Professor Lucilla Poston CBE
Professor of Maternal & Fetal Health
Research interests
- Child & Family
- Women
Biography
Professor Lucilla Poston CBE is a Professor of Maternal & Fetal Health in the School of Life Course & Population Sciences. Her research spans maternal nutrition, obesity and gestational diabetes with a focus on the short as well as longer term consequences for the health of mother and the child. Approaches include studies in mother -child cohorts and development of pragmatic interventions in pregnancy to improve pregnancy outcome and child health. Her team also interrogate the early life origins of disease through maternal and child electronic health record data linkages.
Professor Poston is President of the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (FRCOG) and was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2009. She was appointed NIHR Senior Investigator, Emeritus in 2017, having succeeded twice in open competition. In the same year, Lucilla was awarded a CBE for services to Women’s Health. In 2024 Lucilla was listed by Research.com as being one of the top 1000 female scientists in the world, according to the H Index.
Previously Professor Poston was the Tommy's Chair of Maternal & Fetal Health and the Director of the Tommy’s Maternal & Fetal Research Unit based at St Thomas’ Hospital, and the Head of the School of Life Course & Population Sciences.
Research
eLIXIR, Born in South London
Addressing relationships between maternal and child physical health and investigating interactions with mental health
Developmental and Reproductive Biology in Health and Disease
Developmental and Reproductive Biology in Health and Disease
Global Maternal Health
Global Maternal Health
Obesity, Gestational Diabetes and Fetal Growth
Obesity, Gestational Diabetes and Fetal Growth
Maternal Hypertension
The Hypertension group strategy focuses on improving outcomes for women with hypertension in pregnancy
Children of UPBEAT
To study heart and blood vessel health in children born to mothers with obesity who had participated in the UK Pregnancies Better Eating and Activity Trial.
Project status: Ongoing
News
King's academics make the Best Female Scientists in the World 2023 Ranking
Five scientists from King’s have been ranked as some of the top female scientists in the world for this year by Research.com.
King's to participate in partnership for improved mother and infant data
The partnership will improve maternal and infant health, particularly among disadvantaged groups, by developing new resources and tools for research that use...
Pregnant women from ethnic minority or deprived socio-economic backgrounds more likely to have depressive symptoms
Pregnant women with depression and maternal obesity were also associated with several outcomes that can negatively affect the brain development of their...
Preventable risks for obesity in 3-year-old children
New results from the UPBEAT study show that maternal and early-life modifiable risk factors are associated with higher measures of obesity and fatness in...
Risk of pre-eclampsia related to blood pressure and BMI, study shows
The genetic risk of pre-eclampsia – a potentially dangerous condition in pregnancy – is related to blood pressure and body mass index, an international study...
Diet and lifestyle during pregnancy linked to modifications in infants' DNA
A new study has shown pregnant women with obesity could reduce the health risks for their infants through improved diet and more physical activity.
Mother and baby data programme releases first findings
Initial findings from a programme investigating the associations between physical and mental health between mother and child have been published.
Healthy diet and exercise during pregnancy could lead to healthier children, study finds
New research shows improving the lifestyle of women with obesity during pregnancy could mean long-term cardiovascular benefits for their children.
Study gives insight into different treatment options for gestational diabetes
Researchers have found evidence that points to more than one cause for developing gestational diabetes in obese women.
Events
Inside & Out: Models to study maternal health and efficacy of therapeutic interventions
Biochemical Society’s Early Career Life Scientists’ Virtual Symposium
Please note: this event has passed.
Early-Life Nutrition Masterclass 2021 - Preconception, Pregnancy and Early Childhood
Early Life Nutrition Masterclass 2021 - Preconception, Pregnancy and Early Childhood
Please note: this event has passed.
Research
eLIXIR, Born in South London
Addressing relationships between maternal and child physical health and investigating interactions with mental health
Developmental and Reproductive Biology in Health and Disease
Developmental and Reproductive Biology in Health and Disease
Global Maternal Health
Global Maternal Health
Obesity, Gestational Diabetes and Fetal Growth
Obesity, Gestational Diabetes and Fetal Growth
Maternal Hypertension
The Hypertension group strategy focuses on improving outcomes for women with hypertension in pregnancy
Children of UPBEAT
To study heart and blood vessel health in children born to mothers with obesity who had participated in the UK Pregnancies Better Eating and Activity Trial.
Project status: Ongoing
News
King's academics make the Best Female Scientists in the World 2023 Ranking
Five scientists from King’s have been ranked as some of the top female scientists in the world for this year by Research.com.
King's to participate in partnership for improved mother and infant data
The partnership will improve maternal and infant health, particularly among disadvantaged groups, by developing new resources and tools for research that use...
Pregnant women from ethnic minority or deprived socio-economic backgrounds more likely to have depressive symptoms
Pregnant women with depression and maternal obesity were also associated with several outcomes that can negatively affect the brain development of their...
Preventable risks for obesity in 3-year-old children
New results from the UPBEAT study show that maternal and early-life modifiable risk factors are associated with higher measures of obesity and fatness in...
Risk of pre-eclampsia related to blood pressure and BMI, study shows
The genetic risk of pre-eclampsia – a potentially dangerous condition in pregnancy – is related to blood pressure and body mass index, an international study...
Diet and lifestyle during pregnancy linked to modifications in infants' DNA
A new study has shown pregnant women with obesity could reduce the health risks for their infants through improved diet and more physical activity.
Mother and baby data programme releases first findings
Initial findings from a programme investigating the associations between physical and mental health between mother and child have been published.
Healthy diet and exercise during pregnancy could lead to healthier children, study finds
New research shows improving the lifestyle of women with obesity during pregnancy could mean long-term cardiovascular benefits for their children.
Study gives insight into different treatment options for gestational diabetes
Researchers have found evidence that points to more than one cause for developing gestational diabetes in obese women.
Events
Inside & Out: Models to study maternal health and efficacy of therapeutic interventions
Biochemical Society’s Early Career Life Scientists’ Virtual Symposium
Please note: this event has passed.
Early-Life Nutrition Masterclass 2021 - Preconception, Pregnancy and Early Childhood
Early Life Nutrition Masterclass 2021 - Preconception, Pregnancy and Early Childhood
Please note: this event has passed.