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

Camilla's Story

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

Helen's Story

Laura Gould

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.

Laura Gould

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, Anne-Claire Heels, Jo Griffiths, Julia Rogers 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

Nikki's Story

“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
“When parents Tom and Nikki were thrown into the painful world of grief after Rosie died suddenly and unexpectedly, a priority for them was to seek guidance to understand the most helpful way to support their young son Adam.  Nothing can prepare grieving parents for the enormity of being parents to a suddenly bereaved young child.  So, it is enormously caring that bereaved parents have used their experience of what they needed to set up this important charity.  I know how valuable it will be to other families who sadly share the experience of losing a child in this way, as well as to the many professionals who are alongside the families at this time.  I am very honoured to be a Patron of SUDC UK and am grateful that I can use its excellent resources in my work.”

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, directly supporting its global efforts since 2020.

Professor Cohen

“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.

Peter has supported SUDC UK as an advisor since it’s launch in 2017. 

Professor Fleming

“The sudden unexpected and unexplained death of a child is possibly the worst tragedy that can occur to any family. Research into unexpected deaths in infancy has led to an 80% reduction in such deaths over the past 30 years in the UK. Unexpected deaths in older children are less common, much less well understood, and to date little research has been conducted in the UK to try to understand or prevent such deaths.  I am delighted to be associated with the newly established SUDC UK, which will provide support to families bereaved by the unexpected death of a child over one year of age, and provide leadership and encouragement to researchers  to improve knowledge, understanding, and our ability to prevent such deaths.”

Professor Fleming

Dr Joanna Garstang

 MBChB MSc MRCPCH PhD

 Dr Joanna Garstang is a Consultant Community Paediatrician, Designated Doctor for Child Death, and Honorary Research Fellow. Her specialist areas are in safeguarding children, Child Death Review and Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood. Joanna’s PhD was an evaluation of multi-agency investigation of unexpected infant death from both the parents’ and professionals’ perspectives, more recently her research has focussed on improving multi-agency working in safeguarding and preventable child mortality. Joanna is Chair of the West Midlands Regional Child Death Review Network. 

Following years of advice and support implementing our medical education program, Joanna officially joined the SUDC UK expert advisory board in 2021. 

Dr Peter Sidebotham

SUDC UK are also grateful to Dr Peter Sidebotham, Community Paediatrician and Emeritus Professor of Child Health. Peter supported the charity as a founding advisor providing valuable expertise, advice and advocacy for the charity. He retired as an official advisor to SUDC UK in 2021. Thank you for all your help Peter!