Dame Lesley Regan (born 8 March 1956)
is a British
gynaecologist
Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with ...
, professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
and Honorary Consultant at
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is an NHS trust based in London, England. It is one of the largest NHS trusts in England and together with Imperial College London forms an academic health science centre.
The trust was formed in October 20 ...
at
St Mary's Hospital. She was the president of the
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is ...
from 2016-2019 - only the second woman to ever hold this role and the first in sixty-four years.
In 2020, she became the chair of
Wellbeing of Women
Wellbeing of Women is the only UK charity dedicated to funding research, education and advocacy across all of women's reproductive and gynaecological health, including menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, gynaecological cancers, menopaus ...
. In 2022, Dame Lesley was appointed as the Government's first ever Women's Health Ambassador for England.
Professor Regan is the first woman to hold a chair on obstetrics and gynaecology in the country and for the past decade she has worked to establish the biggest miscarriage clinic in the world.
Education and training
Lesley Regan graduated from the
Royal Free Hospital
The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barn ...
, London in 1980, before becoming a registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. She was awarded an MD thesis after a secondment to the Medical Research Council’s Embryo and Gamete Research Group. While at Addenbrooke's Regan was also a teaching fellow and Director of Studies in Medicine at
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...
.
Career
After receiving her MD Regan moved from Cambridge to London to become a consultant and senior lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology at
St Mary’s Hospital, where she is now chair. She was one of the first women to hold a chair in
obstetrics and gynaecology
Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...
in the UK, the first being
Margaret Fairlie
Margaret Fairlie Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, FRCOG Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, FRCSE (1891–1963) was a Scottish academic and Gynaecology, gynaecologist. Fairlie spent most of her career working at Dundee Roy ...
(1891–1963) who was appointed Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...
in 1940.
Regan was elected the president of the
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is ...
in 2016, the second woman and the first in 64 years to hold this position. In her first presidential address, she discussed the importance of a healthy lifestyle for a safe pregnancy, and the risks of
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...
.
She is also co-director of the UK’s Baby Bio Bank (BBB), a pregnancy tissue archive which aims to underpin future translational research into the major complications of pregnancy. The Baby Bio Bank was established on 1 November 2013, by two London Universities, University College London and Imperial College London, with funding by
Wellbeing of Women
Wellbeing of Women is the only UK charity dedicated to funding research, education and advocacy across all of women's reproductive and gynaecological health, including menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, gynaecological cancers, menopaus ...
. They collect samples from the three key members of the family: the mother, father and baby, allowing hereditary factors from both parents to be tracked. They require a sample of blood from the mother and father and a piece of term placenta which is routinely discarded.
In March 2007, Regan featured in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
's ''Prof Regan's Beauty Parlour''.
Publications
Regan has written several books on pregnancy and miscarriage including ''Your Pregnancy Week by Week''.
Her book, ''Miscarriage: What Every Woman Needs to Know'' written in 2018, explores how one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage.
As RCOG President, Professor Regan published The Better for Women report, making a series of recommendations on how to improve the health of women and girls in the UK, launched in The House of Commons.
Honours
Regan was appointed
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(DBE) in the
2020 New Year Honours
The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...
for services to women's healthcare.
In 2021, Regan was awarded 2021 Inspiration of the Year
Hello Magazine
''Hello!'' is a royalist weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, first published in the United Kingdom on May 21, 1988. It is the United Kingdom local edition of ''¡Hola!'', the Spanish weekly magazine.
Ed ...
Award, presented by
Natasha Kaplinsky
Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...
.
Her collaborative approach to women's health has resulted in her receiving Honorary Fellowships of seven UK specialties and several international Colleges of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
Personal and family
Regan lives in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and is the mother of twin girls, aged 24 in 2016.
She also has two step-sons and two step-daughters from her previous marriage.
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Lesley
1956 births
Living people
British gynaecologists
Academics of Imperial College London
Medical doctors from London
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Members of the National Academy of Medicine