The lecture offered students, researchers and staff from across our Department an inside look at one of the most ambitious global initiatives currently underway in maternal and fetal medicine.
Professor Stock leads In Utero, an innovative $50 million programme funded by Wellcome Leap - a non-profit organisation that designs bold, unconventional research initiatives aimed at achieving transformative breakthroughs in human health within five to ten years. Her lecture explored how the programme is rethinking antenatal care through cutting-edge science, interdisciplinary collaboration and scalable innovation.
The central goal of the In Utero programme is to cut stillbirth rates in half by developing scalable methods to measure, model and predict gestational development during pregnancy.
Stillbirth remains a devastating global challenge, and current clinical tools often lack the precision needed for early detection of at-risk pregnancies. Under Professor Stock’s leadership, an international team is pioneering non-invasive, adaptable technologies that improve the identification of vulnerable babies more accurately and earlier in pregnancy. These innovations combine biosensing, imaging and data modelling to enable more accurate and accessible next-generation antenatal care.
The In Utero initiative forms part of Wellcome Leap’s broader commitment to women’s health, with $150 million invested to date in transformative programmes. Professor Stock emphasised the importance of global collaboration and scalable solutions to ensure advancements reach families worldwide.
The lecture was followed by a Q&A session with members from across our Department where Professor Stock offered valuable insight into how science, technology and bold funding models are reshaping the future of maternal healthcare.
The recording of Professor Stock’s lecture is now available to view on our YouTube channel: