Dr John Allotey

Dr John Allotey

Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
Associate Professor in Epidemiology and Women’s Health
Lead for Global Engagement in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science

Contact details

Email
j.allotey.1@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@joallotey
View my research portal
Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

John Allotey is Associate Professor in Epidemiology and Women’s Health at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women's Health within the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science. He has almost a decade of experience in academic clinical research, primarily in the field of maternal health. His research interests lie in the development, evaluation and implementation of prognostic models and evidence synthesis using aggregate data and individual participant data meta-analysis.

How does COVID-19 affect pregnant women and their babies?

Qualifications

Associate Professor in Epidemiology and Women’s Health:

  • PhD in Academic Medical Research; University of Amsterdam, 2018
  • MSc in Public Health and Health Economics; Queen Mary University of London, 2009
  • BSc in Zoology; University of Ghana, 2006

Biography

John started his research career as a trialist at the University of Birmingham in 2010, before moving to Queen Mary University of London in 2012 to lead on an NIHR funded trial to develop and validate prediction models for complications in pregnant women with early onset pre-eclampsia. The prediction models he helped developed here would go on to be one of the only prediction models to be recommended for use by a national guideline in management of pregnant women.

In 2018, John was awarded a PhD in Academic Medical Research from the University of Amsterdam with his research aimed at improving the prediction and prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes. In that time, he helped establish the International Prediction of Pregnancy Complications (IPPIC) Network, and was co-lead on the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded project on the prediction of pre-eclampsia using IPD. He also currently co-leads the IPD meta-analysis project on prediction of fetal growth restriction (also funded by the NIHR), the International Weight Management in Pregnancy (i-WIP GDM) collaborative group, and the International Calcium to prevent pre-eclampsia (i-CIP) collaborative Network.

John has published in first or second author positions in Lancet, BMJ, PLOS Medicine, HTA Monographs, and BMC Medicine. His work has contributed to national guidelines on epilepsy in pregnancy, as well as on the management of pregnant women with hypertensive diseases, and management of pregnant women during a pandemic. He strives to work collaboratively, building national and international networks, such as with the IPPIC collaboration boasting more than 125 researchers from 25 countries, and iWIP collaboration with 40 researchers from 16 countries.

Teaching

Masters in Public Health (MPH)

  • Co-module lead - Epidemiology, Statistics and Research Methods
  • Lecturer - Systematic Reviews and Evidence Synthesis
  • Dissertation supervisor

Medical Science (BMedSc)

  • Project supervisor

MSc in Health Research Methods

Medicine and Surgery MBChB

MSc Metabolism and Systems Research

  • Masters supervisor

Postgraduate supervision

Current PhD students

Anna Boath

Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Targeting Weight Management Interventions in Pregnancy using Adiposity Measures Oct 2019-Oct 2022

Dyuti Coomar

Improving the prediction and prevention of gestational diabetes and its complications IPD meta-analysis Oct 2020 – Oct 2023

Research

John is co-lead on several national and international collaborative research networks

Current Research

Chief Investigator

  • Wellbeing of Women (WoW): Early pregnancy risk factors for stillbirth: IPD meta-analysis

Project Lead and Co-Investigator

Project Lead

Previous Research

Research Groups and Centres

Other activities

Department of Metabolism and Systems Science Community Action Team member  

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Bello‐Álvarez, LM, Fernández‐Félix, BM, Allotey, J, Thangaratinam, S & Zamora, J 2025, 'Effects of maternal education on maternal and perinatal outcomes: An individual participant data meta‐analysis of 2 356 402 pregnancies', International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.70401

Mustard, C, Snell, K, Lee, KM, Pike, C, Bhogal, S, Horne, A, Dodds, J, Allotey, J, Rivas, C & Ball, E 2025, 'Predicting pain reduction following laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis: A retrospective cohort study using UK national and research databases', BMJ open, vol. 15, no. 8, e099374. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-099374

Gallos, I, Williams, CR, Price, MJ, Tobias, A, Devall, A, Allotey, J, Althabe, F, Cresswell, JA, Durocher, J, Gulmezoglu, AM, Haslinger, C, Pacagnella, RC, Sentilhes, L, Sobhy, S, Yunas, I, Deeks, JJ, Coomarasamy, A, Oladapo, OT & WHO Consortium on Postpartum Haemorrhage Definition 2025, 'Prognostic accuracy of clinical markers of postpartum bleeding in predicting maternal mortality or severe morbidity: a WHO individual participant data meta-analysis', The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01639-3

Fountas, A, Coulden, A, Fernandez Garcia, S, Tsermoulas, G, Allotey, J & Karavitaki, N 2024, 'Central diabetes insipidus (vasopressin deficiency) after surgery for pituitary tumours: A systematic review and meta-analysis', European Journal of Endocrinology, vol. 191, no. 1, lvae084, pp. S1-S13. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvae084

for the International Prediction of Pregnancy Complications collaborative network 2024, 'Development and validation of a prognostic model to predict birth weight: individual participant data meta-analysis', BMJ Medicine, vol. 3, no. 1, e000784. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjmed-2023-000784

IPPIC Collaborative Network, Allotey, J, Archer, L, Coomar, D, Snell, KIE, Smuk, M, Oakey, L, Haqnawaz, S, Betrán, AP, Chappell, LC, Ganzevoort, W, Gordijn, S, Khalil, A, Mol, BW, Morris, RK, Myers, J, Papageorghiou, AT, Thilaganathan, B, Da Silva Costa, F, Facchinetti, F, Coomarasamy, A, Ohkuchi, A, Eskild, A, Ramírez, JA, Galindo, A, Herraiz, I, Prefumo, F, Saito, S, Sletner, L, Cecatti, JG, Gabbay-Benziv, R, Goffinet, F, Baschat, AA, Souza, RT, Mone, F, Farrar, D, Heinonen, S, Salvesen, K, Smits, LJM, Bhattacharya, S, Nagata, C, Takeda, S, van Gelder, MMHJ, Anggraini, D, Yeo, S, West, J, Zamora, J, Mistry, H, Riley, RD & Thangaratinam, S 2024, 'Development and validation of prediction models for fetal growth restriction and birthweight: an individual participant data meta-analysis', Health Technology Assessment, vol. 28, no. 47, pp. 1-119. https://doi.org/10.3310/DABW4814

Akombi-Inyang, BJ, Byaruhanga, J, Boamah, SA, Allotey, J & Atorkey, P 2024, 'Factors Associated with Psychological Distress during COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study of Sub-Saharan African Migrant Workers across Australia and Canada', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 21, no. 9, 1127. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21091127

Sheikh, J, Allotey, J, Kew, T, Khalil, H, Galadanci, H, Hofmeyr, GJ, Abalos, E, Vogel, JP, Lavin, T, Souza, JP, Kaur, I, Ram, U, Betran, AP, Bohren, MA, Oladapo, OT & Thangaratinam, S 2024, 'Vulnerabilities and reparative strategies during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period: moving from rhetoric to action', EClinicalMedicine, vol. 67, 102264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.102264

International Calcium in Pregnancy (i-CIP) Collaborative Network 2023, 'Calcium supplementation to prevent pre-eclampsia: protocol for an individual participant data meta-analysis, network meta-analysis and health economic evaluation', BMJ open, vol. 13, no. 5, e065538. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065538

Review article

Sheikh, J, Allotey, J, Sobhy, S, Plana, MN, Martinez-Barros, H, Naidu, H, Junaid, F, Sofat, R, Mol, BW, Kenny, LC, Gladstone, M, Teede, H, Zamora, J & Thangaratinam, S 2025, 'Maternal paracetamol (acetaminophen) use during pregnancy and risk of autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring: umbrella review of systematic reviews', BMJ, vol. 391, e088141. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2025-088141

Junaid, F, Davies, B, Tariq, S, Zamora, J, Moss, N, Black, M, Wilson, A, Dyson, J, Weckesser, A, Craig, J, Bromley, R, Thangaratinam, S & Allotey, J 2025, 'Seizure prediction in pregnant women with epilepsy: An umbrella review of clinical practice guidelines and systematic reviews', European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, vol. 308, pp. 241-250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejogrb.2025.03.022

Yunas, I, Gallos, ID, Devall, AJ, Podesek, M, Allotey, J, Takwoingi, Y & Coomarasamy, A 2025, 'Tests for diagnosis of postpartum haemorrhage at vaginal birth', Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 2025, no. 1, CD016134. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD016134

Hughes, A, Weckesser, A, Denny, E, Junaid, F, Nelson-Piercy, C, Black, M, Allotey, J, Thangaratinam, S & Dyson, J 2024, 'Barriers and facilitators to healthcare practitioners providing care for pregnant women with epilepsy: A systematic review and narrative synthesis', Seizure, vol. 118, pp. 38-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2024.04.007

PregCOV-19 Living Systematic Review Consortium, Fernández-García, S, del Campo-Albendea, L, Sambamoorthi, D, Sheikh, J, Lau, K, Osei-Lah, N, Ramkumar, A, Naidu, H, Stoney, N, Sundaram, P, Sengupta, P, Mehta, S, Attarde, S, Maddock, S, Manning, M, Meherally, Z, Ansari, K, Lawson, H, Yap, M, Kew, T, Punnoose, A, Knight, C, Sadeqa, E, Cherian, J, Ravi, S, Chen, W, Walker, K, O’Donoghue, K, van Wely, M, van Leeuwen, E, Kostova, E, Kunst, H, Khalil, A, Brizuela, V, Kara, E, Kim, CR, Thorson, A, Oladapo, OT, Mofenson, L, Gottlieb, SL, Bonet, M, Moss, N, Zamora, J, Allotey, J & Thangaratinam, S 2024, 'Effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines on maternal and perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis', BMJ Global Health, vol. 9, no. 4, e014247. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2023-014247

Tiruneh, SA, Vu, TTT, Moran, LJ, Callander, EJ, Allotey, J, Thangaratinam, S, Rolnik, DL, Teede, HJ, Wang, R & Enticott, J 2024, 'Externally validated prediction models for pre‐eclampsia: systematic review and meta‐analysis', Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 63, no. 5, pp. 592-604. https://doi.org/10.1002/uog.27490

View all publications in research portal