Mark Kilby

Mark David Kilby (born February 10, 1960) is a British obstetrician, subspecialist in maternal and fetal medicine, and clinical scientist. His work has focused on prenatal diagnosis, fetal therapy, and medical genomics. Kilby served as the Dame Hilda Lloyd Professor of Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine at the University of Birmingham from 2006 to 2022 and was the lead consultant at the Fetal Medicine Centre at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Foundation Trust. He has published extensively in his field and is active in clinical research and medical education.

Early life and education

Kilby was born on February 10, 1960, in Plumstead, Southeast London. He received his early education at Eaglesfield Comprehensive School, Shooter’s Hill, London. He pursued his undergraduate studies at Guy’s Hospital Medical School in London from 1979 to 1984, where he obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degrees. He later earned a Doctor of Medicine (DM) degree from the University of Nottingham and a Doctor of Science (DSc) from the University of Birmingham. He completed further postgraduate studies at the Universities of Nottingham and Birmingham between 1988 and 2011. Kilby also undertook a Medical Research Council (MRC) Overseas Travel Fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Toronto, from 1992 to 1993.

Career

Kilby specialized in obstetrics and fetal medicine, with a focus on maternal and fetal health. He completed his clinical and subspecialty training in fetal medicine at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, achieving accreditation from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the General Medical Council (GMC). In 1996, he was appointed as a Consultant in Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Foundation Trust.

In 2003, Kilby became a Professor of Fetal Medicine at the University of Birmingham. He held the Dame Hilda Lloyd Professorship in Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine from 2006 to 2022. During his tenure, he led the Fetal Medicine Centre at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Foundation Trust and played a key role in the establishment of the Fetal Therapy Centre. From 2022 to 2024, he worked as a Principal Senior Clinical Scientist at the Medical Genomics Research Group at Illumina, Cambridge. He remains active in clinical practice and research.

Research and Contributions

Kilby has been a principal investigator in multiple research projects, including the Prenatal Assessment of Genomes and Exomes (PAGE) Study. His research has focused on prenatal diagnosis, fetal therapy, and genetic screening in pregnancy. He helped establish the NHS England R21 pathway for prenatal genomic testing.

He has also contributed to national health guidelines, serving as Chairman and senior topic advisor for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on guidelines for twin and higher-order pregnancies (2008-2011, 2017-2019) and intrapartum care (2020).

Academic and Professional Roles

Kilby served as head of the Academic Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Birmingham until 2022. He was a Fellow’s representative on the National Council of the RCOG from 2010 to 2016 and previously served as a member’s representative from 2002 to 2008. In 2011, he became President of the British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society. He was also Chair of the Research Advisory Committee at Wellbeing of Women (2007-2009).

Kilby has been a Visiting Professor at King’s College London since 2025. He has delivered several prestigious lectures internationally, including the Mead Lecture at the American Perinatal Research Society and the Richard B. Goldbloom Lecture at Dalhousie University, Canada.

Publications

Kilby has authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications and contributed chapters to 32 textbooks. He has also co-edited several books, including:

• Fetal Therapy: The Scientific Basis and Critical Appraisal (Cambridge University Press)
• Obstetrics & Gynaecology: An Evidence-based Text for MRCOG (Taylor Francis Publication)
• Fetal Cardiology (Cambridge University Press)
• Expecting Twins? (One Born Every Minute): Everything You Need to Know About Pregnancy, Birth and Your Twins' First Year (2013) with Jane Denton
• Wafik M, Kilby MD, Kulkarni A; Cancer Genetics Group and Fetal Genomics Group for the British Society for Genetic Medicine. Prenatal and pre-implantation genetic testing for monogenic disorders for germline cancer susceptibility gene variants: UK joint consensus guidance. BJOG. 2023 Dec;130(13):1563-1567. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.17571. Epub 2023 Jun 19. PMID: 37334763.

Honors and Awards

Kilby has received multiple honors, including:

• Arnaldo Bruno Internal Prize (2015) from the L’Accademia Nationale dei Lincei, Rome
• Gold Medal for Professorial Oration, Trivandrum OBGYN Society (2019)
• Recognition by the UK Government’s Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (2018)

• He has also been elected as a member of various professional societies, including the Traveller’s Obstetric and Gynaecological Society (2000) and the International Fetoscopy Group (2004).

Personal Life

Kilby was married to Julia Margaret Kilby from 1996 to 2022, with whom he has two children, Jack Robert Edward Kilby (b. 1990) and Emma Georgina Kilby (b. 1992). He married Dr. Janice Lesley Gibson in 2023. Kilby resides in Giffnock, Scotland, with his wife and stepchildren.

References

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