Professor Emeritus Peter Brocklehurst MBChB, MSc, FRCOG, FFPH, FMedSci

Professor Emeritus Peter Brocklehurst

Institute of Applied Health Research
Professor of Women's Health
Director of Research and Development, BCTU

Contact details

Address
Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit
Institute of Applied Health Research
Room 106, Public Health Building
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Peter Brocklehurst is Professor erasmus of Women’s Health and Director of Research and Development for the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit (BCTU) in the Institute of Applied Health Research.

Peter trained as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist before moving into academia to train as a perinatal epidemiologist.  He is a consultant in public health and his major research focus has been on randomised controlled trials in pregnancy and the newborn period, as well as observational studies which address topics of importance for clinical practice and policy, such as the role of the early life microbiome and its impact on later health and disease.

He has published widely in scientific journals and his work has been funded with grants from the National Institute of Health Research, Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust and a variety of other funding bodies

Peter chairs the UKCRC Pregnancy Research Review group. He is an emeritus NIHR Senior Investigator and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. 

Qualifications

  • FMedSci, Academy of Medical Sciences 2015
  • FFPH, Faculty of Public Health, 2007
  • FRCOG, Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, 2004
  • MSc Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 1994
  • MRCOG, Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, 1991
  • MBChB, University of Dundee, 1985

Biography

Peter qualified in medicine from the University of Dundee in 1985. He undertook house jobs in Glasgow and Manchester before moving to London to start training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. As part of his obstetrics and gynaecology training, he undertook a period of research as a lecturer at the Middlesex Hospital undertaking a randomised controlled trial of aciclovir prophylaxis for pregnant women with frequently recurring genital herpes infection. After returning to clinical obstetrics and gynaecology at University College Hospital London, Peter decided to undertake formal training in epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where he graduated 1994.

Peter then joined the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford as a research fellow in perinatal trials. Peter remained at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit for 17 years, becoming Director in 1996.

Peter left Oxford to become Director of the Institute for Women’s Health at University College London in 2011. As Director, he oversaw a large programme of research from basic science through to health policy research across the breath of women’s health and neonatology, as well as a full educational programme from undergraduate medical student teaching, two successful Masters courses in women’s health, as well as a vibrant postgraduate research training programme.

Peter came to the University of Birmingham in July 2016 as Professor of Women’s Health and Director of the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit.

Postgraduate supervision

Peter is interested in supervising doctoral research students in the following areas:

  • Methodology of randomised controlled trials.
  • Exploring the mechanisms by which mother to child transmission of the gut microbiome influences later health outcomes.
  • Exploring the use of routine data in randomised controlled trial design, conduct, and outcome evaluation.

Other activities


  • Wellbeing of Women Trustee, 2014 
  • Chair, UKCRC Pregnancy Research Review group, 2016-present

Publications

Selected recent publications

Tarnow-Mordi, W., Stenson, B., Kirby, A., Juszczak, E., Donoghoe, M., Deshpande, S., ... Brocklehurst, P. Outcomes of two trials of oxygen-saturation targets in preterm infants. New England Journal of Medicine, 2016; 374 (8), 749-760. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1514212

The CORONIS Collaborative Group. Caesarean section surgical techniques: 3 year follow-up of the CORONIS fractional factorial, unmasked, randomised, controlled trial. Lancet 2016;388:62-72

Costeloe KL, Bowler U, Brocklehurst P, Hardy P, Heal P, Juszczak E, King A, Panton N, Stacey F, Whiley A, Wilks M, Millar MR. Bifidobacterium breve BBG-001 in very preterm infants: a randomised controlled Phase 3 trial. Lancet 2016;387:649–60.

The INFANT Collaborative Group. Computerised interpretation of the fetal heart rate during labour (INFANT): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2017. Doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30568-8

The Epidural and Position Trial Collaborative Group Upright versus lying down position in second stage of labour in nulliparous women with low dose epidural: BUMPES randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2017;359:j4471

Askie L, Darlow B, Finer N, Schmidt B, Stenson B, Tarnow-Mordi W, Davies P, Carlo W, Brocklehurst P, Davies L, Das A, Rich W, Gantz M, Roberts R, Whyte R, Costantini L, Poets C, Asztalos E, Battin M, Halliday H, Marlow N, Tin W, Kind A, Juszczak E, Morley C, Doyle L, Gebski V, Hunter K, Simes R. Association between oxygen saturation targeting and death or disability in extremely preterm infants in the neonatal oxygenation prospective meta-analysis collaboration JAMA. 2018;319:2190-2201 doi:10.1001/jama.2018.5725

Johnson S, Bountziouka V, Brocklehurst P, Linsell L, Marlow N, Wolke D, Manktelow BN. Standardisation of the Parent Report of Children's Abilities-Revised (PARCA-R): a norm-referenced assessment of cognitive and language development at age 2 years. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2019. pii: S2352-4642(19)30189-0. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(19)30189-0

Chappell L, Brocklehurst P, Green ME, Hunter R, Hardy P, Juszczak E, Linsell L, Chiocchia V, Greenland M, Placzek A, Townend J, Marlow N, Sandall J, Shennan A. Planned early delivery or expectant management for late preterm pre-eclampsia (PHOENIX): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31963-4

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