Professor Arri Coomarasamy OBE, MBChB, MD, FRCOG, FMedSci

Professor Arri Coomarasamy

Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
Professor of Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine
Director of the Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research
Founding Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health

Contact details

Telephone
+44(0)121 371 8202 PA to Professor Coomarasamy
Email
a.coomarasamy@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
Address
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK
Birmingham Heroes: Arri Coomarasamy
Tommy's PRISM Research

Professor Arri Coomarasamy leads two research teams, one focusing on treatments to prevent miscarriages and the other targeting on ways to stop mothers dying during childbirth.

One in 4 pregnancies end in a miscarriage, causing untold amount of devastation to couples. In his role as the Director of the Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research, Professor Coomarasamy leads a world-class team of scientists and doctors, researching to stop the occurrence of miscarriages. 

Every 2 minutes a mother dies during childbirth somewhere in the world, often leaving behind a young family. A third of these deaths are from post-partum haemorrhage (excessive bleeding at childbirth). In his role as Joint Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health, Professor Coomarasamy leads an international team of researchers focused on finding ways to prevent women dying from excessive bleeding at childbirth.

Professor Coomarasamy received his undergraduate medical education from the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, and completed his subspecialist training in reproductive medicine and surgery at Guy’s Hospital, London. 

His research portfolio includes numerous national and international multicentre randomised controlled trials, including:

  •  exploring the role of progesterone in women with unexplained recurrent miscarriages,
  •  studying the effects of heat-stable carbetocin to prevent postpartum haemorrhage,
  •  (NEJM, 2019), evaluating the effects of levothyroxine therapy to prevent miscarriages in women with thyroid antibodies,
  •  (NEJM, 2019), assessing the effects of prophylactic antibiotics before miscarriage surgery in low-income countries,
  •  (NEJM, 2019), evaluating the effects of progesterone therapy for women with early pregnancy bleeding,
  •  (Lancet, 2020), exploring the role of misoprostol with or without mifepristone in the medical management of missed miscarriages,
  • The E-MOTIVE Trial (NEJM, 2023), exploring the effects of early detection and first-response management of postpartum haemorrhage with a bundle of care in low resource countries.
  • The LOCI Trial (ongoing), studying the effects of letrozole versus clomifene, with or without metformin, for ovulation induction in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Professor Coomarasamy has published over 300 medical articles in high impact journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, The British Medical Journal and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Professor Coomarasamy takes particular pride in mentoring junior doctors and researchers, and several of his trainees have become outstanding clinicians and researchers.

Professor Coomarasamy serves or has in the past served on several international and national committees, including grant funding boards for NIHR, MRC, Wellcome and DfID, the BJOG editorial board, the RCOG Wellbeing of Women Research Panel, various committees of the WHO, the Early Pregnancy Clinical Studies Group, the Reproductive Medicine Clinical Studies Group, and the GLOW organising committee. He is the founding trustee of Ammalife, a UK-registered charity with a global mission of reducing maternal deaths in low-income countries.

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Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Academy of Medical Science (2019)
  • FRCOG, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (2014)
  • MD in Integration of diagnostic and effectiveness evidence, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø (2004)
  • MRCOG, London (2001)
  • DFFP, London (2000)
  • MBChB in Medicine and Surgery, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø (1995)

Biography

Professor Coomarasamy received his undergraduate medical training from the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø (1995), and completed his subspecialist training in reproductive medicine and surgery at Guy’s Hospital, London. He gained his MD in 2004 for work exploring the integration of diagnostic and therapeutic information. He now leads a team that continues to move from strength to strength in the development of early pregnancy and global women’s health research. 

Teaching

Professor Coomarasamy leads and teaches on various MRCOG part 1, 2 and 3 courses, and contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at the University of
Birmingham. Course websites: and

Postgraduate supervision

Professor Coomarasamy considers it a duty and privilege to support the next generation of academic and clinical investigators. He currently guides a cohort of over twenty doctoral researchers, postdoctoral fellows and clinical lecturers in the fields of gynaecology, early pregnancy care, and global women’s health.

Past and present PhD and MSc students include:

  • Amie Wilson
  • Hoda Harb
  • Justin Chu
  • Yee Yin Chan
  • Sesh Kamal Sunkara
  • Rima Dhillon-Smith
  • Paul Smith
  • Abey Eapen
  • Abi Merriel
  • Bala Karunakaran
  • Emily Colley
  • Will Parry-Smith
  • Helen Williams
  • Laurentiu Craciunas
  • Thanos Georgakas
  • James Cheshire
  • Catherine Dunlop
  • Jay Ghosh
  • Hajra Khattak
  • Sheikh Irfan
  • Madara Ralapanawe
  • Danai Bagkou
  • Eleanor Thomas
  • Preth De Silva
  • Pedro Melo
  • Yealin Chung
  • Ishita Mishra
  • Charlotte Palmer
  • Thomas Bamford
  • Kanishka Gogna
  • Jessica Wilkinson
  • Rosinde Kaur
  • Idnan Yunas
  • Emily Fox

Past and present lecturers include:

  • David Lissauer
  • Ioannis Gallos
  • Justin Chu
  • Rima Dhillon-Smith
  • Paul Smith
  • Hoda Harb
  • Jennifer Tamblyn  

Research

Clinical Trials 

Professor Coomarasamy has led or is currently leading numerous national and international multicentre randomised controlled trials, including:

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  • The LOCI Trial (ongoing), studying the effects of letrozole versus clomifene, with or without metformin, for ovulation induction in women with polycystic ovary syndrome,
  • The E-MOTIVE Trial (ongoing), exploring the effects of early detection and first-response management of postpartum haemorrhage with a bundle of care in low resource countries.

Professor Coomarasamy is a co-investigator in several clinical trials, including:

  • Surgical Evacuation with intraopErative Ultrasound: a pilot trial to assess feasibility (The SEE U Trial)
  • Chronic Endometritis and Recurrent Miscarriage (The CERM Trial)
  • Pilot trial of Antioxidant Therapy in Men with Unexplained Miscarriage (The pAToMiUM Trial),
  • A multicentre trial of outpatient hysteroscopy before IVF, after recurrent IVF failures (The TROPHY Trial, Lancet 2016)
  • Selection of sperm for assisted reproductive treatment by prior hyaluronic acid binding: increasing live birth outcomes and reducing miscarriage rates – multicentre randomised controlled, blinded trial (The HABSelect Trial, Lancet 2019). 

Evidence synthesis 

Professor Coomarasamy has significant expertise in effectiveness and test accuracy data meta-analysis techniques, including advanced data synthesis approaches such as network meta-analysis, meta-regression and bivariate meta-analysis. His work with Professor Zamora (Madrid, Spain) resulted in the first most comprehensive data synthesis software for test accuracy data, Metadisc, which was made available free of charge to researchers worldwide. The software has been cited in the Lancet, JAMA, BMJ and other journal articles more than 1400 times. 

Research groups and centres

Twitter:

Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research:

Global Women’s Health:

MRCOG Courses:

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Other activities

Professor Coomarasamy is the Director of the Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research, and the co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health.

Professor Coomarasamy serves or has in the past served on several international and national committees, including grant funding boards for NIHR, MRC and Wellcome Trust, the BJOG editorial board, the RCOG Wellbeing of Women Research Panel, various committees of the WHO, the Early Pregnancy Clinical Studies Group, the Reproductive Medicine Clinical Studies Group, and the GLOW organising committee.

Professor Coomarasamy is a founding trustee of  (www.ammalife.org), an international charity with a mission to find solutions for maternal health problems through practical research and sustainable projects in the developing world. He is an enthusiastic communicator on the theme of research into global women’s health, and frequently delivers talks and seminars on this theme to a range of groups at local and national levels.

Professor Coomarasamy also maintains clinical responsibilities as a consultant gynaecologist with a special interest in early pregnancy management and reproductive medicine.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Muriithi, FG, Easter, C, Osoti, A, Qureshi, Z, Devall, A & Coomarasamy, A 2025, '', Frontiers in Global Women’s Health, vol. 6, 1481495.

Bohren, MA, Miller, S, Mammoliti, K-M, Galadanci, H, Fawcus, S, Moran, N, Hofmeyr, GJ, Qureshi, Z, Alwy Al-Beity, F, Forbes, G, Akter, S, Osoti, A, Gwako, G, Melo Santos, T, Evans, C, Wakili, AA, Bakari, M, Takai, IU, Umar, M, Singata-Madliki, M, Muller, E, Mandondo, S, Okore, J, Banda, A, Sambusa, M, Sindhu, KN, Beeson, L, Easter, CL, Devall, A, Gülmezoglu, AM, Althabe, F, Oladapo, OT, Gallos, I, Coomarasamy, A & Lorencatto, F 2025, '', Lancet Global Health, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. e329-e344.

Devall, AJ, Nausheen, S, Muhammad, S, Soofi, S, Karmaliani, R, Lakhani, A, Sajid, K, Ahmed, I, Raza, A, Ashraf, A, Shahid, N, Mubeen, K, Wahab, S, Liaquat, R, Evans, C, Martin, JT, Middleton, LJ, Beeson, LE, Sindhu, KN, Podesek, M, Horne, I, Aswat, A, Oladapo, OT, Gallos, ID, Hemming, K, Yunas, I, Sheikh, L & Coomarasamy, A 2025, '', The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women's Health.

Bamford, T, Smith, R, Young, S, Evans, A, Lockwood, M, Easter, C, Montgomery, S, Barrie, A, Dhillon-Smith, R, Coomarasamy, A & Campbell, A 2024, '', Human Reproduction, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 53-61.

Williams, EV, Goranitis, I, Oppong, R, Perry, SJ, Devall, AJ, Martin, JT, Mammoliti, K-M, Beeson, LE, Sindhu, KN, Galadanci, H, Al-beity, FA, Qureshi, Z, Hofmeyr, GJ, Moran, N, Fawcus, S, Mandondo, S, Middleton, L, Hemming, K, Oladapo, OT, Gallos, ID, Coomarasamy, A & Roberts, TE 2024, '', Nature Medicine.

for the International Prediction of Pregnancy Complications collaborative network 2024, '', BMJ Medicine, vol. 3, no. 1, e000784.

IPPIC Collaborative Network, Allotey, J, Archer, L, Coomar, D, Snell, KIE, Smuk, M, Oakey, L, Haqnawaz, S, Betrán, AP, Chappell, LC, Ganzevoort, W, Gordijn, S, Khalil, A, Mol, BW, Morris, RK, Myers, J, Papageorghiou, AT, Thilaganathan, B, Da Silva Costa, F, Facchinetti, F, Coomarasamy, A, Ohkuchi, A, Eskild, A, Ramírez, JA, Galindo, A, Herraiz, I, Prefumo, F, Saito, S, Sletner, L, Cecatti, JG, Gabbay-Benziv, R, Goffinet, F, Baschat, AA, Souza, RT, Mone, F, Farrar, D, Heinonen, S, Salvesen, K, Smits, LJM, Bhattacharya, S, Nagata, C, Takeda, S, van Gelder, MMHJ, Anggraini, D, Yeo, S, West, J, Zamora, J, Mistry, H, Riley, RD & Thangaratinam, S 2024, '', Health Technology Assessment, vol. 28, no. 47, pp. 1-119.

Williams, CR, Adnet, G, Gallos, ID, Coomarasamy, A, Gülmezoglu, AM, Islam, MA, Rushwan, S, Widmer, M, Althabe, F & Oladapo, OT 2024, '', BMJ Global Health, vol. 9, no. 11, e015342.

Pingray, V, Williams, CR, Al-Beity, FMA, Abalos, E, Arulkumaran, S, Blumenfeld, A, Carvalho, B, Deneux-Tharaux, C, Downe, S, Dumont, A, Escobar, MF, Evans, C, Fawcus, S, Galadanci, HS, Hoang, D-TT, Hofmeyr, GJ, Homer, C, Lewis, AG, Liabsuetrakul, T, Lumbiganon, P, Main, EK, Maua, J, Muriithi, FG, Nabhan, AF, Nunes, I, Ortega, V, Phan, TNQ, Qureshi, ZP, Sosa, C, Varallo, J, Weeks, AD, Widmer, M, Oladapo, OT, Gallos, I, Coomarasamy, A, Miller, S & Althabe, F 2024, '', BMJ open, vol. 14, no. 5, e079713.

Comment/debate

Muriithi, FG, Banke-Thomas, A, Gakuo, R, Pope, K, Coomarasamy, A & Gallos, ID 2024, '', PLOS Global Public Health, vol. 4, no. 7, e0003477.

Review article

Yunas, I, Islam, MA, Sindhu, KN, Devall, AJ, Podesek, M, Alam, SS, Kundu, S, Mammoliti, K-M, Aswat, A, Price, MJ, Zamora, J, Oladapo, OT, Gallos, I & Coomarasamy, A 2025, '', The Lancet, vol. 405, no. 10488, pp. 1468-1480.

Cheshire, J, Garg, A, Smith, P, Devall, AJ, Coomarasamy, A & Dhillon-Smith, RK 2025, '', American journal of obstetrics and gynecology.

Ahmed, SI, Ammerdorffer, A, Moakes, CA, Cheshire, J, Gulmezoglu, AM, Coomarasamy, A, Lissauer, D & Wilson, A 2025, '', Cochrane Library, vol. 2025, no. 4, CD014844.

Gallos, I, Yunas, I, Devall, AJ, Podesek, M, Tobias, A, Price, MJ, Oladapo, OT & Coomarasamy, A 2025, '', Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 2025, no. 4, CD011689.

Muriithi, FG, Banke-Thomas, A, Forbes, G, Gakuo, RW, Thomas, E, Gallos, ID, Devall, A, Coomarasamy, A & Lorencatto, F 2024, '', PLOS Global Public Health, vol. 4, no. 2, e0002950.

Expertise

Maternal Health

Developing World

Miscarriage