About
Dr Danielle Schoenaker is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Human Development and Health and the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre at the University of Southampton.
She holds BSc and MSc degrees in nutrition and epidemiology, and was awarded her PhD in maternal health from the University of Queensland, Australia in 2017. Following two short-term positions in Melbourne and Wollongong, Danielle joined the University of Southampton in 2020.
Danielle’s programme of work is focussed on the health and wellbeing of people of reproductive age, in particular during the time before pregnancy. Her research aims to inform, develop and evaluate strategies that improve and narrow inequalities in preconception health - to benefit the health of current and future generations. She uses a range of research approaches including synthesis of existing evidence, new analysis of large national datasets, and involvement of patients/public, healthcare and policy stakeholders. Danielle works closely with members of the UK Preconception Partnership and with the Lifecourse Intelligence team at the UK government Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.
Danielle is passionate about supporting students and early- and mid-career researchers through her roles as chair of the UK Preconception EMCR Network and member of the executive committee for the Health in Preconception, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Early- and Mid-Career Researcher International Collective (HiPPP EMR-C).
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Preconception health
- Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
- Maternal, paternal and child health
- Lifecourse epidemiology
Current research
-
Informing preconception care in the primary care setting: Dr Danielle Schoenaker has been awarded a NIHR Advanced Fellowship (2023-2028) to inform how primary care teams can better support their patients prepare for a healthy pregnancy. She will lead a new national cohort study that uses linked routine health datasets to examine the extent to which improved preconception health can reduce adverse pregnancy, birth and early childhood outcomes. This evidence will feed into multi-stakeholder activities to co-develop best practice guidance for preconception care, which will be implemented and pilot-tested in primary care settings and evaluated through a health economics analysis.
-
National surveillance of preconception health: a project led by Dr Danielle Schoenaker has identified preconception indicators that can be monitored using existing routine datasets to inform surveillance of preconception health in England. In collaboration with the UK Preconception Partnership and UK government Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), she produced a first national-level report card on women’s preconception health in England published by OHID and in BJOG. Ongoing analyses and collaboration will inform the development and implementation of an infrastructure for ongoing national surveillance of preconception health.
- International surveillance of preconception health: Dr Danielle Schoenaker co-leads the International Core Indicators for Preconception Health and Equity (iCIPHE) Alliance, bringing together academic, clinical, policy and public representation from low-, middle- and high-income countries. The Alliance are conducting an international consensus study to reach agreement on a core set of preconception indicators for surveillance.
- Improving communication and awareness about preconception health: a project led by Dr Danielle Schoenaker has established a diverse Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group to develop a set of language recommendations that can be used to describe ‘preconception health’ and to formulate health messages in a meaningful and appropriate way. These recommendations have contributed to the language and messages used in the #ReadyforPregnancy campaign, and an online poster providing information on key steps to take when thinking of having a baby – now or in the near future. The findings, outcomes and reflections on the project have so far been published in a blog for Public Policy Southampton, and the abstract of a conference presentation has been published in The Lancet.
Research projects
Active projects
Publications
Teaching
Current teaching contributions
Guest lecturer for Module on Epidemiology: Concepts, Analysis and Application (University of Southampton; MSc Public Health and MSc Global Health).
Facilitator for Student Selected Unit 1 - Health Improvement (SSU1) (University of Southampton; Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery).
Guest lecturer for Module on Nutritional Epidemiology (University of Wollongong; MSc Nutrition and Dietetics).
Supervisor to PhD and MSc students conducting studies related to preconception, maternal and paternal health (University of Southampton and external).
Personal Academic Tutor to Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery students (University of Southampton).
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
Current positions
- Senior Research Fellow, School of Human Development and Health and MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton, UK
- Honorary Senior Research Fellow, EGA Institute for Women’s Health, University College London, UK
- Honorary Public Health Academic, UK government Department of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, UK
Leadership roles
- Chair, UK Preconception Early- and Mid-Career Researchers (EMCR) Network (website)
- Co-lead, International Core Indicators for Preconception Health and Equity (iCIPHE) Alliance (website)
- Member, Executive Committee, UK Preconception Partnership (website)
- Member, Executive Committee, Health in Preconception, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Early- and Mid-Career Researcher International Collective (HiPPP EMR-C) (website)
- Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Active Pregnancy Foundation (website)
Prizes
- Best Poster Award | World Congress on Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (2019)
- Dean’s Award for Postdoctoral Researchers (Public Engagement category) | Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton (2021)
- EMCR Publication Prize | Health Impacts Research Centre, University of Wollongong (2019)
- Young Investigator Award | Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (2019)
- Early-Mid-Career Researcher Travel Award | Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong (2019)
- Conference Travel Award | Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society (2018)
- Conference Travel Award | Australasian Epidemiological Association (2016)
- Award for Research Excellence | School of Public Health, The University of Queensland (2016)
- International Travel Award | The University of Queensland (2015)
- Conference Travel Award | Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society (2015)