I’m a haematology registrar and currently work as an NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) Clinical Research Fellow and DPhil student at the University of Oxford. My research focuses on fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT), a rare but potentially serious condition in which maternal antibodies target fetal platelets, leading to thrombocytopenia and a risk of bleeding before or after birth.
FNAIT remains underdiagnosed, and approaches to diagnosis and antenatal management vary widely both internationally and within the UK. This variation reflects a limited evidence base for key clinical decisions, such as when to suspect FNAIT, how best to stratify risk, and how to optimise antenatal treatment to reduce bleeding complications.
A major aim of my work is to map real-world practice across centres and understand how different diagnostic pathways and management strategies relate to outcomes for babies. By bringing together clinical data from affected pregnancies and newborns, my research seeks to identify unwarranted variation, describe current patterns of care, and highlight areas where guidance is unclear or difficult to implement in practice. Ultimately, I hope this will support the development of more consistent, evidence-based and equitable standards of care for families affected by FNAIT.
Alongside describing practice, I’m interested in how we can improve the quality of evidence in rare diseases, where traditional trials are challenging, through careful use of routinely collected data, robust audit and evaluation methods, and meaningful engagement with patients and families.