Professor Lisa Askie is a neonatal nurse and midwife trained in epidemiology, who has led some of the most important practice-changing research projects in perinatology over the past 20 years. Her work has elucidated the optimal oxygen targets and cord management strategies at birth for preterm infants, the best prevention therapies for women at risk of pre-eclampsia, and whether new ventilation technologies are any more effective than conventional ones. Professor Askie’s experience has led to significant international collaborations of clinical trial investigators, who share their data to undertake individual participant data meta-analyses.

Professor Askie has recently taken a new position at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, where she will oversee and improve the quality of the medical science underpinning the advice and regulations WHO produces globally.