Shakila Thangaratinam is a Professor of maternal and perinatal health at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). She is the Joint Lead of Barts Research Centre for Women's Health (BARC).

As Consultant Obstetrician she is involved in the care of high risk mothers at Barts Health NHS Trust, where she is the Director for Research and Development in Women's Health. She is a member of the Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) London Board, Academic Board at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), Wellbeing of Women Research Advisory Committee and Maternal Medicine Clinical Study Group at the RCOG.

She started her research career as a Clinical Research Fellow at Keele University in 2004, and subsequently joined University of Birmingham In 2006 as a Clinical Lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She received her PhD in 2011. After the completion of her clinical and academic training, she was appointed by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) to the post of Clinical Senior Lecturer in 2011. She was offered the full Professorship in 2012.

Professor Thangaratinam has established a strong portfolio of research in maternal and perinatal health. Her work focuses on prediction, prevention and treatment of complications in mothers with pre-eclampsia, epilepsy, diabetes, and obesity. Her publications include papers in high-impact journals such as the Lancet and the BMJ, and she has accrued research income of £9 m. She leads several national and international collaborative research networks, and her work has influenced national and international guidelines.

As R and D Director for Women’s Health at Barts Health NHS Trust (2012-to date), she expanded the team, and recruited over 40,000 women into 35 studies in the last five years. She established the research support network, Katherine Twining Network (9 NHS hospitals, 3 Universities) in North and East London to deliver women’s health research (50,000 deliveries per year). Katie’s Team, the only dedicated and funded Patient and Public Involvement group for Women’s Health in the UK thrives under her leadership.