SUDC UK TEAM
Board of Trustees
Camilla Gooden
Co-Founder and Chair of Trustees
SUDC Parent to Rex 10.4.2013-7.2.2015
Camilla has a consumer PR and communications background with experience in agency, in-house and more recently freelance project work for L’Oréal UK. With over 20 years of working in PR and two years running communications and fundraising operations for SUDC UK, she brings a wealth of experience to the board. Camilla is currently training at the College of Naturopathic Medicine to be a Nutritional Therapist.
Email: camilla@sudc.org.uk
Helen Charalambous
Co-Founder, Trustee and Treasurer
SUDC Parent to Yianni 29.06.2012 – 15.11.2013
Helen has worked in the investment industry for more than 15 years for organisations including The Bank of New York, State Street Global Advisors and NWQ Investment Management Company. She is currently vice president and head of fund distribution for EMEA at Nuveen. In addition to her trustee role, Helen supports SUDC UK’s corporate relations and corporate initiatives.
Email: helen@sudc.org.uk
Laura Gould Crandall
Co-Founder, Trustee and President of the SUDC Foundation
Laura Gould Crandall, MA is currently a research scientist in the Department of Neurology at the NYU School of Medicine, joined NYULMC as the director of the SUDC Registry and Research Collaborative, and is President and Executive Director of the SUDC Foundation. Laura is also a licensed Physical Therapist in New Jersey and New York. She earned her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from New York University in 1990 and 1996.
In 1997, her first child, Maria, succumbed to Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) at the age of 15 months. Through the death investigation of Maria, Laura was convinced that changes in the system could and should be achieved.
Staff and Volunteers
SUDC UK relies on the generous volunteer spirit of many to achieve its mission. We are grateful for everyone who has helped us in the past and those who continue to support us. SUDC UK would not exist without your dedication.
Current regular volunteers in addition to our trustees are: Sally Law, Vanessa Grzywacz, Rebecca Smith, Katie Jones and Tom Speed
Nikki Speed
Co-Founder and SUDC UK Chief Executive Officer
SUDC Parent to Rosie 10.10.2011 – 23.12.2013
Nikki has a PhD in biochemistry and has experience of working in academic research and pharmaceutical sales and marketing. She co-founded and worked with the team to establish and develop SUDC UK, first using her scientific background and understanding of the NHS as the charity’s Scientific Director. Now Nikki is responsible for overseeing all SUDC UK operations including administration, communication, fundraising, SUDC UK events and medical education.
Email: nikki@sudc.org.uk
“I am passionate about affecting a significant change in SUDC awareness and families having a UK charity to look to for information. I am determined to help SUDC UK improve medical education and support advances in research via funding and international collaboration; for all our beautiful children.”
Nikki Speed PhD
Patron
Jenni Thomas OBE
SUDC UK is thrilled that Jenni Thomas agreed to come on board as our Founding Patron. With nearly 50 years of experience in the NHS supporting bereaved families, Jenni Thomas is widely recognised in the UK as a leading authority in bereavement support for grieving families. In 1994, Jenni founded the charity Child Bereavement UK to support families and educate professionals when a baby or child dies or is bereaved. Throughout her career, Jenni has learnt – and continues to learn – from families.
Jenni Thomas OBE
Expert Advisory Board

Professor Marta Cohen OBE
Marta C Cohen MD, FRCPath, DMJ (Pathology), Dip Med Education
Prof. Marta Cohen OBE is a Consultant Paediatric Histopathologist, Head of Department and Clinical Director of Pharmacy, Diagnostics and Genetics Paediatric at Sheffield Children NHS FT and Paediatric Pathology Professor at the University of Sheffield. She is also an active member of the Sheffield Child Death Review Panel.
Marta’s research includes studies on unexpected child deaths in infants and children. Her MD Thesis was on the subject of Sudden Infant and Early Childhood Death. She has co-edited a book on the investigation of Sudden Infant Death and is an author/co-author of numerous book chapters and has published numerous studies on unexpected child death.
Marta actively participates in numerous research projects on SIDS and SUDC and is part of the Steering Committee of Care of the Next Infant (CONI), of the Lullaby Trust and a executive board member of ISPID.
As a result of the work of SUDC UK and our ambition to optimise international collaboration, Prof. Marta Cohen OBE is also a member of the SUDC Foundation Scientific Advisory Board, supporting its global efforts.
“Causes behind SUDC are still under-recognised. This is why research in this field is so much needed. SUDC UK IS the only UK organisation aiming to raise awareness and funds that directly feed into research in this field.”
Professor Cohen
Professor Peter Fleming CBE
FRSA, PhD, MB ChB, FRCP (London), FRCP (Canada), FRCPCH.
Peter Fleming is a Professor of Infant Health & Developmental Physiology at Bristol University. He works primarily in research, teaching and safeguarding children and over the past 40 years has led several large-scale epidemiological studies of factors contributing to unexpected deaths in infants and children.
Peter was the lead clinician in the UK “Back to Sleep” Campaign in 1991, which led to a dramatic fall in the numbers of infants dying suddenly and unexpectedly. He has been involved as a collaborator and advisor to several similar campaigns in other countries. This work is estimated to have led to the saving of over 15,000 infants’ lives in the UK, and over 100,000 worldwide.
Peter continues to conduct detailed research in this field and has co-authored more than 360 scientific publications. His current research is the largest study to date of unexpected deaths in childhood in the UK.
Professor Fleming
Dr Peter Sidebotham
Dr Peter Sidebotham is a Consultant Paediatrician in Warwickshire and an Emeritus Professor of Child Health at the University of Warwick.
Peter’s research includes studies on unexpected child deaths including sudden infant death syndrome, and work on child death review. He is the author/editor of three books and several book chapters and has published extensively on unexpected child death and child death review.
Peter contributes to training programmes in child health, safeguarding and child death review both locally and nationally. Peter is on the Boards of Trustees for BASPCAN and the Lullaby Trust.
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