Lesley McCowan

Lesley McCowan CNZM
McCowan in 2016
Other names	Lesley Margaret Elizabeth McCowan
Alma mater	University of Auckland
Scientific career
Fields	Obstetrics and gynaecology
Institutions	University of Auckland
Thesis	Doppler studies in small for gestational age pregnancies and the influence of perinatal variables on postnatal outcomes (1999)
Doctoral advisor	Michael Gillmer, Anne Anderson
Doctoral students	Joyce Cowan

Lesley Margaret Elizabeth McCowan CNZM is a New Zealand medical researcher and academic specialising in maternal health. She is currently a full professor and head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Auckland.^[1]

Academic career

McCowan holds a PhD from the University of Auckland for her 1999 thesis titled "Doppler studies in small for gestational age pregnancies and the influence of perinatal variables on postnatal outcomes".^[2] Her research focuses in high risk pregnancy especially preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction,^[3][4][5] with recent high-profile work on maternal sleeping positions^[6][7][8] alcohol,^[9] and obesity as risk factors.^[10][11][12] One of McCowan's notable doctoral students is Joyce Cowan.^[13]

Honours

In the 2011 New Year Honours, McCowan was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to health.^[14] In the 2016 New Year Honours, she was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, also for services to health.^[15][16][17] She was awarded the Health Research Council of New Zealand's Beaven Medal in recognition of her and her team's finding that stillbirths were more likely in women who slept on their backs.^[18]

Selected works

• Sadler, Lynn, Audrey Saftlas, Wenquan Wang, Melissa Exeter, John Whittaker, and Lesley McCowan. "Treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and risk of preterm delivery." JAMA 291, no. 17 (2004): 2100–2106.
• North, Robyn A., Lesley ME McCowan, Gustaaf A. Dekker, Lucilla Poston, Eliza HY Chan, Alistair W. Stewart, Michael A. Black et al. "Clinical risk prediction for pre-eclampsia in nulliparous women: development of model in international prospective cohort." BMJ 342 (2011): d1875.
• Keelan, Jeffrey A., Keith W. Marvin, Timothy A. Sato, Matthew Coleman, Lesley ME McCowan, and Murray D. Mitchell. "Cytokine abundance in placental tissues: evidence of inflammatory activation in gestational membranes with term and preterm parturition." American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 181, no. 6 (1999): 1530–1536.
• McCowan, Lesley ME, Gustaaf A. Dekker, Eliza Chan, Alistair Stewart, Lucy C. Chappell, Misty Hunter, Rona Moss-Morris, and Robyn A. North. "Spontaneous preterm birth and small for gestational age infants in women who stop smoking early in pregnancy: prospective cohort study." BMJ 338 (2009): b1081.
• Kenny, Louise C., David I. Broadhurst, Warwick Dunn, Marie Brown, Robyn A. North, Lesley McCowan, Claire Roberts, Garth JS Cooper, Douglas B. Kell, and Philip N. Baker. "Robust early pregnancy prediction of later preeclampsia using metabolomic biomarkers." Hypertension 56, no. 4 (2010): 741–749.

References

1. "Professor Lesley McCowan - The University of Auckland". unidirectory.auckland.ac.nz.
2. McCowan, Lesley (1999). Doppler studies in small for gestational age pregnancies and the influence of perinatal variables on postnatal outcomes (Doctoral thesis). ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland. hdl:2292/5528.
3. "Report finds too little has changed to combat still birth". 21 January 2016.
4. "New discovery could help prevent preterm birth in at-risk pregnant women".
5. "New blood test may predict premature births". Newshub. 14 February 2017. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017 – via www.newshub.co.nz.
6. "Stillbirth risk 4 times higher if women sleep on their backs in late pregnancy". Stuff. 14 June 2017.
7. "Sleeping on back increases stillbirth risk - study".
8. .nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11875376
9. "Alcohol during pregnancy: the alarming stats". 7 July 2015 – via www.nzherald.co.nz.
10. "Obesity study targets pregnant women". 26 October 2015.
11. "Obesity, smoking lift stillbirth risk". Stuff. 14 April 2011.
12. "Healthy mums, healthy babies". Stuff. 22 July 2015.
13. Florence Cowan, Joyce (2020). Introduction of the Growth Assessment Protocol at Counties Manukau Health, New Zealand: Effect on Detection of Small for Gestational Age Pregnancy, and Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes (PhD thesis). Tuwhera Open Access Publisher, Auckland University of Technology.
14. "New Year Honours List 2011". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2010.
15. "Professor Lesley McCowan, CNZM, of Auckland, for services to health". gg.govt.nz.
16. "New Year's honour for Professor McCowan". Health Research Council.
17. "New Year Honours 2016 - Citations for Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 14 December 2015.
18. "Influential healthy homes research recognised with top honour". NZ Herald. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.

External links

• Lesley McCowan on LinkedIn
• Publications by Lesley McCowan at ResearchGate