Kate Fitzpatrick

Kate is a Senior Researcher in Statistical Epidemiology attached to the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Maternal and Neonatal Health and Care, based at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU). She has a DPhil in Population Health from the University of Oxford that was funded by an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship. She also has an MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a BA (Hons) in Biological Sciences from the University of Oxford. She has a particular interest in using routinely collected data to inform the care and improve outcomes for mothers, babies and their families across the life-course.

Since joining the NPEU in 2010, she has gained experience leading and contributing to observational epidemiological studies in the field of maternal and child health. This includes using linked Scottish national datasets to conduct population-based cohort studies examining outcomes for women and their children according to planned mode of birth after previous caesarean section; using the International Network of Obstetric Survey Systems to conduct a multi-country study investigating the risk factors, management and outcomes of Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE), a rare but serious pregnancy complication that often results in maternal death; and using the UK Obstetric Surveillance System to conduct a number of national case-control and cohort studies examining various pregnancy and birth-related complications. Prior to joining the NPEU, she was involved in several national multi-centre research projects seeking to investigate how genetic variation affects the biology and epidemiology of malaria, and research investigating the epidemiology of various eye diseases in India.