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IDS Policy and Advocacy

How have we contributed?

IDS scientists influence government policy, the agenda of non-government organisations, healthcare professionals, the general public and school children – as well of course as encouraging other biomedical scientists and doctors to join us in this important initiative.

Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)

A particular focus has been to promote awareness of health in adolescents, young people and prospective parents – not only for themselves but for their children.

We led the section on preconception health for the Chief Medical Officer’s Report in 2015, and the science and evidence working group for the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity in 2015/16. We worked with WHO on building the DOHaD perspective into the UN Global Strategy on Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health in 2015, and are working with WHO on initiatives on the effect of early life processes on healthy ageing and the effects of toxic environmental chemicals during development.

With clinical colleagues, policy makers and science communicators we have made interventions on the UK Government’s Childhood Obesity Action Plan (ref BMJ piece), giving evidence to parliamentary committees in the UK and more widely. We lead the FIGO working group on adolescent, preconception and maternal nutrition.

Genomics and Epigenomics

As a work group lead and member of the EU COST network on Congenital Imprinting disorders we initiated and facilitated the first international consensus for Silver Russell syndrome, an underdiagnosed epigenetic condition affecting growth and development (Diagnosis and management of Silver-Russell syndrome: first international consensus statement 10.1038/nrendo.2016.138). This is changing the way that patients are treated in the UK. We have established a Southampton Imprinting Growth clinic as part of the Rare disease European Endocrinology network [Rare-Endo-ERN]

Reproductive Medicine

We have challenged the approach of the media to reporting IVF stories which can hype research paper’s messages and open infertile couples to exploitation. Times article (BMJ 2013;347:f6004)