Professor R. Katie Morris MBChB, PhD, FRCOG

• President of the British Maternal Fetal Medicine Society 2021
• Subspecialty accreditation Maternal Fetal Medicine
• PhD Obstetrics and Gynaecology University of Birmingham 2011
• Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (FRCOG) 2023
• MBChB Hons University of Liverpool 1998

Professor Morris was appointed as an Honorary Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Maternal and Fetal Medicine at the University of Birmingham (and Birmingham Women’s and Children's NHS Foundation Trust) in January 2015 and Reader in October 2018. In October 2020 she became Director of Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit and in 2021 Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine.

She qualified from University of Liverpool in 1998 and then performed house jobs and specialist training within the East Midlands Deanery. In 2005 she came to Birmingham to commence her research and in 2008 commenced an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship. This led to the award of her PhD from the University of Birmingham in 2011.

Following her period in research, Dr Morris returned to clinical training as an NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Maternal Fetal medicine at the University of Birmingham/Birmingham Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. In 2014 she obtained her CCT in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and subspecialty accreditation in Maternal and Fetal Medicine from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Her current role is as a member of a team of seven accredited consultant subspecialists providing regional and supra-regional care for pregnant women with fetal medicine problems at the West Midlands Fetal Medicine Centre which is situated within the Birmingham Women’s and Children's NHS Foundation Trust. Her clinical expertise relates to prenatal diagnosis, the diagnosis of fetal anomalies, conditions requiring fetal therapy including complications of monochorionic twins and intrauterine growth restriction and high risk obstetrics including maternal cardiac disease and preterm birth.

Her research relates to her areas of clinical expertise and employs diverse methodologies including prognostic modelling, test accuracy research, epidemiology studies, randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. This research is funded from research councils and charities including MRC, HTA, RfPB, Wellbeing of Women, British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society, Twins and Multiple Births Association, Mary Crosse Foundation and Richard and Jack Wiseman Trust.

•  Programme Lead for the MSc in Clinical Trials
• Module Lead for the Reproduction and Women’s Health Module of the BSc Intercalated Clinical Sciences
• Senior Clinical examiner for the fifth year MBChB programme

Undergraduate teaching and Personal Mentor

• Second year MBChB Reproduction, Genes and Development Module
• Second year MBChB – Fetal Medicine Personal Interest Project
• Fifth year MBChB
  • Obstetrics and Gynaecology academic in days and ward based teaching on attachment
  • Clinical Communication across the patient journey module

Postgraduate teaching

• Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Maternal Fetal medicine

• Supervision of PhD and MRes students
• Supervision of non-clinical Masters and intercalating students
• Supervision of Clinical PhD students
• Supervision of Advanced Specialist training in Maternal and Fetal Medicine

Professor Morris’s research interests are fetal growth restriction, prognostic and diagnostic research in obstetrics, complications of multiple pregnancy, invasive therapies in fetal medicine, the role of folic acid supplementation in pregnancy, prevention of preterm birth and reducing infections morbidity and mortality in obstetrics.

Her research involves systematic reviews and meta-analysis, prognostic modelling, randomised controlled trials of therapies and cohort and epidemiology studies.

Current research grants are CI of the CHAPTER study - a programme grant to optimise care for women who experience childbirth acquired perineal trauma; “OMMIT study – prediction of adverse outcome in monochorionic twins.”; “QUIDS – Quantitative Fibronectin to help Decision-making in women with Symptoms of Preterm Labour”, “Epigenetic and metabolomics in small for gestational fetuses related to folic acid supplementation”, “Chlorhexidine Vaginal Preparation versus Standard Treatment at Caesarean Section to Reduce Endometritis and Prevent Sepsis - A Feasibility Study (The PREPS Trial) (CI)” and C-STICH and C-STICH 2 (CI) randomised controlled trials investigating cervical cerclage in the prevention of preterm birth.

Research groups and centres:

Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit

Maternal and Child Health Group

Global Surgery Unit 

Professor Morris is an Executive member and Trustee of the British Maternal Fetal Medicine Society, is a peer reviewer for international journals and major grant funding bodies including the MRC and HTA. She is a Chair of the RCOG Scientific Advisory Committee and member of the committees for Wellbeing of Women and Tommy's Charity. She is lead and developer and author of national guidelines for fetal growth restriction for the RCOG and a member of the STARD group (Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy). Professor Morris is the National Clinical Specialty Lead for Reproductive Health and Childbirth  and Clinical Director for the National Collaborative of the NIHR Research Support Service (RSS).

Other committee roles:

• RCOG Academic Committee - Higher Education Institution Representative 2020 – ongoing
• Wellbeing of Women Scientific Committee Member 2020 - ongoing
• Tommy’s Scientific Advisory Committee - Member 2019 - ongoing
• Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle Steering Group - Member 2018 - ongoing
• RCOG Research Committee - Member 2018- ongoing
• RCOG Scientific Advisory Committee - Member 2018, Chair 2021 – ongoing

 Charitable connections with:

•  Wellbeing of Women (Research into Women’s Health).
•  Richard & Jack Wiseman Trust (Research into complications of Twins).
•  TAMBA
•  Miscarriage Association
•  Tommy’s

Professor Morris has also developed a PPI group in maternity in West Midlands providing input into clinical research and patient experience at her local Trust.