Bringing more babies safely into the world
University of Birmingham alumni have created an incredible legacy over 125 years. Here we spotlight Dr Palmer and our proud history of maternal health research.
University of Birmingham alumni have created an incredible legacy over 125 years. Here we spotlight Dr Palmer and our proud history of maternal health research.
It is more than 46 years since the first baby conceived using IVF was born on 25 July 1978. Since then, more than 10 million IVF children have been born worldwide. Such life-changing treatment would not have been possible without the pioneering research conducted in the 1960s by academics like University of Birmingham alumnus and distinguished biochemist Dr. Richard Palmer.
Dr. Palmer’s PhD work served as the foundation for IVF treatment, revolutionising reproductive medicine worldwide, enabling thousands of healthy births through IVF and other assisted reproductive methods.
Having graduated from University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland, Dr. Palmer completed his PhD at the University of Birmingham's Department of Clinical Endocrinology between 1961 and 1963 under the direction of the Medical Director, Dr. Carl Crooke. His groundbreaking research on ovarian function in the 1960s underpins present-day fertility treatments designed to induce ovulation. It also actively contributes to the field of chemical pathology, developing diagnostic and analytical technologies designed to monitor therapeutic drugs and blood concentrations of hormones.
My time at UoB was instrumental in shaping the trajectory of my scientific career. The rigorous academic environment, combined with the mentorship I received, enabled me to pursue research that addressed real clinical challenges.
The results of Dr. Palmer's research were published in leading medical journals and became the globally recognised standard procedure for treating infertility.
Now 86 years old, Dr. Palmer credits his time at the University as an integral step in his research and career. He says:
“My time at UoB was instrumental in shaping the trajectory of my scientific career. The rigorous academic environment, combined with the mentorship I received, enabled me to pursue research that addressed real clinical challenges. It was at UoB that I first saw the potential for translational science to improve the lives of women struggling with infertility, and the work I conducted there laid the foundation for everything that followed.”
Birmingham wasn't just the place where Richard completed his PhD, it also heralded the beginning of his own family legacy. He says:
“On a personal level, Birmingham was also where I met my wife of nearly 60 years, Marie, who was a teacher on the Dudley Road when I was studying. For our first date, we were due to meet at the University Library, but experienced a bit of a false start when we waited for each other at different doors.”
Not one to be easily deterred, Richard eventually tracked down Marie and the rest is history. He added: “My time at the University of Birmingham was not only the starting point of my professional life, but also the beginning of a wonderful, lifelong marriage.”
The couple’s son, Dr Roy Palmer, studied Biological Sciences at the University from 1986 to 1989 before being accepted to complete his PhD at Oxford, creating two generations of UoB alumni.
Dr. Richard Palmer completed his PhD at the University of Birmingham's Department of Clinical Endocrinology between 1961 and 1963.
Healthy births can only be achieved through developments in maternal health and the University of Birmingham has a proud legacy of life-altering research in this area. Dame Hilda Nora Lloyd, DBE (née Shufflebotham; 1891–1982) was one of the earliest pioneers after becoming the first female professor at the University of Birmingham in 1944. From there, she rose to become the first woman to be elected President of any Royal Medical College at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1949. She was passionate about striving to alleviate the symptoms of poverty that led to the deaths of many working-class pregnant women. One of her many accomplishments was pioneering the use of obstetric 'flying squads' in Birmingham.
The Birmingham flying squads combined obstetric care with the capacity to carry out emergency resuscitation and, most crucially, blood transfusion. The team generally consisted of an obstetrician who was skilled at resuscitation, a midwife and a nursing student; travelling in an ambulance equipped with transfusion supplies. The ability to provide emergency care at the scene saved the lives of many women.
Today, the University of Birmingham continues to lead the way in women’s health research by championing the need to test the safe and effective use of medicines during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Our findings are making a difference, with a major international trial addressing bleeding after childbirth radically improving women’s chances of surviving the process, with recommendations that are implementable worldwide.
We jointly lead Europe’s largest miscarriage research centre – the Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research – and we also have the honour of holding the designation for the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health.
Dame Hilda Nora Lloyd, DBE.
In January 2025, Sara Kenyon, Professor of Evidence-Based Maternity Care at the University of Birmingham, was awarded an MBE for a dedicated career in maternal health.
A midwife by background, Professor Kenyon has spent her career working on research that has improved the outcomes for expectant mothers and babies and is unique in being elected as a Fellow of both the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and is a NIHR Senior Investigator.
She played a leading role in the development of the Birmingham Symptom Specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS) alongside Dr Nina Johns, a Consultant Obstetrician and Clinical Lead of Delivery Suite at Birmingham Women’s Hospital. BSOTS consists of a prompt and brief assessment (triage) of women when they present with unexpected problems or concerns, and then a standardised way of determining the clinical urgency in which they need to be seen.
BSOTS has been adopted by more than 100 NHS Trusts across the UK, with further sites implementing the system and in healthcare systems around the world, including Australia and New Zealand. The triage model has also been recommended by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), the Royal College of Midwives and the Care Quality Commission as an example of good practice for supporting the care of pregnant and newly postnatal women outside of scheduled appointments.
Professor Kenyon has also been a co-investigator for Listen2Baby, a three-year programme, funded by the NIHR, which is aiming to improve the way that midwives monitor the fetal heart for women who are having an uncomplicated labour and an evaluation of the implementation of Continuity of Carer.
Professor Neil Hanley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Medicine and Health, said:
“It is wonderful to know the University is addressing some of the world's most pressing problems in women's health. We have a long history of research that has helped to bring thousands of babies into the world safely, and that includes the safety of their mothers, especially in lower and middle-income countries. All of this is only possible because of a close relationship with Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust under Birmingham Health Partners. Working collaboratively, be it here in Birmingham’s Health and Life Science District or globally, defines our approach to maternal health research.”
Professor of Evidence Based Maternity Care
Profile for Sara Kenyon, Professor of Evidence Based Maternity Care, Department of Applied Health Sciences, University of Birmingham.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Medicine and Health
Professor Neil Hanley is Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Medicine and Health at the University of Birmingham.