Sally Collins

Professor Sally Collins is a distinguished academic and clinician at the University of Oxford's Medical Sciences Division, where she serves as Professor of Obstetrics within the Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health. She also holds a clinical position as Consultant Obstetrician and Lead for Placenta Accreta at Birmingham Women's Hospital, where she directs the placenta accreta service. Her career bridges cutting-edge research in AI-assisted medical imaging with clinical practice in high-risk obstetrics.

Professor Collins received her medical degree from the University of Oxford and specialized in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, completing a PhD in Obstetric Ultrasound during her training in the Oxford region. Her doctoral work initiated her research journey in artificial intelligence applications for medical imaging, which has since become a major focus of her career.

Professor Collins's research primarily focuses on placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders and the application of artificial intelligence in obstetric ultrasound. Her work spans clinical management guidelines, diagnostic innovation, and technological development for early pregnancy screening. She has pioneered the OxNNet Toolkit, a fully automated method for estimating placental morphology and vascularity from 3D-PD ultrasound images. Her research aims to develop early pregnancy screening tests for fetal growth restriction and pre-eclampsia, while also applying transfer learning techniques to assess volume and vascularity of other organs and tumors.

Analysis of Professor Collins's recent publications reveals a strong focus on placenta accreta spectrum disorders, with significant contributions to diagnostic criteria, surgical management, and international guideline development. Her work increasingly integrates artificial intelligence with traditional obstetric ultrasound, creating novel tools for early pregnancy screening and risk assessment. The research shows a clear trajectory toward developing comprehensive screening protocols that combine multiple biomarkers for improved prediction of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Professor Collins has received numerous prestigious awards including:

• Sir Jules Thorn Award for Translational Research (2021)
• NIHR AI in Health and Care Awards (Phase 1 2020 & Phase 2 2021)
• NIH Human Placenta Project funding
• Andree Gruslin Award (2018)
• Seelye Fellowship (2016)

Professor Collins actively mentors the next generation of obstetric researchers, including DPhil students like Sam Mathewlynn who works on the OxNNet Toolkit development. She leads multiple significant research grants, most notably as Principal Investigator on the Phase 2 NIHR AI in Health and Care award focused on testing the clinical utility of the OxNNet Toolkit. Her research portfolio also includes the NIH Human Placenta Project and various international collaborative studies on placenta accreta spectrum management.

Professor Collins leads the Oxford Placenta Accreta Team (OxPAT) and chairs the International Society for Placenta Accreta Spectrum (IS-PAS), representing the UK internationally. Her research team includes collaborators like Yi Yin (Honorary Research Fellow), Mohammadreza Soltaninejad (Computer Scientist), Sam Mathewlynn (DPhil Student), Debbie Hedgecott (Clinical Trial Manager), Katja Shipp (Research Midwife), and Hooman Soleymani Majd (Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer). She maintains international collaborations with institutions including the University of Cambridge, University of Auckland, University of New South Wales, and Hackensack University Medical Center.