as a growing network of local and international research collaborators across Australia, Scotland, Sweden, the Solomon Islands, South Africa, Pakistan, India, and Egypt.

Staff

Co-Leads of Research Group

Associate Professor Roxanne Hastie 

Email: hastie.r@unimelb.edu.au

Dr Anthea Lindquist

Email: anthea.lindquist@unimelb.edu.au

Professor Stephen Tong

Email: stong@unimelb.edu.au

Team members in Research Group

Dr Amber Kennedy – Post Doc

Dr Manarangi (Rangi) De Silva – Post Doc

Dr Natasha Pritchard – Post Doc

Dr Richard Hiscock – Biostatistician

Ms Anna Forsythe – Data Scientist

Ms Jessica Atkinson – Research Assistant & PhD Candidate

Dr Hannah Gordon – PhD Candidate

Ms Alexandra Roddy Mitchell – PhD Candidate

Ms Danica Idzes – Masters Student

Collaborators

Professor Sue Walker, Mercy Perinatal & University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Professor Caroline Homer, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, AU

Professor Joshua Vogel, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia

Professor Andrew Horne, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Ms Ann Doust, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Associate Professor Cathy Cluver, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Professor Anna-Karin Wikström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

Associate Professor Lina Bergman, University of Gothernburg, Gothernburg, Sweden

Dr Leeanne Panisi, The National Referral Hospital, Honiara, Solomon Islands

Associate Professor Farhat Ahmed, Fatima Memorial Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan

Dr Essam Othman, Assiut University, Assuit, Egypt

Funding

2020-2022: NHMRC Ideas Grant (GNT1185467; $606,654.95); Awarded to A Lindquist

2020 – 2024: NHMRC Emerging Leader-1 Fellowship (GNT1176922); Awarded to R Hastie.

2024 – 2028: NHMRC Emerging Leader-1 Fellowship (GNT2026158); Awarded to A Lindquist.

2023 – 2026: NHMRC Postgraduate Research Scholarship – Characterising the perinatal, neonatal and school-age childhood outcomes associated with diabetes in pregnancy (2022019; $136,151); Awarded to H Gordon.

2024: Norman Beischer Medical Research Foundation Innovation Grant – Development of an obstetric growth centile calculator and app ($51,125); CI N Pritchard.

2024: Trevor B Kilvington Bequest – Using big data to explore the long-term effects of common antihypertensives used to treat preeclampsia ($50,000); CIs A Lindquist, J Atkinson, R Hastie, P Mehdipour.

2024: Austin Medical Research Fund Grant ($10,000); CI A Kennedy.

Research Opportunities

This research project is available to PhD students to join as part of their thesis.
Please contact the Research Group Leader to discuss your options.

Research Publications

• De Silva M, Panisi L, Brownfoot FC, Lindquist A, Walker SP, Tong S, et al. (2019). Systematic review of areca (betel nut) use and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 147(3): 292-300.
• De Silva R, Brownfoot F, Hannan N, Walker S, Cluver C, Lindquist A, et al. (2019). A Systematic Review of Proton Pump Inhibitors for the Prevention and Treatment of Preeclampsia and Gestational Hypertension. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 09(21-8.
• Kennedy AL, Stern CJ, Tong S, Hastie R, Agresta F, Walker SP, et al. (2019). The incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy following sperm donation in IVF: an Australian state-wide retrospective cohort study. Hum Reprod 34(12): 2541-8.
• Prichard N, Lindquist A, Hiscock R, Ruff S, Tong S, Brownfoot FC. (2019). High-dose compared with low-dose oxytocin for induction of labour of nulliparous women at term. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 32(3): 362-8.
• Pritchard N, Lindquist A, Hiscock R, Diksha P, Walker SP, Permezel M. (2019). Customised growth charts in large-for-gestational-age infants and the association with emergency caesarean section rate. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 59(3): 380-6.
• Pritchard NL, Hiscock RJ, Lockie E, Permezel M, McGauren MFG, Kennedy AL, et al. (2019). Identification of the optimal growth charts for use in a preterm population: An Australian state-wide retrospective cohort study. PLoS Med 16(10): e1002923.
• De Silva M, Panisi L, Maepioh A, Mitchell R, Lindquist A, Tong S, et al. (2020). Maternal mortality at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara, Solomon Islands over a five-year period. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol 60(2): 183-7.
• De Silva M, Panisi L, Manubuasa L, Honimae C, Taragwanu S, Burggraaf S, et al. (2020). Preventable stillbirths in the Solomon Islands – A hidden tragedy. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific 5(
• Pritchard N, Lindquist A, Siqueira IDA, Walker SP, Permezel M. (2020). INTERGROWTH-21st compared with GROW customized centiles in the detection of adverse perinatal outcomes at term. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 33(6): 961-6.
• De Silva M, Panisi L, Lindquist A, Cluver C, Middleton A, Koete B, et al. (2021). Severe maternal morbidity in the Asia Pacific: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific 14(
• Hastie R, Tong S, Hiscock R, Lindquist A, Lindström L, Wikström AK, et al. (2021). Maternal lithium use and the risk of adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes: a Swedish population-based cohort study. BMC Med 19(1): 291.
• Hastie R, Tong S, Wikström AK, Sandström A, Hesselman S, Bergman L. (2021). Aspirin use during pregnancy and the risk of bleeding complications: a Swedish population-based cohort study. Am J Obstet Gynecol 224(1): 95.e1-.e12.
• Lindquist AC, Hastie RM, Hiscock RJ, Pritchard NL, Walker SP, Tong S. (2021). Risk of major labour-related complications for pregnancies progressing to 42 weeks or beyond. BMC Medicine 19(1): 126.
• De Silva MS, Panisi L, Manubuasa L, Honimae C, Taragwanu S, Burggraaf S, et al. (2022). Incidence and causes of stillbirth in the only tertiary referral hospital in the Solomon Islands: a hospital-based retrospective cohort study. BMJ Open 12(12): e066237.
• Hastie R, Tong S, Wikström AK, Walker SP, Lindquist A, Cluver CA, et al. (2022). Low-Dose Aspirin for Preventing Birth of a Small-For-Gestational Age Neonate in a Subsequent Pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol 139(4): 529-35.
• Lindquist A, Hastie R, Kennedy A, Gurrin L, Middleton A, Quach J, et al. (2022). Developmental Outcomes for Children After Elective Birth at 39 Weeks' Gestation. JAMA Pediatr 176(7): 654-63.
• Uebergang J, Hiscock R, Hastie R, Middleton A, Pritchard N, Walker S, et al. (2022). Risk of obstetric anal sphincter injury among women who birth vaginally after a prior caesarean section: A state-wide cohort study. BJOG 129(8): 1325-32.
• Atkinson J, Hastie R, Walker S, Lindquist A, Tong S. (2023). Telehealth in antenatal care: recent insights and advances. BMC Medicine 21(1): 332.
• Atkinson J, Simpson G, Walker SP, Tong S, Hastie R, Lindquist A. (2023). The long-term risk of cardiovascular disease among women with a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 23(1): 443.
• Atkinson J, Wei W, Potenza S, Simpson G, Middleton A, Walker S, et al. (2023). Patients’ understanding of long-term cardiovascular risks and associated health-seeking behaviours after pre-eclampsia. Open Heart 10(1): e002230.
• Hiscock RJ, Atkinson JA, Tong S, Walker SP, Kennedy A, Cheong JYL, et al. (2023). Educational Outcomes for Children at 7 to 9 Years of Age After Birth at 39 vs 40 to 42 Weeks' Gestation. JAMA Netw Open 6(11): e2343721.
• Hong J, Atkinson J, Roddy Mitchell A, Tong S, Walker SP, Middleton A, et al. (2023). Comparison of Maternal Labor-Related Complications and Neonatal Outcomes Following Elective Induction of Labor at 39 Weeks of Gestation vs Expectant Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open 6(5): e2313162-e.
• Kennedy AL, Vollenhoven BJ, Hiscock RJ, Stern CJ, Walker SP, Cheong JLY, et al. (2023). School-age outcomes among IVF-conceived children: A population-wide cohort study. PLOS Medicine 20(1): e1004148.
• Pritchard NL, Hiscock R, Walker SP, Tong S, Lindquist AC. (2023). Defining poor growth and stillbirth risk in pregnancy for infants of mothers with overweight and obesity. Am J Obstet Gynecol 229(1): 59.e1-.e12.
• Roddy Mitchell A, Gordon H, Atkinson J, Lindquist A, Walker SP, Middleton A, et al. (2023). Prevalence of Perinatal Anxiety and Related Disorders in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Network Open 6(11): e2343711-e.
• Roddy Mitchell A, Gordon H, Lindquist A, Walker SP, Homer CSE, Middleton A, et al. (2023). Prevalence of Perinatal Depression in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry 80(5): 425-31.
• Gordon H, Atkinson J, Tong S, Mehdipour P, Cluver C, Walker S, Lindquist A, Hastie R. (2024). Metformin in pregnancy and childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol 231(3): 308-14.
• Gordon H, Salim N, Tong S, Walker S, De Silva M, Cluver C, et al. (2024). Metformin use and preeclampsia risk in women with diabetes: a two-country cohort analysis. BMC Med 22(1): 418.