Rate My Professor Katie Groom

Professor Katie Groom is the Professor of Maternal and Perinatal Health and Hugo Charitable Trust Fellow at the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland. She is also a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist at Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai Auckland City Hospital. Qualified with MBBS, BSc, PhD (University of London), FRANZCOG, and CMFM, Groom began her career as a junior doctor and PhD student before advancing to Senior Lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Associate Professor, and her current professorial role. Her academic trajectory reflects a commitment to bridging clinical practice and research to address critical gaps in maternal and perinatal care.

Groom's research focuses on clinical trials to improve outcomes for mothers and babies, particularly in preterm birth prevention and management, fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia, and the use of antenatal corticosteroids. She leads the C*STEROID Trial evaluating corticosteroids after 34 weeks' gestation to reduce newborn respiratory issues and NICU admissions, and co-led the STRIDER NZ-Aus Trial on sildenafil for fetal growth restriction. As lead of the ON TRACK Network, she coordinates nationwide clinical trials across 18 of New Zealand's 20 district health boards, fostering collaborations with Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, and the UK. Groom co-founded the Carosika Collaborative, chairing its steering group to develop the national best practice guide Taonga Tuku Iho for preterm birth care, emphasizing equity and identifying gaps in over 230 clinical guidelines. Her influential publications include 'Enoxaparin for the prevention of preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction: the EPPIc (SAVE) trial' (Groom et al., American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2017), and works on preterm birth clinics and core outcomes for preterm birth research. Funded by the Health Research Council, Auckland Medical Research Foundation, and Hugo Charitable Trust, her efforts integrate research into everyday obstetric practice, as highlighted in her inaugural lecture 'Putting the Boffin into Everyday Practice.' Groom delivers public lectures and supervises postgraduate students in fetal, perinatal, and maternal health.