About the Centre
Established in 2019, the Centre for Reproductive Research & Communication (CRRC) at BPAS exists to develop and deliver a research agenda that furthers access to evidence-based reproductive healthcare and choices. Through rigorous multidisciplinary research and impactful communication, the CRRC aims to inform policy, practice, and public discourse. We draw directly on BPAS’ own work as a reproductive health provider to inform our agenda and work in collaboration and through strategic partnerships to achieve our mission.
As a research team, we have experience of conducting research on abortion, contraception, pregnancy, and public health. We have expertise in clinical practice, medical ethics and law, epidemiology, evaluation research, and the social sciences.
The work of the CRRC is overseen by our Steering Committee.
Meet the team
Patricia trained in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center followed by a Fellowship in Family Planning & Contraceptive Research and Master’s Degree in Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. Patricia has been Director of the Centre for Reproductive Research and Communication since 2020, and served as Medical Director at BPAS from 2007-2024.
Patricia's research interests include quality in abortion care, medical and surgical abortion service delivery, and optimal methods for second trimester abortion. She has published a number of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on family planning and has contributed to evidence-based guidance produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, and Society of Family Planning. Patricia serves as an Associate Editor for the journal BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare.
In addition to service development and research, Patricia is passionate about education in abortion and advises the RCOG on training and curricula and is Chair of the British Society of Abortion Care Providers Education and Training Committee.
You can find Patricia Lohr's profile on ORCiD here.
Rebecca is a multidisciplinary researcher with an MPH from Imperial College London and BA in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge. Her current research encompasses several projects on abortion, contraception, and public health and pregnancy. Rebecca’s interdisciplinary training means she uses wide a range of methods. Recent projects include a systematic review of abortion in low-and-middle income countries, a quantitative evaluation of telemedical abortion services in the UK, and a qualitative exploration of what ‘quality’ of care means to abortion patients.
Rebecca was lead researcher on WRISK, a research-engagement project funded by the Wellcome Trust which aimed to improve our understanding of the way that pregnancy-related risk is communicated.
Rebecca is an Associate Editor for the journal BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health. She was awarded a prestigious NIHR/Wellbeing of Women Doctoral Fellowship in 2023 to study how the introduction of telemedicine has impacted the accessibility and equity of abortion in England and Wales.
You can find Rebecca Blaylock's profile on ORCiD here.
Danielle is a quantitative researcher, having recently completed a DPhil (PhD) from The University of Oxford. She has nearly five years researching endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain using big data, pain testing and epidemiology. Danielle is a science communicator in women’s health, using creative methods to ensure that research in the women’s health space is made easily accessible to those who are interested, or who would benefit most from learning more. She is an award-winning podcast host and has successfully obtained funding from Wellcome to engage the public and people with lived experience on her PhD work, looking at widespread pain in people with endometriosis. Danielle is looking forward to integrating her quantitative background into the work of the CRRC and working with the team to conduct high quality research in abortion and contraception, ensuring effective engagement with key stakeholders along the way.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9395-1339
Originally trained as an obstetrician-gynaecologist, Kate went on to specialise in abortion and family planning. She aims to perform robust research to answer clinical questions and ultimately improve patient care. She has a special interest in abortion complications and second trimester surgical abortion.
Through her former role at the World Health Organization and her position at BPAS, she has extensive experience in translating research into pragmatic clinical guidance. Kate has experience performing randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews, database analyses, patient and provider surveys, and qualitative interviews. She also has a passion for medical education and has provided both didactic and hands-on training to learners across various disciplines.
Rachel is a qualitative researcher with an LLM in Medical Law and Ethics, MA in Methods of Social Research, and LLB in European Legal Studies from the University of Kent. Her current research focuses on social and policy regulation of behaviour and maternal consumption during pregnancy, with a strong focus on bio-ethical and socio-legal methods. Rachel is currently a SeNSS (ESRC) funded socio-legal PhD student at the University of Kent, exploring the communication of risk with regards to medication use during pregnancy, post- Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015].
You can find Rachel Arkell's profile on ORCiD here.
Hannah is a mixed methods researcher with an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has over five years’ experience in the evaluation of innovative sexual and reproductive health care delivery.
Collaborating internally with BPAS colleagues, and sometimes externally with other independent providers or academic institutions, Hannah works within the CRRC as an Evaluation Researcher, conducting service evaluation of BPAS' clinical services and evaluating changes made to care pathways and clinical policies. Recent projects include collaborations with the University of Oxford, where we assessed the impact that a change in BPAS policy on codeine counselling had on pain outcomes for medical abortion up to 10 weeks’ gestation, and a collaboration with MSI Reproductive Choices UK, where we evaluated the effect that the introduction of a routine requirement for clinic attendance amongst patients under the age of 16 had on access to care, safeguarding outcomes identified and estimation of gestational age.
You can find Hannah McCulloch's profile on ORCiD here.
Chantel has a clinical background working in Cancer and Rare Diseases for 18 years, and has trained as a Phlebotomist at the Royal Marsden NHS Trust. Over the last 15 years, Chantel has worked on numerous research projects, such as stratified medicine programmes looking into specialised treatments and the 100,000 Genomes programme where she helped to recruit patients and their relatives, and collecting DNA. Chantel has received a Diploma in Leadership and Management at London South Bank University and gained membership to the Chartered Management institute.