Karen Luyt is the programme lead for the National Child Mortality Database. She read medicine in South Africa and specialised in Paediatrics (Neonatal Medicine) in the UK.

She has a clinical academic post, based in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at St Michael’s Hospital, Bristol. In her academic position as Professor of Neonatal Medicine, University of Bristol, her research has focussed on optimising health outcomes in newborn infants. She was lead for neonatal mortality review for UHBristol NHS Trust since 2010 and the academic lead for child death review (University of Bristol) since 2014.

She contributed to the 2018 child mortality review guidance for England and chairs the British Association of Perinatal Medicine Neonatal Mortality Review Group.

In 1983, Peter established the Avon Infant Mortality Study and, since that time, has continued to provide care and support to families bereaved by perinatal, infant and childhood deaths, particularly sudden or unexpected deaths.

Since January 2013 Peter has worked primarily in research, teaching and safeguarding children. Peter continues to conduct research on epidemiological and physiological factors contributing to unexpected deaths in infancy and childhood, and has co-authored more than 360 scientific publications. The approach to the care and investigations of families bereaved by the sudden expected death of their child that Peter pioneered in the Avon area has, since 2008, been adopted nationally in England under The Children Act 2004.

From his work on several major observational studies, he is a recognised expert in the SIDS field and was made an honorary fellow and advisor to UNICEF (UK) in 2009. In 2014, the Queen’s Annual Prize for Further and Higher Education was awarded to the University of Bristol based on Peter and his colleague Peter Fleming’s contributions in this field.

He is the elected Chair of the International Society for the study and prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death (ISPID) and chair of the epidemiological working group. Peter is also a senior consultant methodologist for both the University of Bristol Randomised Trials Collaboration Unit and the NIHR Research Design Service.

Jenny is also a collaborator on studies of serious and ‘near miss’ maternal morbidity through the UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS) and the UK Midwifery Study System (UKMidSS). She led the development project which preceded and recommended the commissioning of the National Child Mortality Database and is a collaborator on the NCMD programme.

Along with her role with NCMD, Sylvia also works part-time for Public Health England’s National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service leading on data quality improvement projects. Sylvia holds a Master’s degree in Health, Population and Society from the London School of Economics (LSE) with a focus on epidemiology, health policy and planning and demography; she also holds degrees in International Relations and Linguistics from Sofia University.

She is passionate about reducing health inequalities and improving the life and well-being of children and people with rare diseases, and is committed to contributing to projects that can turn knowledge and data into action.

Previously, Tom worked as a Health Intelligence Analyst for NHS Commissioning, providing analysis and reports using commissioning datasets to support decisions on the improvement of healthcare, and has developed many interactive dashboards to assist learning. He also has experience within Clinical Audit and Effectiveness at an NHS Trust, working on Local and National Audit Programmes, reviewing and assisting with NCEPOD reports and NICE guidance to facilitate the quality improvement process.

Rob is the managing Director of QES, a software development house specialising in providing multi-agency information sharing systems. QES work almost exclusively in the Public Sector, providing both bespoke applications and product based systems, to the NHS, Local Authorities and Police.

He has occupied a number of key national leadership positions including Chair of the Outcomes Measurement Reference Group at the Department of Health, Chair of two NICE Guideline Development Groups, Chair of the Strategy Group for National Occupational Standards for Psychological Therapies and co-chaired the Department of Health’s Expert Reference Group on Vulnerable Children.

His clinical interests centre on issues of early attachment relationships, social cognition, borderline personality disorder and violence.

Charlotte trained as a midwife, before working on several maternal and child health related research programmes, disease registries and national audit programmes at the University of Oxford, HQIP and PHE.

From 2012 to 2015 Charlotte was the programme manager for the UK and Ireland Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths (MBRRACE-UK).

She is delighted to be involved with such a socially important project as the National Child Mortality Database and provides administrative support to the team. Kate answers many of the queries received via the NCMD email and phone helpline.

Charlotte is now Senior Research and Prevention Advisor. Her role is to ensure the voices of bereaved families help shape research and health care improvements to support perinatal well-being and to prevent future tragedies wherever possible. She is a member of the MBRRACE-UK and the Perinatal Mortality Review Tool (PMRT) collaborations, and an advisor on NHS England’s Stillbirth Prevention Care Bundle.

She was the parent representative on Sands post mortem consent package, endorsed by the Human Tissue Authority. She contributes both as co-applicant and advisor on several research studies related to perinatal mortality, and has spoken both nationally and internationally on Sands’ work and her personal experience of loss.

Prior to joining Child Bereavement UK, Sarah worked in the statutory sector, specialising in adult and child protection, safeguarding, safer recruitment, safe working practices, supervision and service development. Sarah’s previous role before joining Child Bereavement UK was as Principal Child and Family Social Worker, developing and leading nine Centres of Excellence as well as being a member of the Child Death Overview Panel.

Sarah is an experienced training facilitator and has designed and delivered training to statuary agencies, including Schools and NHS trusts as well as to third sector and voluntary organisations.

Clea’s previous roles in NCT College, in Higher Education and in medicine have all contributed to a passionate belief in the importance of using research effectively to make a positive difference; but also in the importance of support for parents which enables them to make the decisions that are right for them.

Jenny has worked for the Lullaby Trust since 2006 and is the charity’s Chief Executive. Jenny leads their bereavement support and information services for anyone affected by the sudden death of a baby or young child. The Lullaby Trust has successfully helped to decrease the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) rate in the UK dramatically in the past 30 years, but there is still work to be done to bring this figure even lower.

Jenny’s role covers both bereavement support and prevention, and as such she is involved in several projects that cover both areas of work. She led a project to describe the child death review process to families, and is keen to improve the processes bereaved families face at such difficult times.