The third pioneer of our Women’s History Month campaign is Professor Asma Khalil Elboraey (Medicine MD, 2009).
Asma Khalil is a Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine at St George’s Hospital, University of London. She is the Obstetric Lead of the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA). She gained her MD(Res) at the University of London in 2008. She also has a Masters degree in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and an MRC scholarship. She is a subspecialist in Maternal and Fetal Medicine. Since 2008, she has maintained busy clinical (Obstetrics, Fetomaternal Medicine), research and teaching roles. Asma is the Lead for the Twin and Multiple Pregnancy service at St George’s Hospital. She also leads the Reproductive Health Research Group at St George’s Hospital. She has published more than 350 peer reviewed papers, and many published review articles and chapters. She was awarded many research prizes, both at national and international meetings. Her research interests include twin pregnancy, fetal growth restriction, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and infections in pregnancy. She is passionate about innovation. She is the inventor of the HAMPTON, which is an award-winning digital innovation which enables pregnant women to monitor their blood pressure safely at home. She is a National Innovation Accelerator (NIA) Fellow. She is committed to the implementation of clinical guidelines in practice and believes that they could reduce inequalities in care across the NHS. She had a three year Fellowship with NICE and has been a member of the NICE Clinical Standards and Expert Advisor to the NICE Centre for Clinical guidelines. She is an Editor for the Ultrasound on obstetrics and Gynecology Journal. She is an International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG) Trustee and is an Ambassador to North Africa and the Middle East. She works closely with the Twins trust Charity and together has set up the world-first Twins Trust Centre for Research and Clinical Excellence at St George’s Hospital.
We had the privilege of asking Asma the following questions as part of our Women's History Month campaign:
Women’s History Month reminds of me of what my mother, sisters and female friends/colleagues had to do to succeed in their respective careers. It also incentivises me to strive to ensure that the next generation does not have to face the same inequality that I and other women had to handle.
I’ve always been inspired by the courage and tenacity of many brave women over the years, from Emily Pankhurst and her fellow suffragettes, to the panoply of women Presidents and Prime Ministers across the globe today, to our own Lesley Regan - only the second ever President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. All of these brave women have broken glass ceilings, paving the way for those women coming after them.
I chose to challenge gender inequality by ensuring that I am as good, if not better, than male colleagues. Being valued as a member or leader of a team is something you earn by excelling and playing an active and proactive role when needed. Unfortunately, the reality is that as a woman, you need to work harder than men and achieve more in order to achieve the same recognition! Things are changing but we still have a way to go!