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Prof Cally Tann

Prof of Neonatal Medicine & Child Health

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Keppel Street
London
WC1E 7HT
United Kingdom

I am a Clinical Professor, working in international neonatal (newborn) health and early childhood development and disability in resource limited settings. I am a South Africa-born, UK-trained doctorand hold a Consultant Neonatologist post at University College London Hospitals Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in central London. My research focuses on the risks and impacts of common newborn conditions on the developing brain, and how best to support children with developmental disabilities and their families. I am the founder of the Baby Ubuntu programme of early care and support for young children with developmental disabilities and their families in resource limited settings, and provide technical expertise to the World Health Organization on early interventions for children with developmental disabilities and to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on intervention strategies for newborn brain injury. I work closely with Professor Joy Lawn, the MARCH Centre, and the International Centre for Evidence in Disability and lead the global neonatal health faculty for the London Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Affiliations

Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and International Health
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health

Centres

Centre for Evaluation
Centre for Maternal Adolescent Reproductive & Child Health
Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health

Teaching

I am a Departmental Research Degrees Coordinator in the Department for Infectious Disease Epidemiology & International Health and was the Neonatal Unit Training Director and RCPCH College Tutor at UCLH between 2016 and 2022. I am the Director of the 'Survival Guide to Neonatal Intensive Care' courses and teach on clinical care of the newborn in the UK and East Africa. At LSHTM I lead the global newborn health faculty for the London Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and have co-directed the RCPCH Helping Babies Breathe courses on neonatal resuscitation in LMICs.

Research

My clinical and research interests focus on neonatal health and early childhood outcomes and interventions, particularly newborn brain health amongst term and preterm infants. I lead studies that aim to improve our understanding of risk factors and early outcomes related to newborn conditions in Uganda as well as early identification and intervention for children with developmental disabilities as a result of events around the time of birth.

I am the founder and lead for the Baby Ubuntu programme, a participatory group programme that aims to promote participation and inclusion for children with developmental disabilities and their families, working in close partnership with expert parents to develop strategies to promote caregiver skills and agency. I work closely with the International Centre for Evidence in Disability on evaluations of child disability interventions and provide technical expertise to the World Health Organization on early care and support for children 0-3 years with developmental disabilities. In addition, I am a member of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation consortium on newborn neuroprotection strategies developing innovative neuroprotective strategies for use in low income country settings.

In collaboration with Prof Joy Lawn and the MARCH centre, I lead aspects of the OMWaNA trial, examining causal pathways of impact of early Kangaroo Mother Care prior on mortality and morbidity outcomes amongst small vulnerable newborns, and have previously contributed to the global landscaping of Group B Streptococcal infection amongst women and newborns and a process and impact analysis of the Saving Brains portfolio of Early Child Development interventions.

Research Area
Child health
Clinical care
Clinical trials
Complex interventions
Health outcomes
Neonatal health
Perinatal health
Epidemiology
Disease and Health Conditions
Children with disabilities
Cerebral palsy
Country
Rwanda
Uganda
United Kingdom
Bangladesh
Nepal
Tanzania
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa (developing only)

Selected Publications

Process and costs for readiness to safely implement immediate kangaroo mother care: a mixed methods evaluation from the OMWaNA trial at five hospitals in Uganda.
MEDVEDEV, MM; Tumukunde, V; Kirabo-Nagemi, C; GRECO, G; Mambule, I; KATUMBA, K; Waiswa, P; TANN, CJ; ELBOURNE, D; ALLEN, E; Ekirapa-Kiracho, E; PITT, C; LAWN, JE;
2023
BMC health services research
Data supporting "The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda"
KATUMBA, K; TANN, C; WEBB, E; Tenywa, P; Nampijja, M; SEELEY, J; GRECO, G;
2023
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Early care and support for young children with developmental disabilities and their caregivers in Uganda: The Baby Ubuntu feasibility trial.
NANYUNJA, C; SADOO, S; Kohli-Lynch, M; Nalugya, R; Nyonyintono, J; Muhumuza, A; KATUMBA, KR; Trautner, E; Magnusson, B; Kabugo, D; Cowan, FM; Zuurmond, M; Morgan, C; Lester, D; SEELEY, J; WEBB, EL; Otai, C; GRECO, G; Nampijja, M; TANN, CJ;
2022
Front Pediatr
Protocol for the Birth Asphyxia in African Newborns (Baby BRAiN) Study: a Neonatal Encephalopathy Feasibility Cohort Study.
NANYUNJA, C; SADOO, S; Mambule, I; Mathieson, SR; NYIRENDA, M; WEBB, EL; Mugalu, J; Robertson, NJ; Nabawanuka, A; Gilbert, G; Bwambale, J; Martinello, K; Bainbridge, A; Lubowa, S; Srinivasan, L; Ssebombo, H; Morgan, C; Hagmann, C; Cowan, FM; Le Doare, K; Wintermark, P; Kawooya, M; Boylan, GB; Nakimuli, A; TANN, CJ;
2022
Gates open research
Elevated serum IL-10 is associated with severity of neonatal encephalopathy and adverse early childhood outcomes.
Pang, R; Mujuni, BM; Martinello, KA; WEBB, EL; Nalwoga, A; Ssekyewa, J; Musoke, M; Kurinczuk, JJ; Sewegaba, M; Cowan, FM; COSE, S; Nakakeeto, M; ELLIOTT, AM; Sebire, NJ; Klein, N; Robertson, NJ; TANN, CJ;
2021
Pediatric research
Online community engagement in response to COVID-19 pandemic.
Manikam, L; Allaham, S; Zakieh, O; Bou Karim, Y; Demel, I-C; Ali, S; Wilson, E; Oulton, K; Morris, C; TANN, C; KUPER, H; Batura, N; Llewellyn, C; Hayward, A; Gilmour, J; Webb Martin, K; Irish, C; Edwards, C; Lakhanpaul, M; Heys, M;
2021
Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy
Preterm care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative risk analysis of neonatal deaths averted by kangaroo mother care versus mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Minckas, N; MEDVEDEV, MM; Adejuyigbe, EA; BROTHERTON, H; Chellani, H; Estifanos, AS; Ezeaka, C; Gobezayehu, AG; Irimu, G; Kawaza, K; Kumar, V; Massawe, A; Mazumder, S; Mambule, I; Medhanyie, AA; Molyneux, EM; Newton, S; Salim, N; Tadele, H; TANN, CJ; Yoshida, S; Bahl, R; Rao, SP N; LAWN, JE; COVID-19 Small and Sick Newborn Care Collaborative,;
2021
EClinicalMedicine
Surviving and Thriving: Early Intervention for Neonatal Survivors With Developmental Disability in Uganda.
TANN, CJ; Kohli-Lynch, M; Nalugya, R; SADOO, S; Martin, K; LASSMAN, R; NANYUNJA, C; Musoke, M; Sewagaba, M; Nampijja, M; SEELEY, J; WEBB, EL;
2020
Infants & Young Children
Serial blood cytokine and chemokine mRNA and microRNA over 48 h are insult specific in a piglet model of inflammation-sensitized hypoxia-ischaemia.
Lingam, I; Avdic-Belltheus, A; Meehan, C; Martinello, K; Ragab, S; Peebles, D; Barkhuizen, M; TANN, CJ; Tachtsidis, I; Wolfs, TG A M; Hagberg, H; Klein, N; Fleiss, B; Gressens, P; Golay, X; Kramer, BW; Robertson, NJ;
2020
Pediatric research
Human resources and curricula content for early child development implementation: multicountry mixed methods evaluation.
Kohli-Lynch, M; Ponce Hardy, V; Bernal Salazar, R; Bhopal, SS; Brentani, A; Cavallera, V; Goh, E; Hamadani, JD; HUGHES, R; Manji, K; Milner, KM; Radner, J; Sharma, S; Silver, KL; LAWN, JE; TANN, CJ;
2020
BMJ OPEN
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