Lucy Chappell is a British professor of

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

King’s College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) for the UK

Department of Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the s ...

. As part of her CSA role, she oversees the

National Institute for Health and Care Research The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "impr ...

(NIHR) as Chief Executive Officer. Her research areas include medical problems during pregnancy such as

pre-eclampsia Pre-eclampsia is a multi-system disorder specific to pregnancy, characterized by the new onset of hypertension, high blood pressure and often a significant amount of proteinuria, protein in the urine or by the new onset of high blood pressure a ...

, and the safety of medicines in pregnancy.

Early life and education

Chappell received her education at Guy's and St Thomas’ Medical School in London and later at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Her PhD focused on prevention of pre-eclampsia and included work on the

placental growth factor Placental growth factor (PlGF) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''PGF'' gene. Placental growth factor is a member of the VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) sub-family - a key molecule in angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, in ...

. She also completed a subspeciality training in

maternal–fetal medicine Maternal–fetal medicine (MFM), also known as perinatology, is a branch of medicine that focuses on managing health concerns of the mother and fetus prior to, during, and shortly after pregnancy. Maternal–fetal medicine specialists are physic ...

and acquired a Master's degree in education from King's College London.

Research and career

Chappell holds the positions of Senior Investigator for the

NIHR The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "improv ...

, Honorary Consultant Obstetrician at Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, and Professor of Obstetrics at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. She directs a research program that uses

observational studies In fields such as epidemiology, social sciences, psychology and statistics, an observational study draws inferences from a sample to a population where the independent variable is not under the control of the researcher because of ethical conc ...

and

randomised controlled trials A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical t ...

to investigate the prediction and prevention of unfavorable pregnancy outcomes, particularly in women with pre-existing co-morbidities such

chronic hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major risk ...

and chronic renal disease. She has been a member of the

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is ...

(RCOG) since 2002 and a fellow since 2017. She was the President of the Blair Bell Research Society, affiliated to the RCOG, from 2018 to 2021. Her editorial work includes being a board member at the

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine The ''Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal. It is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, located in London, with full editorial independence. Its continuous publication history dates back to ...

and formerly at PLoS Medicine. Chappell participated as national pregnancy lead investigator for the

RECOVERY Trial The Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY Trial) is a large-enrollment clinical trial of possible treatments for people in the United Kingdom admitted to hospital with severe COVID-19 infection. The trial was later expanded to ...

, a major trial that looked into possible

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

infection therapies. Since August 2021 she works as Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) at the Department of Health and Social Care and CEO of the NIHR.

Awards and honours

* NIHR Senior Investigator * NIHR Research Professorship * Gold Medal, Blair Bell Research Society

Selected publications

* * *

References

External links

* *
Lucy Chappell
at

PubMed PubMed is an openly accessible, free database which includes primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institute ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapell Lucy Living people English obstetricians English gynaecologists Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of King's College London 21st-century British women medical doctors Fellows of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists NIHR Senior Investigators Year of birth missing (living people)