Catherine Stevenson Peckham (née King; born 7 March 1937) is a British

paediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their yout ...

. Peckham was the first Professor of Paediatric Epidemiology in the UK, and established the Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the

UCL Institute of Child Health The UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH) is an academic department of the Faculty of Population Health Sciences of University College London (UCL) and is located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1946 and together ...

, University College London. The Peckham Lecture is given each year at the Institute of Child Health.

Life

Peckham was born in London, the daughter of Alexander King, and spent her early years in the USA. She was educated at

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is a private day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in west London, England. The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the world's 150 best private schools and among top ...

and at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. She was married to Sir Michael Peckham.

Medical career

As a clinical epidemiologist Peckham is best known for her work on infections in pregnancy, particularly

rubella Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...

cytomegalovirus ''Cytomegalovirus'' (CMV) (from ''cyto-'' 'cell' via Greek - 'container' + 'big, megalo-' + -''virus'' via Latin 'poison') is a genus of viruses in the order '' Herpesvirales'', in the family '' Herpesviridae'', in the subfamily '' Betaherp ...

and HIV, and their impact on the fetus and developing child. She showed that rubella damage caused by exposure to maternal infection during pregnancy could continue after birth. She worked on the early rubella vaccine trials and was instrumental in setting up the National Congenital Rubella Surveillance Programme. In 1986 she founded the multi-centre European Collaborative Study (ECS) on HIV in mothers and children with Carlo Giaquinto. She was instrumental in establishing the national surveillance of HIV infection in pregnancy and childhood. Her study of vaccination for infectious diseases in childhood was published by Action Research as the Peckham Report in 1989. In 1986 she co-founded the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit. From 2005 to 2007 she chaired the Scientific Coordinating Group for the Government's Foresight Programme on the Future Challenge of infectious Diseases. Peckham has been closely involved in national birth cohort studies and the influence of biological, social and environmental factors in early life on later development has been a central theme in her work.

Awards and honours

* CBE for services to child health, 1998 * Harding Award for the prevention of child disability, 1993 * 20th Anniversary Award for Leadership in HIV Child Care, Terence Higgins Trust, 2002 *

James Spence Medal James Spence Medal is a medal that was first struck in 1960, six years after the death of the paediatrician James Calvert Spence and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the advancement or clarification of paediatric knowledge and is the hi ...

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, often referred to as the RCPCH, is the professional body for paediatricians (doctors specialising in child health) in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the postgraduate training of pa ...

, 2003 * Founder Fellow of the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academy, National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its ...

, 1998

National and international positions

* Chair, Positive Action for Children Fund, 2010– * Chair, Medical Research Council Review of Gulf War Related Illness * Vice-President of Fonds de Solidarite Therapeutique Internationale 1998–2000 * Chair, WHO Epidemiological Research and Forecasting, Global Programme on Aids, 1991–94 * Member then vice-chair,

Nuffield Council on Bioethics The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a UK-based independent charitable body, which examines and reports on bioethical issues raised by new advances in biological and medical research. Established in 1991, the Council is funded by the Nuffield F ...

, 1999–2006 * Chair, Medical Research Council Human Fertilization and Embryology Working Group on children conceived by Assisted Reproduction, 2004 * Chair, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' Working Party on Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality (2008/9) * US-UK Fulbright Commissioner,

Fulbright Commission The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

1986–1994) * non-executive director, Advertising Standards Authority 1993–1999 * Vice-Chair, Board of Governors

London, 1993–2006 * Governor of St Paul's School * Member of Council,

Institute of Education The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is the faculty of education and society of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior t ...

1999–2007

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peckham, Catherine British public health doctors Medical doctors from London Living people People educated at St Paul's Girls' School Alumni of University College London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Fellows of the Royal College of Pathologists Recipients of the James Spence Medal British paediatricians British women paediatricians Year of birth missing (living people) Wives of knights British women public health doctors