Caroline is an Associate Professor and leads a research group investigating the interaction between respiration and brain activity in infants.

Caroline completed her undergraduate degree in Mathematics at the University of Warwick in 2008. She then joined the Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX), University College London, first undertaking a Master's degree in Mathematical Biology before carrying on to do a PhD. Her PhD research examined brain development in preterm babies, looking at EEG recordings and using computational neural network models to explore how neuronal connections form in the developing brain.

Caroline then moved to the University of Oxford, working as a Postdoctoral Researcher with Prof. Rebeccah Slater. As part of this work, Caroline developed methods to assess analgesic efficacy in infants using noxious-evoked brain activity, and led the Poppi (Procedural Pain in Premature Infants) Clinical Trial investigating the analgesic efficacy and safety of morphine in premature infants. In 2018, Caroline was awarded a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship funded by the Wellcome Trust and Royal Society to investigate the impact of apnoea on brain development in premature infants and begin her independent research group.

Caroline develops approaches to analyse infant brain activity and physiological data, such as heart rate and oxygen saturation, to address clinically relevant questions in the field of neonatal neuroscience. Caroline's research focuses on understanding the impact of apnoea on premature infant brain development, and assessment of pharmacological interventions.

Apnoea - the cessation of breathing - is a common pathology associated with prematurity. These potentially life-threatening events can result in reduced cerebral oxygenation and frequent episodes of apnoea have been associated with long-term effects including reduced childhood cognitive ability. 1 in every 10 babies are born prematurely; understanding and mitigating the long-term impact of premature birth is important to improve the lives of these children. We have created some animations to explain apnoea and brain development in premature babies, you can find these here.